The Holidays Are Over So Let's Get This Trip Report Rolling!

[mariezp]

Okay, so my plan has been to get my trip report started after the holidays and as soon as I get my Photopass pictures back. Well, the holidays have passed and the pictures should be back any day now so I think I am gonna get this report going! Here goes….

First off, I considered adding my trip report onto the bottom of my PTR but after the sudden and mysterious disappearance of Pikester's documentation of her entire trip I decided I would stick with the safest route and just start a new thread and add in the PTR link right here. So, for anyone who might be interested in my pre-trip preparations here's a link to my PTR:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2254103


Now on with the actual trip report.....

Day 1, December 2, 2009
As you can imagine the morning we were to leave for Florida I had trouble sleeping and was up bright and early. Guess what? Of all things, when I woke up it had snowed here in Texas! (Amy, I borrowed your snow photo!)
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We managed to actually make it out of the house by the time we had planned which is great for us because we tend to be late everywhere we go. On the way to the airport we dropped the dog off at the kennel which is no easy task. As soon as she realizes where she is she is ready to bolt. Somehow we managed to get her through the door and get everyone back into the car. After a 45 minute drive we made it to the airport parking in just the amount of time I had allowed. We found it very convenient to use The Parking Spot at DFW to leave our car under the covered parking for 2 weeks. It is cheaper than airport parking and I had a 20% off coupon that ended up saving us $40 from their regular rate. They shuttle you right to the airport and pick you up when you return. Our driver promptly gathered our luggage and dropped us off at the American Airlines terminal. Traveling for 2 weeks we always have an abundance of carry on luggage as well as some we have to check in for storage so we hopped in line to make the appropriate arrangements. Baggage taken care of and boarding passes in hand we made our way through security which is always a rather comical experience for us…. not so much for all the people who are held up behind us. We are not seasoned travelers at all so it always seems to take us twice as long to pull all our goodies out into the bin and then gather everything back up. We made it through without setting off any alarms and were on our way to find our gate. After finding where we needed to go we grabbed a bite to eat from the food court and made a restroom pit stop. Perfect timing! By the time we finished up they were just starting to line up to board the plane. We were lucky enough to be on a flight with seating configurations of 2 seats on one side and 3 seats on the other. My daughter and I took 2 seats and the boy’s seats were right behind us.
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I loved it because I did not have to sit next to anyone except my daughter.
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Last year’s trip I ended up seated next to a sick, sniffling, wheezing woman. None of that this time! We received our pre-flight instructions to the rhythm of “The Night Before Christmas”. I put on my little nausea arm bands and settled in for our flight which for the most part was pretty uneventful. Well…. except there was that one loop…..
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No, seriously, we really arrived safely at Orlando International Airport in sunny Florida just shortly after 4:30 pm. We were all thinking it was a very strange airport as we boarded the shuttle with the crazy flashing lights to be transported to who knows where. Somehow we managed to locate our luggage and find the Dollar rental kiosk all without anything unusual happening. After a couple of laps around the parking garage my husband finally found the exit and we were on our way. We plugged the address to the house into hubby’s new "evil i-phone", as my son has dubbed it, and set out to see if the new application would indeed take us to our destination. I also had written directions as a backup... just in case.
Soon after we set out my phone rang. It was Garden Grocers. My grocery delivery was scheduled to be dropped off between 7 -9 but I was his last delivery for the day so he wanted to see if he could deliver it early. I told him we were just leaving the airport so he said he would head towards the house and just wait for us. It took us almost exactly 30 minutes to get from the airport to the gate of Sunset Lakes just as the description on the website of the house stated. I called the driver and he said he would be there shortly. In the meantime we started unloading the car and made our way to the front door. Being the nutty bunch we are we imagined opening the door and hearing music similar to that heard on the movie “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” when they enter the honeymoon suite at the Bavarian Village. Dang if it wasn’t almost that great! The house was absolutely beautiful! My daughter was so excited she probably ran around for a full 15 minutes repeating how wonderful the place was.
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We ever had our own little Tiki gods!
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We finished dragging our luggage inside just as the groceries arrived. The driver lugged all the stuff into the kitchen. Then we went over the list to make sure everything I ordered was there, which it was. He was extremely nice so I gave him a good tip and sent him on his way. I was really nervous after having read some of the reviews for Garden Grocer lately but I gotta say I very impressed with the whole experience! As it worked out I loved the fact that they delivered my order early so we did not have to sit around wondering if they were going to show up. And look! My stuff even had these little custom labels on it.
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I put the groceries away and did a little unpacking. By the time I finished my daughter had waited just about as long as she could. It was time to hit the pool, which by the way, was beautiful. It was the perfect temperature. Even better it was all private… no screaming or splashing kids other than our own. That was as far as we made it the rest of the evening.
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[Sherry E]

I'm here, Marie! I'm here!!! Yay! I am so glad the TR has started! I got the email alert of your Pre-TR and saw that you had begun the TR, so I rushed right over!:cool1: Can't wait to follow along with the adventures. Actually, I wish Bumbershoot would find your Pre-TR and this TR because I think she and her family are planning their first visit to WDW later this year. It would be good if she found this since you were another DLR veteran and first time WDW visitor!

That house looks great! And it was cheaper to stay there than it would have been to stay onsite at WDW, which is the crazy thing, because it looks like it would cost a pretty penny!

Also, it sounds like Garden Grocer is a much more finely tuned service than Vons, which always makes mistakes! It is interesting, though, that with GG, you can give them a tip. That is not the case with Vons - no tips accepted - and it was not the case when Albertsons was delivering. I assumed all groecry delivery services had the same 'no tip' policy! Guess not!!

Anyway, I am hunkered down for the long haul. You should post a link to this TR over in your old TR from DLR 2008, too! I think some of the DIS-ers on the DLR side who remember that epic TR would love to join in on this one!!

[mariezp]

Oh garsh! The pressure is on now to keep this report going since I have a reader! I should have known it might be you, Sherry. You have been such a faithful and loyal reader! :hug: I have been following along on your recent trip report too but I was waiting to respond when I had the time to sit down and add something thoughtful and not rushed. Expect to be hearing from me soon! Even though the holidays have passed these looneys around here seem to have nothing better to do than find ways to consume my time! Good grief! My DH's latest idea is for me to come up with some new and improved diet to help us lose some of the spare tire we haul around. I am supposed to be doing research while I am online. You would think by now he would know I have more important and pressing matters that need my attention! Anyway, I am glad you found me. Hopefully it will inspire me to get another installment on here ASAP! I may just take your advice and get a link added to my old DL report in the near future, after I have added more.

I do hope Bumbershoot decides to come visit! I will also love to here her take on what she thinks of the World after her trip. I know she loves DL as much as I do so it will be interesting to see how she thinks the 2 parks compare. :chat:

The house was great! I got very lucky by finding it because there are like a gazillion rental properties in the WDW area that I had to sift through. I don't think there would have been another that would have suited us any better. It will be one of the few things I will be wishing we could have when we take our next trip to DL. Unfortunately, I do not believe there are very many affordable rental houses in the DL area. :sad2:

I am not sure if the grocery guy was supposed to take a tip but he did not resist. I have had the drivers in CA. refuse a tip but if you keep after them you can always wear them down too. ;)

Hopefully, this here trip report will get to flowing a little faster now that I have all the photos uploaded. I loaded them all onto one site so I could get an archive cd but they did not provide links so I had to go back and reload them ALL to another site. We used 3 different cameras so I had to go through everything and melding them all together and putting it into chronological order because the cameras did not do it for me. Then I also spent several days at the Photopass site. I am not sure it was even worth it because we were moving so much we hardly ever stopped for photographs. I only had 27 original pictures. Trying to follow your example, Sherry, I managed to turn those into 181 photos using borders over and over again. Suffice to say that I am so glad the only other thing I have to do with photos is copy and paste a link!

[Sherry E]

Yes, woman, you have to keep this report going! And by all means post the link in your old DLR TR so those followers can join in over here!

Actually, I may have to bookmark this TR or save it in my Favorites or something because the threads on this WDW side of town seem to move at lightning speed - which is not quite as common over on the DLR side of town, although it seems things have been zipping along a bit more over there lately too! In any case, sometimes it is hard to find threads after a day passes, and the old relliable email alert is not always so reliable.

Anyway, I will try to rustle up Molly/Bumbershoot over in DLR-land and see if she can jump aboard here. They are taking a break from DLR to save for WDW. If I am not mistaken, I think her WDW trip will be later this year and not next year, so perhaps your experiences can help out another WDW first-timer.

I can't wait until you get to the part (maybe it will be at the end of the TR when you are done) where you elaborate on why you were missing DLR a little bit, or why some of the magic may have been missing a bit. You only vaguely alluded to that before. You are not the first person to have said that. I think Krissy Marissy recently made a WDW holiday trip and she said on the boards when she came back that she missed DLR and almost wished she had gone there. In fact, there is yet another thread over on the DL forum about DLR vs. WDW and that is always a fascinating topic because I like reading folks' comparisons when they are 'used to' one of the Resorts and then go to the other one. Most of the people who grew up with WDW are not jumping ship to the DLR camp, but some of the DLR people strongly prefer WDW and only view DLR as "filler" until the next WDW trip.

I have a friend who has not yet taken her little boy to any Disney park. I have a hunch they will end up in Florida before they go to DLR, even though my friend grew up with DLR. I keep telling her that she should start her son off at DLR because it is more manageable and will be a good test to see how her son handles long days in the parks. Also, there is no transportation needed at DLR to get from DTD to the parks to the hotels and from park to park, whereas WDW is a whole odyssey of travel between the different hotels and parks.

I am glad you have been following along on my TR for my little one-day trip on 12/19. I am pretty much done with it. And I posted PhotoPass photos from my October trip before that. Now I just have to get the CD with the PP pictures from the 19th and that will be it until the next DLR trip, whenever that is. It was such a struggle to get there this year at all, I HOPE 2010 is better.

Can't wait to see your PhotoPass pictures - good job at using the borders and things to stretch that number of pictures out. I don't know what the WDW borders look like, but I was kind of disappointed with the DLR borders this year. Nothing really exciting or new. However, you ever notice how some of the borders just fit perfectly with certain photos in shape and color and theme and others look very awkward and ill-fitting? That is why I tried almost every single border with every picture - to see which ones were really good and which ones were lackluster!

[DL55]

Enjoying this TR already! "except for that one loop" :rotfl2: You are funny.
My DH and I grew up with DL. I still enjoy it but DH said he likes WDW better...more to do. I'll go where every he wants. ;)

[mariezp]

Glad to see you have joined me DL55! Hopefully some of the other TKers will drop in too. Glad you liked my silly loopy humor! I guess in some ways there is a bit more to do at WDW, especially Epcot but there really are just about as many rides at DL and CA as there are in all four parks at WDW. Seems to me that there are quite a few more shows at WDW. It is hard not to enjoy both WDW and DL but as apparent from most of my report, our hearts belong to Disneyland. I honestly told my DH that I was going to try to keep and open mind and he said... "I'm NOT!" Goofy guy!

Okay, Sherry, keep up the prodding and I will get the next installment out! And after I get that done I promise I am heading to your report next stop! Then maybe I will eventually get a link on my old report. I thought I ought to have a little something to keep them interested before adding it. You are right. The WDW threads move like lightning! I guess there are just tons more people reading up about WDW than there are on the DL trip reports.
I am too scared that I will start being the target of flame throwers if I say anything against WDW. Let's just say that it was fun... once... but DL is much better suited for our family. Basically, too big, too much time spent in transit from point A to point B, etc..... I am sure by the time the report is over you will garner a few more reasons as well.
I hope your friend takes your advice, especially if her child is very young. It is a lot for the little fellows but even more work for the parent.
I hope we ALL find a way to get our fill of DL in 2010! It would be great if we happened to be there at the same time. I know after this year December is no longer a choice for us. I love the parks at that time of year but it is just too much to come home to. Most likely if we get to make it at all it will be in early November. We may still get lucky enough to see some of the park decked out for the holidays.
My Photopass pictures arrived but I gotta tell you I was not all that impressed. We did not really see many photographers but then again I always seemed to be rushing so much I may really have been passing them by left and right! At DL it is a lot easier cause I already know where to find most of them! I know I enjoyed seeing all your Photopass pics. It looks like they did a pretty good job.

[mariezp]

Okay, I have stalled a few days again so I guess we will start where we left off. I gotta warn you I am a camera fiend, not necessarily a good one but I do love taking pictures, so be warned there are going to be lots of photos! On with the report.....

Day 2, December 3, 2009
In my mind I imagined that we would be up and at em bright and early for our first day but it was just not meant to be. Perhaps it was the fact that we were not used to the time zone and waking up an hour earlier. Whatever the case it turned into a trend we kept throughout our entire trip. Seeing as how one of the guy’s favorite things to do is sleep in late I assumed they would enjoy it on their first day of vacation so I did not put much effort into hurrying us to the park. I enjoyed the peace and solitude of the house…. something seldom heard at home. Eventually everyone awoke from their slumber and we made our way to the park by about 11:30. Here’s the mandatory WDW sign photo.
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Guess what we saw floating in the sky on the way in. The kids were not nearly amused as I was. http://inlinethumb49.webshots.com/12144/2536058600102182720S500x500Q85.jpg

AAA parking pass in hand we found a parking place by following the blue line and made our way to catch the ferry across the lake. I had to explain to the family Walt’s vision of leaving the world behind and becoming immersed in Disneyworld. Interesting idea but I am not sure it made us feel all that magically transported.
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If you will recall I did have tickets to see the Christmas parade taping this morning but as I imagined no one wanted to spend 4 hours watching parade entertainment when we could be checking out the park. We did notice quite the crowd when we entered the park but we easily made our way down Main Street so we could head towards Adventureland. As we passed the castle I heard singing but never did catch a glimpse of who was on stage. Oh well, I wasn’t all that impressed by what I heard anyway. As we got away from the castle we noticed that the park really wasn't all that crowded.... at least until later in the day.

We let my daughter choose our first stop. Her choice was the Tiki Room. Probably was not the best choice to start out with. She loved if but the rest of us came out shaking out heads. What had they done to the Tiki Room. Suffice to say we are Tiki Room purists. So unfortunately even though I had big plans to not make comparisons between the 2 parks at every ride and attraction there was just no way to avoid it on this one. Disneyland wins the Peterson’s Tiki Room Seal of Approval for having the proper original music, no large goddess lady sprouting up from the floor and not having an obnoxious bird. The outside area did have some pretty scenery that made some for some good photo opportunities.
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Thankfully, with that out of the way, we continued moving along to something more appealing for the men folk. They chose Big Thunder Mountain. My daughter is a ride whimp so she and I passed on riding. We waited for them at the exit of the ride. I took the opportunity to take photos while DD kept herself entertained while lizard watching. They seemed to be all over the place.
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I tried to catch a shot of the boys on the ride. Darn you gotta be fast! Managed to get DH in the shot but DS ended up hidden behind some girl.
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When the guys finished their ride we decided that our next stop would be for lunch. Since we arrived late to the park we had already missed ADRs at LTT so we just opted to grab what we could find. DD and I went in one direction to grab chicken nuggets at the Golden Oak Outpost while the boys went to search for turkey legs. My son loves those things. While waiting in line we stuck up our first conversation with a man from Las Vegas who just happened to be a wedding photographer which is probably not a bad profession in the wedding capital of the United States. After a long wait we finally got some grub and made our way to nab a table as soon as someone else vacated. The guys met up with us shortly. No turkey legs though. The cart was out so they settled for corn dogs and corn ears. We had found a table in the very back of the seating area. It was fairly nice and quiet until people started feeding some of the birds. Normally I would not mind but the birds would dive right across your table and it got to where whoever was tossing the food did not take any particular note of where they were throwing the food. It did not make for a very pleasant dining experience. Sad thing is it was not just children. My DH was starting to look like he might say something untactful at any moment so we proceeded to promptly leave the area.

Next, we headed to our all time family favorite ride, Pirates. Gotta say it was short. I really missed riding through the bayou and especially missed not getting to eat at Blue Bayou. I thought WDW’s redhead looked prettier but no one else thought she looked any different. DH pointed out that their ride is missing the big treasure scene and the captain’s quarters. Guess they gave those up so Captain Jack could have his own big room.

Seeing how we have 2 different type of ride groups, the thrill seekers and the mild riders, we decided in order to make the most of our day we would split up and head our own ways. I knew that the Magic Carpets were scheduled to go down for refurbishment the next day and we were already in the area so the girls decided to make that their next ride. We struck up a second conversation to pass the time while we were in line, this time with a family from Wisconsin. After a fairly brief wait we boarded our carpet. We both thought this one was great. Loved the part where you had to dodge getting spit on by the camel. She was a girl camel too… see her eyelashes!
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[mariezp]

Next we decided to take a tour of the Swiss Family treehouse. These treehouses are wonderful but man are all those stairs a lot of climbing! Oh well, another great place for pictures! No jaguar and they didn’t even let you bang on the pots and pans!
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For our next ride, we headed to the Jungle Cruise but the line was about a 30 minute wait so we opted to grab fastpasses. We had some difficulty getting the machines to cooperate. We finally had to get a CM to assist us. FPs in hand we headed up the stairs and DD requested another ride on the Magic Carpets so that is what we did. From there we made our way over to watch the Country Bears. I have heard of lots of people really missing this one at DL but truthfully, I gotta say I did not think the show was all that great. Walt’s animatronics, as always, were fabulous but I just really could not get into the show. Our favorite part of the whole show was the guys mounted on the wall. Still getting used to this new camera plus I was trying to not use a flash so my photos here are rather lacking.
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[mariezp]

Having done two new attractions that we had never done before, we decided now it was time to go for something a bit more familiar. We grabbed a couple ice creams and headed for a circle tour on the WDW Railroad. We ran across Tianna’s Showboat Jubilee along the way to the station.
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I am still trying to figure out why WDW only has 3 stops when their park is so much bigger. At DL since there are 4 stations you can actually use the RR as a method to save yourself some walking. At WDW the stations are far enough apart that many times any station is still a good distance away from your destination thus not being especially helpful to the poor old tootsies. We enjoyed the ride so much, and the rest, that we decided to go around the park twice. BTW, where did the Grand Canyon go? http://inlinethumb44.webshots.com/44395/2067232220102182720S500x500Q85.jpg

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We disembarked again at the Frontierland station. Since our FPs were now good we decided to head over to take a Jungle Cruise. We had a female skipper for our first trip. She was actually very good but as is often the case the boat load of people were not very responsive. I can only imagine how exasperating it must be for those poor skippers to repeat their spiel day after day to a bunch of humorless people. My hat goes off to them. We did our part and laughed at her corny jokes and enjoyed our voyage through the wilds. It is very similar to DL’s ride. They do have an indoor temple area that DL does not but I do not believe it made their version any better. http://inlinethumb41.webshots.com/44264/2359745870102182720S500x500Q85.jpg

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Upon exiting back into Adventureland, DD requested a third ride on the carpets. Knowing it would be our last chance for the remainder of our trip we hopped in line for our final carpet ride.
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Having spent the majority of our day full of so much adventure we decided it was time to check out another area of the park. Along our way we passed by the castle. I don’t know why but I always forget to get very many shots of the castle. This ended up being one of the few.
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We ended up in Tomorrowland. We had never ridden the Transity Authority so we thought we should see what we thought. We both liked it and enjoyed the many views from our lofty perch.
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DD wanted to go to Stitch’s Great Escape. I had read mixed reviews on this one so I held my breath and hoped that she would not get scared. She came out just fine. Me, on the other hand, came out with bruised shoulder bones! When the ride restraint came down over the top of me it really hurt. Thankfully, when I lifted my shoulders it raised back up but then it was very loose. Having never been in the theater before I spent my time worried as to whether or not I was going to come flying out of my seat because I was not in tightly. As it turned out there were no sudden movements, loops or any of the like so I made it out safely. Never did understand what the restraints were there for unless it was just to make you feel like you were really on a ship. DD liked the attraction okay. I found it to be something I could do without.

When we exited it was time to meet up with the guys and head home. I had forgotten my cell phone that morning so we had made arrangements earlier to meet them at the Market House on Main Street at 7:00. After making our way through the parade crowd we found out that there was no MH in WDW so we all had a brief moment of panic wondering how in the WDW we were going to find each other. As luck would have it they had gone into the bakery which was where I decided would be the most likely place to find coffee. My reasoning paid off and we ran into them almost immediately. As we made our way out of the park we realized that we really should plan better to avoid the rush out of the park in the evenings.

After a short 15 minute drive we made it back to the house. We ordered in pizza from Pizza Hut and watched tv while we ate. After that DD did a little swimming, we played a little ping pong and then put our weary bodies to bed.
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[QueenDoOver]

Hi Marie! Enjoying your report immensly! My family tours that way too. Divide and conquer. Now my youngest is turning into a ride hound so that may be changing. Wondering if you might divulge how much you paid for the rental house. That is an option that we are considering for sure. We would also love the contact info, if you don't mind PM'ing it to me. Edited to add, never mind, I found the link in your PTR. Thanks! Great rate. Here it is again for anyone else looking: http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p219739#photos-bar
I loved seeing the bear country jamboree pics. I saw that show my first trip to DL with my Grandpa, so it always brings back those memories for me. It will be a must do for me when I go back.

Look forward to the next install.

Tracey

[mariezp]

Oh boy! You made it over, Tracey! Hopefully, I will have some more to add soon.
Nice to hear that I am not the only one with a family that "divides and conquers". (I like that!) We started out thinking we might try to stay together but it just doesn't work well for us. Having to sit around waiting on the other half of our bunch seems like a waste of time.... time that could be better spent doing something we like to do. Of course, we do try to slip in a few rides together that appeal to everyone but for the most part everyone as a whole is much happier branching off with one ride buddy than standing around looking at each other having conversations like...
"What do you want to do?"
"I don't know. What do you want to do."
"I know. Let's ride on xxxxxx."
"NO! I don't want to ride that!" etc......
After a few rounds of that I told DH I would keep DD happy and he could keep DS happy. Makes for a much happier everybody!
Of course, you are right, I don't expect my DD to never want to ride the BIG rides but in the meantime I am not inclined to make her go on anything she does not want to ride. DS was probably at least 12 before he really took an interest in the coasters. I won't mind if she never does cause I still don't like them all that much.

Glad you found the house info. It was perfect for us. Abby, the owner, was always prompt at responding to any questions I had. I have even already gotten back my security deposit! The only problem we had was with the internet connection when we got there. It turned out that the router had gone bad but the problem was resolved the day after we called.
The parks are a very easy 15 minute drive. There are all sorts of places to grab a bite to eat along the way. We had several nights of Taco Bell because it was cheap and right on the corner on the drive home. The gated community was very nice and so quiet! It seemed like we were the only ones around until just the last few days. We finally saw someone at the house next door. It was so nice to go out to the pool and not have a single soul around! We had so much space that we even ended up having 6 guests stay over one night. I won't go into much detail now. Gotta save it for the report! Anyway, the house was a good deal and so worth it. It was much less than staying onsite... and even less than our 2 week stay in a hotel when we go to DL. I can highly recommend it! Be sure to tell Abby I sent you! If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

I have a feeling if I had originally seen the Country Bears at DL I might have liked them even better. No doubt I would have if they were connected to memories of my grandpa! I hope you enjoy seeing them when you get to WDW.

[Sherry E]

Okay, well, I see we got one more from the 'other side' (Tracey)!! Eventually more will trickle over here.

I may have to keep my comments brief for now because I am having trouble with this page. Not sure why, as your photos are relatively small and should not make the page load so slowly. It is probably my stupid old computer. It is taking way too long to scroll up or down, and then when I finally get to where I want to stop on the page, it keeps on scrolling up or down and won't stop. Itis also taking a very long time for the words I am typing to appear. I want to see if if stops doing this later in the day.

So I may be skipping something at the moment that you posted, answered or asked or whatever. Just wanted to pop in and let you know that I am out here - even if my PC ismoving at a snail's page and the pages are uncontrollably scrolling!:rotfl2:

The Magic Carpets look like a Dumbo type of ride, is that correct? See, I had read about them before but for some reason did not envision them as that type of ride, but I guess that makes sense. It would have been cool if they had been able to make it a dark ride in the Peter Pan type of 'flying' mode, but at least they have an Aladdin ride, unlike DLR.

I think it is hilarious - and scary - that you forgot your cell phone and scheduled to meet your DH and DS at the Market House - when there IS no Market House!:rotfl2: I tried to envision that scenario and what I would have done in that situation. Lucky you all bumped into each other at the bakery. Otherwise, what would have been the next step in finding them? Just stand on Main Street until they eventually walked by? It wouldn't be so nerve-wracking if it were on territory you were familiar with because you know you would find each other eventually, but to have it happen in a new place is unsettling!!

[Sherry E]

Oh, I thought of a few more things I was going to comment on - the Country Bears, to start with. I forgot that you didn't become a real diehard DLR fan until more recent years, correct?

Well, here is the thing with the Bears. It is not that it is such a fantastic show in and of itself (especially in comparison to something really good like the Aladdin show in DCA), but for me and for many who grew up going to DLR, I guess the Bears represent nostalgia. It was one of those things that was just always there during my childhood (like the Tiki Room), and whatever group of adults I was with would always make a point of going in to see the CBJ. Good ol' Big Al - loved him! (And Thurl Ravenscroft, the late voice of Tony the Tiger for Kellogg's Frosted Flakes - "They'rrreee grrrreeeaaattt!" - also voiced many, many Animatronic characters in DLR and WDW - such as one of the animal heads on the wall in the CBJ. He was a member of the beautiful little church I went to all throughout my childhood, so we would always hear stories of Thurl's latest voice work for Disney, etc. So the CBJ reminds me of Thurl and his deep bass voice and extremely tall frame/stature!)

Also, another cool thing - and I don't know if they do this in WDW - was the ambient sound of a bear snoring as you walked through Bear Country in DL. That was one of those great Disney touches that they are so famous for (very similar to the 'bug sounds' coming from the foliage in A Bug's Land in DCA).

Today, it is not that I miss the CBJ show at DLR so much as I just liked knowing it was there. I liked the snoring bear sound. I liked knowing the Bears were there if we ever needed to go in and sit in a cool theatre on a hot day. Some things in DLR I don't pay attention to most of the time when I go, but I like knowing they are there. I hated riding the old Skyway buckets that dangled from a cable in the air, but they were part of the scenery and skyscape at DLR for so many years that I miss seeing them gliding across the sky. I also miss the People Mover and some other long-gone rides at DL for those same reasons. Not that I need to ride them or see them - just because they were part of the DL that I grew up with! I miss much of what used to be in the old DLH too, which was removed to make way for DTD. Even though I love DTD, I also liked the extra restaurants and shops that the DLH used to have. So it is all about nostalgia, think!

Next thing - you mentioned that you don't think you will be able to do a holiday trip to DLR in 2010 and that you will have to go in early November! Well, keep in mind that the "official" holiday season at DLR in 2009 began ONE FULL WEEK earlier than it had begun for the last few years. So instead of November 20, which would have been the date I expected it to begin, it started on November 13th!!! Not sure why??:confused3 Possibly because the holiday season is so popular now? In any case, if you time it right and DLR does an early holiday season start date again, you may be able to catch the first couple of days of it and make it onto It's a Small World Holiday - which was ever so slightly different in 2009 because the holiday additions had to accommodate the new Disney character dolls in some cases. So it is not the exact same IASWH that you saw in 2008. Otherwise, if you leave DLR before the holiday officially begins, you will still see the decorations slowly going up.

[DL55]

Loved your pictures! The tree house and CBJ especially. Brought back old memories. Got admit I like PoC better at DL with the bajou. I still have not eaten at the Blue Bajou. :guilty:
Trying to meet at a place that doesn't exist is scary yet funny at the same time.

[Pikester]

Hey Marie! I finally found the time to sit back and read your trip report. I've never been to DL so there is nothing for me to compare WDW with. Not sure if that makes it better or anything though.

Can't wait to hear more!

[Canyon girl]

Hey, Marie! Finally found you. I was keeping an eye on your PTR but was busy this last week and missed your link. Great to see the photos! Funny thing is that we saw the blimp, too! I'm glad the house worked well for you. Believe it or not, Gardengrocer actually has a place on the payment screen for you to put tip in advance for those that are just having it dropped off. That kind of surprised me, even though, I had read about it on a thread before ordering. I know you aren't to 12/4, yet, but wasn't that a chilly rain? I stood in the CP line in the rain for about 40 minutes while DH and the kids went to the American Adventure. I do have a wonderful new golf umbrella now, though! :lmao: Can't wait to hear/read/see (whatever) more!

PS - You SKIPPED the Jonas Brothers! I think you just used the guys getting up late as an excuse! :rotfl2:

[mariezp]

Sherry, I hope your computer decides to "buck up"! There's still lots more trip report to come and we can't have you missing it! Anyhow, hope it loads better next time.
Actually, I live with a temperamental computer myself. My DS loves to rub it in because he has a mega computer and mine just barely plods along. Sometimes I don't think my computer is solely responsible for the problems. Our DSL connection seems to have issues of it's own on a regular basis. It's just always something. :sad2: I try to just think of it as a challenge!
Yep, you are right. The magic carpets were just about like Dumbo but with different theming. I think they have the right idea by having 2 similar rides. With the popularity of Dumbo it seems like it certainly would help give riders who like that type of ride a second option which in turn should help reduce the build up of Dumbo's line. Sounds good in theory but I don't know if it really works that way. Dumbo's line was still long at WDW. I think your idea of the flying carpet would have been a good one. We need to get this girl a job with the Imagineers!
I absolutely understand the appeal of the Country Bears. If I had been raised on them no doubt I would have loved getting to see them again. And, I must add that if they were at DL now I would still go to see them once a trip. They would probably grow on me. Some attractions are just like that. However, for this trip they just did not especially knock my socks off since I do not have a nostalgic connection. Good to see once though so I now know what the show was actually like. Oh, and we did like the baby bear. Sorry, Sherry, I don't remember if there was a bear snoring.
Oh boy! I did not know that they started the holiday season this year at DL a whole week earlier. I like it!!! That would work out great so we can push our trip back from the holidays. A couple of days to catch SW holiday, HM holiday and Santa and we would be good!

Yeah, Yeah! Yeah! You guys can laugh at my stupidity all you want. I am too... now! At the time I was like "Oh dear, now what do I do?" Thankfully it worked out but let this be a lesson to anyone reading out there.... When you visit a new park always make sure your meeting place really exists..... ahead of time!!!!! I have no idea what we would have done if we hadn't run into each other. I am sure we would have ended up with an angry and frantic husband and a panicked me and 2 kids thinking "Boy, is my mother stupid! We are never going to get out of here!"

DL55, I am glad you liked some of my pictures. The treehouse is a wonderful place to waste a lot of time taking pictures. I agree. POTC at DL is better. WDW's version didn't smell quite musty enough! :laughing: You need to get to Blue Bayou. It is our family's favorite at DL. Sometimes the reviews can be hit or miss but we have always been lucky and had wonderful food. I think the atmosphere is a major part of what makes it such a good choice at least once per trip.

Pikester, glad you found me! I am following along with you too now that they have recovered your report. Man! Was that close!
I can NOT honestly say there is any advantage at having been to both parks. I guess I now have the ability to compare both parks but I probably would have been just fine not having that knowledge. I can now say that we have been to both parks but I probably would have been fine with one. If you have a big desire to see both that is fine but if you are perfectly happy with a park you already love that is just fine too. Gotta say we all came home saying "Boy is it good to be home!" Not a single "I miss WDW." Not to say that it was all bad. We just missed what would have been our time at DL. Would I go back to WDW? Maybe.... but not anytime soon. There have been maybe a few "I miss Disneyland." I imagine I will be hearing that a lot until we get to make our next return trip.

Welcome, Canyon girl! so happy you dropped by! So how was your trip? Is there a trip report out there that I need to go find?
The house was one of the highlights of our trip. It was so close to the parks and the kids loved all the sapce, the pool and the ping pong table. It is gonna make our hotel room next year seem pretty shabby. Oh well, I think we will adjust fine.
Did you use Gardengrocer? They did a fantastic job for us. I was so relieved because they had gotten some negative reviews recently. Maybe I used them just as they decided to improve their service. Whatever the case I was pleased with their service.
12/4 is coming up and YES! It was a cold, yucky day! We got our new umbrellas that day. Did you enjoy the CP? Couldn't have been much fun standing in line in the freezing rain. We went the next night. It was cold but I don't think it was as cold as 12/4. Steven Curtis Chapman was good, wasn't he? You could tell he was really enjoying himself and the story he was presenting.
I never even found out who was at the castle performing until we got home. It would have made a lot of difference in me trying to get to the park if I had known there was someone I wanted to see. If it was the Jonas brothers I wouldn't have known them from anyone else anyway! :laughing:



Ya'll stay tuned! I am working on 12/4. It's kinda short thanks to the stupid weather :mad: so it should be coming along pretty soon.

[mariezp]

Day 3, December 4, 2009

Not exactly sure what I did but when I woke up this morning my back was hurting. I have a bad back anyway so I am not sure just how much all the walking contributed but we had places to go, parks to see. Thank heavens for muscle relaxers and Tylenol. Not sure what time we left the house but it was fairly early since this was supposed to be our one Animal Kingdom day. Since the park closed fairly early I wanted to make sure we covered everything in one day. I knew DD was going to love the park but imagined the rest of the crew would think it boring and not want to go back.
As we left the house there was a light sprinkle of rain. We arrived shortly at the park and proceeded to follow the “Grrrrrrrrrrrrrreen line” to the AAA parking. Obviously, we are easily amused. We got such a kick out of hearing all the accents of foreign workers. The word stayed with us all through the day and when we saw anything green one of us would repeat it just like he had.
As we made our way into the park it began raining more. Rather than just stand around we made a quick dash to watch Festival of the Lion King to get in out of the rain and with hopes that the rain would let up while we were inside. Apparently, we were not the only ones thinking this way. It was a packed house. We enjoyed a dry place and even thought the show was pretty good. We were cool. We were in the Lion Section. No warthogs here!
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When it was over we were herded out the door to find that the rain had picked up. Of course, we came unprepared so we stopped at the first cart we found to purchase some rain gear. As it turns out our day was pretty well shot but I guess our lot in life was to be in the park to view human behavior. We spent probably 30 minutes in line trying to buy ponchos. While we were standing among a crowd there I guess we saw a little bit of everything imaginable.
Some people can turn mean..... One lady got so mad she asked for her credit card back in the middle of the transaction.
Some feel they should be more privileged than others..... One lady actually cut into the front of the line and said “We have got to get something to cover up the children!” Duh, lady???? I suppose she did not see any of the rest of us standing in line… with children.
And some of us just try to make the best of it..... Thankfully, we were standing next to a lady who thought it was just as absurd as we did so we spent the remainder of our time in line trying to decide how it is that some people think they are better than others.
I gotta say that Disney was at least partially at fault for the disaster that was playing out in front of us. The people running the cart barely understood or spoke English. They could barely count money. And, they barely knew how to run the register. I cannot imagine that any of those qualifications helps to make running the cart very efficient. I can only imagine the amount of money that was probably lost giving back incorrect change…. or overcharged giving back incorrect change. Anyway, eventually we finally got our 3 ponchos and 2 umbrellas.

At this point DD was cold and wet and miserable. Her new pants were too long and dragging the ground and she had on sandals. All she wanted to do was go home. Sadly, the rest of us pretty much agreed with her.
It was just about lunch time. I had a reservation for the Rainforest café for the evening and I really hated missing the chance to go so we thought we would see if we could get in for lunch instead.
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No problem. They were not crowded at all so we were seated right away.
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I had the Pecan Crusted Mahi-Mahi and Coconut Shrimp. It was wonderful! Everyone else enjoyed theirs too. And of course, we couldn't have a meal here without ordering a Sparkling Volcano! I only wished I would have had more room in my tummy to put it. I am so glad we stopped in. It ending up being the best meal of our whole trip. When we came out the rain was still pouring. No use staying so we headed back to the house.
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So that pretty much sums up our day at Animal Kingdom. 1 attraction, lots of rain, standing in line to buy rain gear and a yummy meal. Not exactly the day I had in mind. I guess it was just our day to contribute solely to Disney profits. Our half day excursion cost a full day Disney ticket, $35 for ponchos and umbrellas and $110 for lunch. (Silly me! I even forgot my $10 RFC coupon and my $25 gift certificate.)

We made our way home and it rained ALL DAY. It was a disappointing day as far as parks go but, thankfully, we had a beautiful house to hang out at and just have a relaxing sort of afternoon. We played ping pong, monopoly, worked a jigsaw puzzle and found other ways to amuse ourselves. Ordered in Pizza Hut and called it a day.
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[Canyon girl]

Welcome, Canyon girl! so happy you dropped by! So how was your trip? Is there a trip report out there that I need to go find?
The house was one of the highlights of our trip. It was so close to the parks and the kids loved all the sapce, the pool and the ping pong table. It is gonna make our hotel room next year seem pretty shabby. Oh well, I think we will adjust fine.
Did you use Gardengrocer? They did a fantastic job for us. I was so relieved because they had gotten some negative reviews recently. Maybe I used them just as they decided to improve their service. Whatever the case I was pleased with their service.
12/4 is coming up and YES! It was a cold, yucky day! We got our new umbrellas that day. Did you enjoy the CP? Couldn't have been much fun standing in line in the freezing rain. We went the next night. It was cold but I don't think it was as cold as 12/4. Steven Curtis Chapman was good, wasn't he? You could tell he was really enjoying himself and the story he was presenting.
I never even found out who was at the castle performing until we got home. It would have made a lot of difference in me trying to get to the park if I had known there was someone I wanted to see. If it was the Jonas brothers I wouldn't have known them from anyone else anyway! :laughing:



Ya'll stay tuned! I am working on 12/4. It's kinda short thanks to the stupid weather :mad: so it should be coming along pretty soon.

No TR. I posted some pictures and a quick synopsis on the CR thread, but I am not a great writer or storyteller. We did have Gardengrocer. My one complaint is that the bread was not a long enough date and had obviously been kept warm. BTW, your back problems was probably rheumatism. I know you are from TX, but FL humidity seems to be a little different. We spent the entire 12/4 at Epcot. Having lived in FL, I was prepared for the rain and had brought rain jackets for everyone. I had gotten the rain jackets from Disneystoreoutlet.com in late 2008 for dirt cheap. They have now made it through a rainy Feb. 2009 trip to DLR and a rainy Dec. 2009 trip to WDW. The only reason that I stood so long in line for CP was that the first 200 or so would be seated under the roof, so we had dry seats for the program. I have always loved SCC! He is so incredibly talented and did not disappoint at CP, either! It was nice to see him perform after what has happened to him and his family. He is truly an inspiration!


ETA - If you want to see my pictures from the CR, check out the bottom of this page... http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2140296&page=182. I have moved my reading of the CR thread to the reading of the BC/YC thread. We got an awesome BB for YC for next year, 11 night smack dab between Jersey week and Thanksgiving!

[bumbershoot]

Joining in! Sherry does a really good job of talking up your report. :)

[DL55]

What a shame you didn't get to see more of the park. We like it but we always love zoos and animals anyway. :) It was a good thing that your house was large. It would have been worse bunched up in a hotel room. :eek:

[Sherry E]

Well, the pages seem to be moving a little bit faster today, but they still either scroll too slowly or they creep along and then they suddenly scroll too fast and skip past where I want to stop!!

Anyway, the Country Bears were not that exciting of a show. I can remember the show well, and I was never thrilled with it as a whole, but it was a great place to go and rest for a while on a hot summer day (this was back when my friends and I went to DL in the heat of summer and I would get very, very bad sunburns - now we do not go in summer anymore!), as well as sort of always being there during my childhood. So I bet if it were still in DL, I probably would not go in and watch the show most of the time - I would take it for granted, as I did in the past - but I would like the idea of it being there IF I wanted to see it!

I told Bumbershoot/Molly that I probably would have ended up doing the same thing at WDW that you did - telling someone in my group that I would meet them at a location I was familiar with from DL, only to discover that it did not exist in WDW!!!:rotfl2: I can see myself doing that in a frenzied moment. The real anxiety would come from not having the cell phone on me to make contact with the people I was meeting! Was there any place on Main Street in MK that even sort of resembled the Market House from DL? Worst case scenario - I suppose I probably would have just gone and stood near anything that could even pass for the Market House and hope that my group had the same idea!! Either that or just mosey on back to the car and leave a note or wait for someone to eventually arrive!!

That is such a shame that it rained buckets on your one and only Animal Kingdom day!! See, that would have really bummed me out because Animal Kingdom is one of the main reasons I want to go to WDW! They have their own special style of Christmas decorations and a unique Christmas tree (I saw a photo), and I would have wanted to study all of that and look in shops and things. Plus - the Safari! I would have not rested until I saw that! But I HATE being at DLR in the rain, so I am sure I would have hated being at WDW in the rain too. I am not one of those who can throw on a poncho and enjoy my day. I like taking pictures too much, and it can be so difficult to take photos when it is raining and not get the camera wet. Plus, I carry a big bag with me and it is a pain to dig things out of it when it is pouring. I hate it. Lots of other folks love DLR in the rain, but I can't hack it. I would have been so mad if rain ruined my only day in AK (or in Epcot).

It seems like I was going to comment on something else you said, but that may have been over in my TR. I will go over there and re-read your post and see if that is what I was going to comment on!

[Canyon girl]

Sherry,

The only problem with not being able to deal with the rain is that it rains SO MUCH in FL. It's not like SoCal where it rarely rains. Even in the "not rainy" months in FL, the rainfall is still a couple of inches per month. You really have to go with the determination that you aren't going to give up your vacation when it rains. In the summer, it rains every day like clockwork. You pray for that rain because it is so hot. Then, after the rain, it feels even more like a sauna. This is why I don't go to FL in the summertime. Since we homeschool, we can choose our time. I really feel bad for those that have to travel around school schedules. I know that, supposedly, a bad day at WDW is better than a good day anywhere else, but I can't stand the summer heat and humidity. While the rain chances are less in the winter months, the weather is so unpredictable that you can't count it out. We went with a plan to get a rental car and go to the beach on the Saturday that we were there, but we canceled the rental car and toured AKL instead. I'm glad that Marie had the house to go back to. I feel bad that things ended up the way that they did. It was a shame to miss out on AK.

Since we were only there a week with plans to go back this year, we didn't even make the attempt to add in AK. That is on the agenda for this November. BTW, I bought my plane tickets this weekend, so I guess this November's trip is definitely on! I just have to find a new raincoat for DS. He is outgrowing his.

BTW, Sherry, if you do go to WDW, go bagless. We used the travel vests. The best lines anywhere were the "no bag" entry gates. It seemed that the bag check lines at Epcot were always SO LONG!!!

Naomi

[CanuckDuck]

Marie,
Looking forward to the rest of this TR!! Thought I'd jump in to let you know that I'm reading too. :surfweb:

Sherry, if you do go to WDW, go bagless. We used the travel vests. The best lines anywhere were the "no bag" entry gates. It seemed that the bag check lines at Epcot were always SO LONG!!!

Naomi

Wonderful advice (from my wonderful wife!) - we zipped into every park :thumbsup2 while everybody else got in those llloooonnnggg security lines :confused3

[travelmel]

I haven't had time to read yet (American Idol is calling me!) but I am so happy to be here! :banana:

[mariezp]

Good evening readers. I am glad to see some of you staying with me! Looks like I might get another installment in tonight if all goes well. First, I better make a few replies!

Canyon girl, my head is spinning with all those resort abbreviations. I thought I was going to have to go back to my WDW studying! I think I got it all figured out. :thumbsup2 Very nice pictures! You had a wonderful view! We had a lovely view out our backdoor but never saw even a sunset that beautiful.
You could be right about my back problems. I have had problems over the years with a bulging disc so I just assumed the extra activity might have triggered it. However, the Florida weather very well might have been the culprit. It certainly ran a gambit of changes while we were there.
Sounds like you have gotten some good use out of your rain coats! We would have been out of luck at the CP if it had rained. We did not get in line early enough to end up under the shelter. It was cold but thankfully no rain. After the show started I pretty much forgot all about being cold.... but I was still glad we had gloves and hoodies! I loved Steven Curtis Chapman as the speaker. We had seen Andy Garcia before but I really like SCC even better. Such a horrible and tragic accident their family went through. The good Lord is bound to have been the only thing to have gotten them through it.
I cannot imagine even wanting to do to WDW in the summer but so many sure seem to do it. Way too hot for me! We are like you and homeschool so fall is our season of choice. I know many do not have that option so I guess they just have to go when they can. Also, thankfully we had 2 weeks on our trip so I was able to rearrange and redo a few days. Unfortunately, that ended up taking away from our MK days which was our favorite park.
Congratulations on the November trip! I am hoping we hit DL then too.

Aaaaah! Sherry has done it again! She has brought another reader for me! None other than the famous Bumbershoot! Welcome!!! Yes, indeed our dear Sherry has a talent for shining a bright light on a little old trip report. I hope you enjoy and that I do not disappoint. I will be heading over shortly to see what plans you have in the making. If you think of anything a first time WDW tripper/DL lover might be able to help you with be sure to just drop me a line and I will be glad to help if I possibly can. First thing to keep in mind... THERE IS NO MARKET HOUSE ON MAIN STREET IN WDW! :thumbsup2

DL55, just so you don't feel too sorry for me I am going to throw a little spoiler out for you..... DD gets another try at AK! She loves animals, and, yes, zoos too so I just knew she would love AK so I couldn't lether go home without getting a second chance for a better day.
You are right. We probably would have drove each other batty if we had ended up spending so much time in a hotel room. As it turns out we had company over one night so the additional space came in super handy!

Hi Sherry!!! You must have felt your ears burning! Is there any chance that I just have so many darn pictures that you are scrolling before they all get loaded? I know I get in a hurry sometimes and have the same problem you describe but that is usually what my problem ends up being.
The CB are not the only attraction that are like that. There are several things at DL that I am perfectly happy doing only once per trip but would probably miss even more if it were gone. I guess they have to give up things sometimes in order to bring in the new. Would not be so bad if the new was always a huge improvement or at least as good. Unfortunately, a lot of us who lean to the nostalgic do not find the new stuff to be any good. (ie, the new Tiki Room experience at WDW :sick:) Guess you need to be a young wipper-snapper to appreciate a lot of the new age stuff!
If or should I say when you make it to WDW at least you will have a warning to not look for Market House! You will just have to come up with your own little boo-boo to rival my stupidity! Some of the buildings look pretty much the same but I figured my best shot to find them was where there was coffee or food. :laughing:
Like I mentioned above we will get another shot at AK. Even then we did not explore as much as I would have liked. Hopefully, when you go you can make it a long trip so you can see more than I did. AK was NOT fun in the rain! We have been to DL in the rain and enjoyed it but the rain did not even last very long. As soon as it stopped the skies were clear again. The weather seems to be much more reliable in California.

CanuckDuck, I am glad you spoke up to let me know you are here with us! Always encouraging to know folks are reading along.
It is good advice to go with as little baggage as you possibly can. I went to DL one year with just what I needed in my cargo pockets and my camera around my neck. It was wonderful. I really need to get back to that! My DD is the only reason I carry a bag now. She always comes up with something she needs me to carry..autograph book, extra camera, etc. I will be glad when I can count on her to tote her own stuff without whining.

Hi travelmel! It is nice to run into you again! I hope you enjoy..... as soon as you get your American Idol fix!

[mariezp]

Day 4, December 5, 2009
Woke up this morning and it was raining again. Not a nice gentle misty sort of rain but a continual steady rain. Not exactly the day I was hoping for but what can ya do? I decided I would try to go with the flow and just enjoy a quiet morning again. I knew the guys would never complain if I let them sleep late again. It was to be our first day at Epcot but I did not have any definitive plans until 3:35. Strange time for lunch I know but that was the available ADR time for Garden Grill as part of our Candlelight Processional Package. Anyway, I did some catching up on the computer, added to my trip notes, worked on another jigsaw puzzle and just rested.

We finally got moving and decided we were in need of a store to find DD a pair of shoes to wear that would keep her feet warmer and dry. I had read that this was NOT supposed to be the rainy season so the only shoes I had brought for her were crocs, with the holes in the toes. Again we put DH’s "evil I phone" to use and located a Walmart a short distance from the house. My guys seldom ever go shopping with me so looking back it was a pretty funny event to have them helping us pick out shoes. They picked out shoes left and right but nothing they found met with her approval. We finally found her a metallic magenta pair of boots that she just “had to have”. They ended up working out great cause she decided she could tuck in her pants that were too long and keep her feet dry at the same time. We finally made it out of the store and arrived at Epcot at about 2:00.

Thankfully, the sun had decided to shine briefly for the day. We decided it would be a good idea to locate the restaurant and stay close by since it was not long until out ADR. DD spotted the Living with the Land boat ride so we decided that it would probably take up just about the right amount of time. There was a pretty long line but it did move pretty fast so before long we were whisked away exploring things we never imagined we would find at WDW. DS opted to sit this one out cause he was just too cool. I think DH and I were a little concerned that it might not be something that held our interest very well either but I have to say that we were pleasantly surprised. There really were some interesting experimental projects they were working on. I thought it was neat that they actually use the food that they grow inside the restaurant. I must have been really entranced because I did not think to take a single picture.

When the ride was over we had just enough time to get over to the Garden Grill. They gave us a little light up pager so we took a seat near the entrance. While waiting we struck up another conversation, this time with another Texan, just down the road in Midland. We were there in time for the first seating of the day so we ended up only waiting about 5 minutes. The food was fair. The fish was dry and the sides were okay. We did really like the rolls and the salad but the blueberry buckle was the very best part of the meal. Our waitress was very attentive and took good care of us. She also made a point to cut up with the kids which always makes for a lot of fun. She teased my son because he ate all the fish and had to bring seconds. She told him the second batch was NOT for him.
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We found a hidden Mickey!
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The restaurant itself was pretty cool. It had just about made a full revolution by the time we finished our meal. We saw Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale. They made it around multiple times but we were so hungry we didn’t actually end up taking full advantage of them. They were very cute with Emma and put on a good show in front of the camera and video camera.
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At one point our waitress was cleaning our table before bringing dessert. She headed off with a big stack of plates down her arm. When she was well past the next table DH quietly said “Listen, she’s going to drop them.” When she came back with the dessert she said “For the record, I did not drop anything.” He was pretty embarrassed. The rest of us cracked up that he had been heard. We asked her how in the world she heard him and she told us listening was her job.

When we finished up we decided to start making our way towards the back of the park. We started strolling towards Germany since my son has a fairly newly interest in German culture. BTW, I am quite proud of him. He is currently teaching himself to speak German. Anyway, the weather was cooling off so we ducked in a door and explored a little Viking building. After the brief detour we continued on our way. We made our way through the crowd til we finally found Germany. DH grabbed a German beer for our son to try. I am not much of a drinker but I also had a small sip. We all agreed that German beer tasted no better to us than American beer. We ended up throwing most of it away and grabbed a cappuccino instead.

It was almost time for the Candlelight Processional to begin so we decided we had better all make a pit stop. We asked a CM standing out front of the American Gardens Theatre where we could find the restrooms. She started out by pointing and saying “Well, you go down there by the bushes…..” We all cracked up thinking we were going to have to go behind the bushes. She was a good sport and laughed right along with us. We recovered from our outburst and made our way down by the bushes to some strange portable restrooms. They did end up being nice enough on the inside but they did seem very out of place in a Disney park. I am assuming they were just in place for the CP.

With that important mission taken care of, we headed over to take our place in the long line waiting to get into the theatre. The line moved pretty quickly and we were soon allowed in to find ourselves a place among the crowd. Nothing down close so we settled on a 4 person bench situated towards the back. It was cold. Thankfully, DD and I had gloves and three of us had hoodies. I have no idea how DH kept his ears from freezing. I guess he is just tougher than the rest of us.
DD not too impressed with waiting in the cold.
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Guys being silly while waiting for the show to start. They look like they are up to something, don't they?
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We have been to one other Candlelight several years ago on our trip to DL in 2007. We had front row seats and our guest speaker was Andy Garcia. I’ve got to say that I really enjoyed sitting farther back so I could take in the whole show. And, while Andy Garcia gave an excellent reading I REALLY enjoyed Steven Curtis Chapman’s presentation so much more. He was so humble and so down to earth. The fact that he is a very outspoken Christian may have also made a difference in my opinion. For me, it made so much difference to know that he totally believed in the story he was telling. I got such a kick out of watching him while he was not speaking and the choir would sing. He would sing but at the same time turn around and look at everything. He seemed to be really enjoying himself.
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At the end of the performance he addressed the crowd with a little reference to Crush from Turtle Talk. Then in regards to the show he said “Back in Kentucky we have a saying, If that don’t light your fire your wood’s wet.” Loved it! My very favorite part of the show was when they began singing "Silent Night" and the audience joined in. I got goosebumps all over and this time it was not because I was cold. The entire performance was fabulous. It was a wonderful start to our holiday season.

This is the one lone shot I took with my camera. The rest are from our video camera. I loved the way they kept changing the colors on stage.
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[mariezp]

Continued.......

We slowly made our way out of the crowd and began our long walk back towards the front of the park. We love Soarin so we decided even if it was the only thing we did the rest of the night we would be satisfied. It was a good thing we did not have high expectations of getting much else done. The wait was 40 minutes. Thankfully, the games in line proved to be entertaining for the kids. DH and I were kept in conversation with a Christian man who was there to attend the late showing of the CP. He had previously been a Navy Seal and kept us busy with tales of the good old days. Oops! DH forgot to turn the camera off.
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Afterwards we were all ready to go home. We picked up Taco Bell for supper and turned in for the night. Great! As we were heading to bed, DD informed me that she had a sore throat.

[Pikester]

Sure, you stand me up at Epcot and then don't even mention me in your TR! :snooty:

:laughing:Sounds like your day turned out better then it started. I really hope that the weather got better for you. I didn't pay much attention to what the weather was doing there once we got back home.

[MadilynnsMomma]

Hey Marie - found your TR, better late than never! I am hoping to get mine rolling this weekend!

[mariezp]

Pikester, you know how it is... once a bum, always a bum! Seriously, I felt really bad to not meet up with you. I hope you can see from my day that we just did not have much wiggle room anywhere. I did call and leave you a voice mail later in the day, after CP, but I bet ya'll had already left by then. I guess you could have stood in line with us for 40 minutes waiting for Soarin.That was about the only time we had not doing anything! Of course, the fact that we did not get to the park until 2:00 did not help.
Also, honestly, at this point I was secretly feeling a little gloomy. I was so annoyed that our days were not going as well as I had hoped that I probably would not have been very good company anyway. Eventually I just had to say oh what the heck and forget about a lot of what I had in my mind. I had to toss aside lots of the notes I had taken and just concentrate on keeping the family happy even though I was disappointed.
The weather remained hit and miss throughout our trip. One day it would be rainy, the next might be cold and by the time we left it was downright hot. We managed okay but I gotta tell you that we have never had a vacation with this much mix of weather. I had to go to the door every morning to check the temperature to know what sort of clothes we needed to dress in for the day. Thankfully, I had packed quite an assortment.

Hi MadilynnsMomma! Glad you found me! Hope you had a good trip. I'll have to go check out your report when you get it going.

[CanuckDuck]

I REALLY enjoyed Steven Curtis Chapman’s presentation so much more. He was so humble and so down to earth. The fact that he is a very outspoken Christian may have also made a difference in my opinion. For me, it made so much difference to know that he totally believed in the story he was telling. I got such a kick out of watching him while he was not speaking and the choir would sing. He would sing but at the same time turn around and look at everything. He seemed to be really enjoying himself.


At the end of the performance he addressed the crowd with a little reference to Crush from Turtle Talk. Then in regards to the show he said “Back in Kentucky we have a saying, If that don’t light your fire your wood’s wet.” Loved it!

I couldn't agree more Marie!! The CP was a wonderful highlight to our trip too. It's hard to imagine anyone doing better than SCC, and he seemed to be enjoying it just as much as the rest of us (maybe more)!

[mariezp]

Day 5, December 6, 2009

This ended up being one of those not exactly what I planned for days. In my original plans we were heading to MK for our first day. When the day got here we actually ended up heading to Dade City.

First, I’m guess I am going to take you back a little into my trip planning history. As some of you may already know I have taken several trips to Disneyland. It’s become the destination for my family’s annual fall vacation. Every year I start planning for the next one almost immediately when we return home. Well, this year’s plan was not anything I would probably have ever come up with on my own. However, my son never ceases to amaze me with the ideas he can come up with. One day up out of the blue he suggested to me “Why don’t we go to Disneyworld this year?” Of course, there was an ulterior motive. He has some friends he has known online for years who just happen to live in Dade City, Florida, which just so happens to be about a 45 minute drive from WDW. I guess I have always had the thought in the back of my mind that we should see how WDW compared so it didn’t seem like too crazy an idea to me. We presented it to dear Dad who wasn’t quite as thrilled about the idea but agreed to give it a try.

From there I went into a fact gathering frenzy that lasted the better part of a year. When it came time to think about tickets I realized that 10 day tickets were the most number of days you could buy without moving up to APs which were definitely not going to be cost effective for our one trip. We would have 14 days total but I decided 10 parks days could work okay. We could definitely make do and see other sites in the area on the extra days. Generally, I am in charge of all the planning and no one in the family has any idea of what we are doing. Under the circumstances of how the trip came to be to begin with, my son began to show a much greater interest in this trip. I clearly remember one day he asked for some of the details. As I started rattling off some of my plans he said “You mean we are going to be there 14 days and only in the park for 10?!” I had just imagined that I was the only one that preferred to spend all my waking moments in the park. Well, with another family member expressing such a desire to be there every day I decided to purchase additional tickets for the additional days. Actually, I ended up getting additional 2 day tickets. Three day tickets were quite a jump in price. I knew that having a few days off on the weekend would work fine for a break from the crowds… and I already had a few things I really wanted to see. So 12 days in the park was the plan.

Now…. fast forward to today. Today, in my plan, was supposed to be our second Magic Kingdom day. After actually making it to Florida my son was really, really excited and anticipating meeting up with his friends AND their family. Since several family members had to work during the week we had made plans to get together with them on our second weekend. We had the CP already scheduled for our first weekend and I thought it would be better to be able to spend 2 days with the family so that is why we were going to wait until the second week. DS just couldn’t wait so he requested that we get together with them TODAY. So that is what we did.

Long about noon we hopped in the car and took a little drive to Dade City. Of course, wouldn’t you know it, the day we give up for the parks turned out to be beautiful, bright, sunny and no rain. When we arrived, there was homemade pizza in the kitchen just waiting for us. It was a great day. Of course, DS was having a blast with the 2 brothers that are his friends. It didn’t hurt any at all that they also have a beautiful teenage sister. They also had another daughter that was just a couple years older than our DD. They hit it off great. And, even DH and I apparently had found new friends. They were a wonderful family and we had so much in common. The real kicker is that their father loves Texas and is hoping to move here. DS has been talking up Texas to him and had even went all out to make a PowerPoint presentation which he presented to him singing the praises of Texas. It was quite impressive! We left a copy with him when it was time to leave.

We spent most of the day getting to know our new friends while the kids were off doing their thing. And, of course, we discussed plans for the next weekend. I am not sure how long they have lived in Florida but with the exception of the oldest son none of them had ever been to WDW. We knew they were in for a treat. I knew we would do our very best to help make the most of their first time visit.

So, although it was not a big day in one of the parks, it was a good one devoted to visiting friends who were really the only reason we had ended up in Florida. We made our way back to the house and got ready for the next day back at one of the parks.



Just in case you are wondering.... since this was such a short day I am currently working on the next day and have high hope of finishing it up... with pictures and everything.... soon!

[mariezp]

Day 6, December 7, 2009

Today was set aside to be our Hollywood Studios Day. We arrived at the park at 11:30. When I saw that it was going to be another day of getting started late I called and changed our ADR to the Prime Time Cafe from 12:15 to 2:45 so we would have time to do something else before heading straight to the restaurant. I knew it was a good idea to head straight to TSM so we headed there first.
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Of course, there was a long wait at TSM we decided to grab a fastpass. Apparently, the early birds get the FPs because they were already gone for the day. As we stood in front of the machines pondering whether to get in line for a long wait a woman approached us and gave us 3 fastpasses that were good after 5:15. Problem solved we moved along to see what else we could do.

The Great Movie Ride was right around the corner so we headed there first. Unique ride but I don’t think it made anyone’s favorite ride list. We were only planning to spend one day in the park so we decided at this point to split up with our ride buddies. DD had spotted Voyage of the Little Mermaid so we went to that part of the park while the guys set off to points unknown. When we arrived the wait was pretty long until the next show so we zipped into the Beauty and the Beast show which was just beginning. Loved the Chip character and beast was sure handsome! Good show and as you all probably know they lived happily ever after.
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When the show was over we headed back to VOLM. We both really liked this one even better and probably would have watched it again if we had had more time in our day.

DD loves to draw so we went to the Animation Academy. While we were standing in a CM asked us if we had been to the show before and what we had drawn. I told him we had been on several occasions and we had drawn Minnie, Mickey and Pluto. He disappeared for several minutes. When he came back he said he had talked to the artist and asked him not to do any of those. The artist agreed and said that he would draw something else so we would be getting a new character, Louis, from the new Frog Princess movie. As always, we had a great time watching the artist’s amazing talent and we enjoyed making a feeble attempt at drawing ourselves. (Sorry about the crummy pictures. I was being a good girl and turned my flash off.)
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Next, it was time for lunch at the PTC. We met the guys and after a short wait in the living room we were seated. Our waitress was Aunt Lorraine. We tried to be very good so she would not have to punish us. We saw a couple kids who helped carry their dishes to the kitchen but aside from that we did not see any more of the silliness I had read about. Their chicken was very good and more than I could eat. Lucky for me I have 2 men with me who have hearty appetites so my extra chicken did not go to waste. I left just enough room for dessert. I was glad I did because the sugar free cheesecake was delicious.
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I wanted to make sure we had enough time to do the Backlot Studio Tour so we did that next. I was very glad we were not picked from the audience to participate in the boat scene. If their rain gear did not work well those poor women got drenched!
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[mariezp]

Continued......

We really enjoyed the tram part of the tour.
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From there we stopped in and watched the Indy Stunt Show. I must have been very entertained because I ended up taking a whole 2 pictures... both nice and fuzzy.
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When we were done I am not sure what got into me but I agreed to ride RRC while DH took DD to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play area. NEVER AGAIN! I liked the intro where Aerosmith is talking to you and you get to listen to some of their music but after that….. NEVER AGAIN! They could have at least played one of their songs I knew to help me be distracted but Noooooo. The only things I had to concentrate on was whether or not I was going to be sick or come out alive! I spent the entire time hands, and teeth clenched, hoping it was ending soon. Yep, no doubt about it! I am a roller coaster weenie! When we got off my son thought it was great. All I thought was how much I was glad I was off of it. For me, there was absolutely nothing fun about it…. Well, maybe the fact that DS got such a kick out of taunting me and seeing me in my nauseated induced shade of green.

DH must have though I deserved a reward after that so he agreed that he would sit out TSM while the 3 of us used the FPs we were kindly given earlier. As always we had a blast. Love this ride. I just wish the line wasn’t always so long. I got the higher score!
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It was getting cooler outside and threatening to rain so I think everyone else just wanted to go home but I was determined to see the Osborne Lights before leaving the park so I drug them in that direction with the promise of leaving after the brief detour. It was very pretty but also very crowded so we did not stay long.
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When we left the park we had our first ordeal in the parking lot of losing the car. I had a pretty good idea of where it was but I wasn’t sure enough of myself to really take charge. Ya see, my DH is usually very good about knowing where he is at. I am not sure what happened in Florida because he stayed directionally challenged the entire 2 weeks. After 10 or so minutes wandering around I finally took charge and led us straight to the car and we headed home.

Here is where I have got to make mention of the best ever tip I found during all my reading and researching. CAR WINDOW FLAG! When you actually had an idea of where you car was this little baby was a real time saver when it came to finding your car in the parking lot. We could see Smiley, as he was dubbed, from way off. It became a fun part of our parking lot venture each day. It turned into a game to see who could find the flag and then make it to the car first. After we were almost stranded overnight in the parking lot DH made sure to find an evil I-phone application for locating your car in a parking lot. Still, the flag led us to the car faster every time!
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[DL55]

Sounds like you had a fun day even if you rode RRC. I always wonder if I'm going to survive take off. After that it's fun. I've never drawn any of the characters, DH isn't interested so I don't make him wait for me. I think those drawings are great. I recognize them as alligators. :)

[MadilynnsMomma]

We did HS the night before you and Osborne was CROWDED!!!

[ladybugmom]

What a fun day!! I love the B&B show!! And the Animation Studio is on our list of things to-do on our trip in May!! How neat that you got to draw Louis from Princess and the Frog!! The Osborne lights look AMAZING!!! Beautiful!! :lovestruc

[JOCAmom]

Marie!!!!!!!!! I found you. I finally got a chance to read everything.

I'm sorry things didn't seem to go as you planned. As a planner, I know how disappointing that can be.

We got to see the Osbourne Lights for the first time in 09 and I thought they were truly breathtaking even with all the crowds.

I am loving all your pictures. I can't wait to read more.

And don't forget, I've got that DL trip in mind within the next few years so I'll be bugging you for more advice.

[mariezp]

DL55, it's good to know that I am not the only one who thought I was going to die when RRC took off. At least you enjoy it after that.
I am very glad you can tell what our drawings were! You really need to drag your DH into the Animation Academy! You never know. He might enjoy it more than he imagines. DD and I always make it a point to visit. It is fun to see how you can turn simple lines into a character with a little guidance. Besides, it is a nice place to rest your tired tootsies.

MadilynnsMomma, HS seemed pretty crowded all over when we were there. I guess there are lots of people who pay attention to "least crowded day" charts. Won't be long before everyday is crowded!

ladybugmom, glad you dropped in and let me know you were here! I loved all the shows. They do not have nearly as many at DL.
Louis was fun to draw. Now we just need to get around to watching the movie so we will know something about him!
The Osborne lights were beautiful. Disney absolutely knows how to put on a good show for the holidays. Their decorations are all always fabulous!

JOCAmom, yeah! another of my TKer buddies has arrived!
I love making all our plans but you are right.... sometimes a glitch in the plan can really be disappointing, especially after you have put in so much effort. I think I will go for less planning next time.
Glad you like the photos.We do tend to get carried away. Still, I did not take nearly as many pictures as I have in the past. I guess I was too busy discovering all the new stuff.
Bring it on baby! I am so here for you if you need more DL advice! It's one of my favorite subjects so don't ever think you will be bugging me.

[mariezp]

Day 7, December 8, 2009

There is still rain in the forecast for all the rest of the week but….. today we finally have a beautiful day! AND we are heading to our favorite park, Magic Kingdom. We stopped to grab a coffee at the booth at the TCC. The CM gave back an extra $10 in change. DH told him he had made a mistake and gave the money back. The CM thanked him for his honesty. It just made me wonder how many mistakes are made by employees who do not know how to make change properly. As you may recall, he was not the only one we ran into with this problem on our trip. So folks, be sure to count your change!

DD had decided to bring Pal Mickey with her today. She kept us entertained with his corny jokes on the ferry ride. She loves carrying one of her stuffed animals to the parks with her everyday but this is the first time she had one that talked to her. He was a little hard to hear sometimes because the crowds are just so noisy but I do think she enjoyed him. I think she took him a second day too but his batteries must have started getting weak. All he would do was vibrate. That wasn’t much fun so he stayed home the rest of our trip.

Anyway, continuing on, as we passed through the turnstiles we were given “high fours” from the CMs wearing their Mickey gloves. We made it into the park about noon. It looked like it was going to be a pretty crowded day. DD was ready to split up from the guys upon arrival so the girls could do what SHE wanted and the guys could do their thing. We agreed to meet back up at 2:30 for lunch and went our separate ways. Our first stop was at City Hall to pick up our “First Time at WDW” buttons. Then we were off to Fantasyland.
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I must say WDW’s Fantasyland is certainly a lot bigger than at DL. However, I felt it lost some of it’s charm. With the brightly painted buildings it looked more cartoonish or carnival like. We rode the carousel 2 times because once never seems to be enough.
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Then we headed for Mickey’s Philharmagic. DD was a bit nervous about it being a 3D show. She hasn’t yet come to realize that as she gets older some things will not be quite as scary as when you are younger. She made it through just fine. I loved it! It is the first thing I have thought would be a really great addition to DL. We are still making quotes from the show.

We grabbed a FP for Peter Pan and headed to stand in line for Dumbo. I see some things are the same at both parks….. always a line for Dumbo here too. Oh well, we never think of it as anything other than something you gotta do if you want to ride the ride. We talk, people watch and take pictures and before you know it you are on the ride. While we were waiting my DD pointed out that Dumbo did not have any water underneath him here.

Next we headed to Small World.
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By the time we got off it was time to meet the guys for lunch so we made our way over to Cosmic Ray’s. Not our best meal. The food was expensive and bland. We also were not too impressed with Ray. He was loud and ugly.

[mariezp]

Continued.....

After lunch, we sent the guys on their way and we decided to ride the Speedway since it was right across the walkway. Dang, those pedals are hard to push! Mickey Helped drive.
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We took a ride on the Transit Authority.
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Next, The Carousel of Progress. DD took these photos.
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Next we went to the Laugh Factory. While waiting in line we had a conversation with a CM. He asked me which park I liked better and I told him DL. He said he heard that a lot. DD and I both thought the show was funny. This was the 2nd thing we wouldn’t mind seeing come to DL someday.
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Afterwards we rode Buzz. I always do terrible on this game. I have a huge list of cheats but always forget to read it before we go so never get around to improving my score. Of course, I have a new excuse this time. The guns were a little tricky…. Not really so bad once you figured them out… but still a little hard to aim at the lower targets. It also did not help that DD did not like me turning the car. I came out with 167,000. Can’t believe they don’t let you e-mail your photo home. They actually expect you to pay for it! The horror!
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I grabbed a strawberry banana smoothie because it sounded so good but it just ended up being over priced and not very good. On we went to the Teacups. I suppose the cover is very nice when it rains but I did not think it looked very pretty.
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I missed Alice's ride not being nearby. They did use some of her leaves and include her in the topiaries.
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Next was Pooh. I am a Pooh fan so I always love this ride. The WDW version did seem a little longer maybe.
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It was time to put our FPs to use so we headed to Peter Pan. Some of the scenes were different but I don’t know that they made the ride any better than the DL version. It would be really nice if DL have a FP system since the lines are always so long.

I thought by now that the boys were probably getting tired but DD still wanted to ride Pirates so I called to see if they wanted to meet us. My son was finally on Space Mountain. It had been down most of the day. My husband said they would head our way when he got off. For some reason when they started making their way towards us my hubby lost his sense of direction again and headed to Fantasyland instead of Adventureland so we had a long wait. So we sat at the entrance to Pirates and rested our feet while listening to Pal Mickey tell us Pirate jokes. They finally made it and we sailed off among a bunch of scurvy pirates. After that we took another boat ride on Jungle Cruise. We had another excellent skipper.

We decided to call it a day. On the way out of the park we stopped in at the candy store and spent way too much on fudge, turtles and chocolate covered cherries. We found the car tonight without incident, thanks to Smiley. When we got in the car my phone rang. It was Santa calling to talk to DD. He talked to her the entire ride home, right until we pulled into the driveway. Pretty cool that he knew how to find us in Florida!

[mariezp]

Day 8, December 9, 2009

We should certainly be getting well rested on our trip. Each day we seem to keep slipping into the park later and later. Today we finally started our journey to Magic Kingdom at 1:00. No big deal because my main goal for the day was to watch the Spectromagic parade in the evening.

In our original plans we thought one of DS’s friends would be coming with us so I had purchased an additional 10 day ticket prior to our trip. The friend didn’t end up coming so we now had a spare ticket. We knew that the family whose house we had been to last Saturday would be coming with us on the upcoming Sunday so we decided to stop at the TCC to see if we could possibly trade the 10 day ticket in to apply towards 6 one day tickets. I knew my chances were iffy from asking around here on the board and having called guest services but I still figured I had nothing to lose. The first lady I tried just said flat out “No. You can’t do that.” Not satisfied with her answer I thought I would try just one more time so I picked another window. This time, after going through my long story, the man's response was that he did not see why there would be any problem but that he could not do it at the ticket office. He told me to go to one of the guest relations booths right outside the park entrance.

We arrived at the building and I stepped up to Steve from Indianapolis’s window where I explained my situation. He was all business, didn’t have much to say but after a few questions he promptly credited me for the 10 day ticket and handed me a new set of 6 tickets. Yippee! So it looks like it never hurts to ask more than once. I do know that Disney is generally very accommodating in their commitment to keep their customer happy and this time turned out to be no exception.

In the meantime, at another window, DH was trying to resolve a problem we had all been having with our FPs. Steve from Indianapolis had immediately issued me a reprinted ticket that solved my problem. However, DH had gotten a hold of Debbie from Indianapolis and she was not making it easy on him. She was one of those sticklers for rules and she was just not one of those out to share any Disney magic. I don’t think she had any in her personality. She gave him the third degree and scrutinized his tickets for about 15 minutes before finally reprinting his tickets. He was not happy by the time he was through. Guess he should have stayed in line with me.

Once inside the gates, we hopped on the train bound for Frontierland for lunch at LTT. The food was good but again expensive. When we were through we rode HM together. Then DS and I rode Splash. DD and I decided it was time to check out Toontown so we took the train around to that station. While I was on the train I received a phone call from M&N, one of our fellow Disboard members. I could barely hear her because of the noise from the train so I told her I would call her back shortly. I called her when we got off the train but ended up having to leave a message. In the meantime, DD and I went to Mickey’s house and then wandered through Toontown.
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M&N called back. We both just happened to be heading to Fantasyland so we made plans to meet her at Dumbo. We got a hug, met her mother and friends, chatted a bit and took a photo. Learned something from that photo…. Never take a full length shot with a wide angle lens. GASP! Thank heavens my photo editor has a crop button!
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DD enjoyed visiting with her too and got a sweet surprise. M&N gave her a Mickey pin. Would have liked to visited longer but we didn’t want to keep her companions waiting on her too long. Since we were already close we parted ways and got in line for Dumbo.

[mariezp]

Continued....

We had a parade to go watch so we grabbed a drink and headed towards the Spectro route in front of the Hall of Presidents. We were 45 minutes early and it was already crowded. We found a spot on the side of one of the planters, called the guys so they could meet us and settled in to wait for the parade. The spot we chose was right next to a group who had a large spot reserved for the rest of their group. After we had been sitting for at least 20 minutes another family showed up. They started to sit on the ground and one of the ladies from the large group, who looked very familiar, politely told them it was being saved. They moved over towards where we were sitting and again the lady said it was reserved too. Instead of moving along the family sat right down on top of the jackets and stuff that was scattered to hold the spots. They were obviously foreigners because they started speaking among themselves in a foreign language with apparent contempt that anyone would think to say they could not sit there. They apparently thought they deserved to sit down more than anyone who had been staking it out for an hour or more. I felt so sorry for the poor woman who had tried to direct them elsewhere. She was in total shock and frankly so was I. It was quite uncomfortable for awhile. When the rest of the large group arrived they had to squeeze in. I have to admit that I really hoped they would end up standing in the other families view. As it turned out the squatter family really did not end up having a viewing spot that was worth their being so rude. We did end up enjoying the lights of the parade. There were quite a few characters that I did not recognize or realize how they related to Disney. I have not gotten use to my new camera so my picture taking is sorely lacking.
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[mariezp]

Continued...

When the parade was over rather than fight the crowd we ducked into the Hall of Presidents.
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I had intended to possibly watch the fireworks but we ended up staying inside too long. When we got out the fireworks were over so all we had left to do was work our way out of the park through the hoards of people. We exited the park among a herd of cheerleaders who kept erupting sporadically with Spanish cheers. When we finally made it out the turnstiles, DH failed to mention that he would rather ride the monorail until we were already stuck in the mass working their way to the ferry. It was too late to change our direction. We ended up making it on the first ferry so I doubt the monorail would have been any faster but I do agree that riding back to the TCC crammed in like sardines is really way less than magical.

[DL55]

I'm glad to see someone else ride the teacups. I love the teacups and being dizzy. :goodvibes It was nice to see you got to meet M&N. I chuckled over your starting hour (1 pm). That's usually when we take our break for the day. I always enjoy the parade pictures. We seldom watch as we don't want to stake out a place an hour before.

[travelmel]

I love hearing your take on the differences between DL and WDW. Great pictures, as usual!

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

Hi Marie!!! I finally made it and read up on everything!! Looks great so far!!! I am having trouble seeing your pix, though?

Waiting for more!!!!

[mariezp]

It's about time I got back around to work on my report some more and respond to some of the folks who have been gracious enough to follow along with me while I relive our trip.

DL55, we always have to ride the teacups! It's not because it is really that much of a fantastic ride but I always have to ham it up and make my daughter laugh. Can't help it. Being a clown runs in my family!
I know, it is ridiculous how late we kept making it to the parks everyday BUT considering how uncooperative the darn weather was being and the fact that my guys love to sleep late I finally just decided to go with the flow instead of fretting about what time we actually got to the park. It was my DH's vacation too after all so he might as well have some part he really enjoyed too.
When we go to DL it is a totally different story! First off, we gain an hour on our time zone clock so it is much easier to get up early. Also, we stay right across the street so DD and I often get up in time for park opening.... I know, hard to imagine... and leave the boys in the room while we get an early start in the park.
I am not a big parade watcher either. We usually stop if we happen to be passing by in the middle of one but seldom ever stake out a spot. However, the Disneyland Electrical Parade is our all time favorite so I was hoping Spectro would be similar, otherwise, we probably would have been off doing something else.

Hi travelmel! Glad to see you again! I was seriously hoping someone might enjoy my comparisons. On the other hand, I am probably boring some others right out of their minds with so many comparisons.... but it was how things looked from my perspective on our trip. Gotta say having been to both it is extremely hard to not look at everything with a skewed view.

LOVEMY3KIDDOS, hmmm, not sure why you are having trouble.... maybe because I put in too many pics? Sometimes it may just take a long time to load them all. At least I hope that is the case. Anyone else having any trouble?
I have been keeping up on your report. Can't wait for a new installment. Some lovely weather we had, huh?

[mariezp]

Day 9, December 10, 2009

Another dreary day outside. We left the house today at 12:30 so we were able to make my goal of getting to Epcot by 1:30 for our lunch at Teppan Edo. I kept changing my mind back and forth on whether we really should go here when I was planning. I was glad we kept our reservation. When we checked in at the front desk I found that the sweet little Japanese ladies were very difficult to understand because of their accent but even more than that because they talk very quietly. We were promptly seated at a table with another family of 4 who ended up being very pleasant. Our chef’s name was Ken. He was very entertaining! Everyone loved it! He was fantastic and so funny. He showed us how he could make butter fly, flipped shrimp into his hat and made an onion volcano. DD had fun with her chopsticks. She even ate all her rice! The food was excellent, especially the shrimp. The guys shared the Sushi Sampler.
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DH gave a demonstration for the camera of just how hot their wasabi was.
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After lunch we ducked into the American Adventure show and hoped that the rain would let up while we were inside. We all thought it was a very good show.
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We made our way back over to Norway. While we were already in a movie watching mood we decided to stop in and see their show. We all came out shaking our heads and agreed that this movie was really lacking something. Hoping that there had to be something better to offer, we decided to see what the Maelstrom was like. It was interesting with the unusual turns but was much too short. The gift shop at the exit was too much for my DD to pass up. She had to pose with one of the Viking hats. She took her new role very seriously.
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I really wanted to see the candy lady so I bribed DD with a souvenir and we made our way back to Japan while the guys went in search of something more exciting. When we arrived we found a spot right In front of the cart. There was a lady setting up to entertain the crowd by telling the story behind the Japanese New Year, as well as how Karate had been invented. She did a good job of educating us and was very funny too.
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Before long Miyoko came out. She started out by making a monkey. Then she picked my DD who requested a pink Pegasus which came out also part unicorn. Miyoko had a very stong accent and spoke very quietly too. We could not understand a lot of what she had to say but we did hear her often say “shiny, shiny”, “nice, nice” and “I present to you”. It was amazing watching her mold those little balls of candy so we stayed and watched her finish her show. While we watched she made a seahorse, a brown horse, a swan and a panda.
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It was so cool when she snip, snip, snipped with her scissors and his mane suddenly appeared!
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Next we headed to the Mexico pavilion building. The restaurant inside looked very cool and somewhat similar to Blue Bayou since it was dark and along the edge of the water. However, I could not find anything on the menu that I thought my kids would like. Considering that and the fact that I have read so many not so good reviews we passed on dining there. It was interesting to see as we made our way to the line for the Grand Fiesta Tour. It was a fun little ride but I could not decide it I really liked the movies projected on the walls or not. I did like the spot where Donald appears in the little pond. And, it was fun trying to keep up with where Donald was going to pop up next. DD did seem to enjoy it.
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We had made plans to meet up with the guys at the Universe of Energy but after we arrived DD changed her mind while we were waiting in line. She was worried that it would be scary. It was getting colder so we all just decided we would rather finish anything else we had missed in Epcot on another one of our days so we headed home for the night.

[DL55]

The first pic of the candy Pegasus I thought WTH? looks more like a picasso. :rotfl2: 2nd picture looks fine, must have been the angle.
We've never eaten in the Mexico pavilion because I can eat Mexican at home much cheaper. ;) We are a bit fussy about Mexican food, must be spicy.

[ladybugmom]

Your pics of American Adventure came out beautifully!! And how cool that your DD was chosen by Miyoko!! How magical!! :wizard:

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

We were in Epcot that same day. I didn't remember it raining that day. I'm sure we were out the whole day. Guess we must have thoughed it out since it was our last full day.

[Canyon girl]

Looks like you had the same problem heading east that we did. Rope drops just did not happen; although, we knew that it would be rough. I do plan on changing the kids to FL time a few weeks before we go this year, though. It doesn't affect DH as much; since, he normally gets up around 3 am our time. It sure was nice to be more laid back. Other than our leaving day ADR of 8:05 am, our other early breakfast was 9:30. At least you probably went home somewhat rested. I am happy to report that I have FINALLY finished my photo book. I've been working on it on my Mac ever since I got my Photopass CD. I would never have gotten it done on Photopass! I just have to have DH proof it before I order it. Marie, did you get much from that ice storm that went through last week? I know it paralyzed the panhandle. I just wondered if anything got down to you.

[Gordon Bombay]

Really enjoyed reading the OP's trip report. In all the times I've been to Disney I still have yet to actually go into the Swiss Family tree house, really appreciate the pictures from there.

[QueenDoOver]

Hi Marie,
I'm still reading and enjoying. I honestly never knew there was so much to do at Epcot. I admire your williness to sleep in and go with the flow. Not sure I can be that kind.

[Sherry E]

I'm still here too, Marie!:cool1: I have been reading it all and looking at all the photos, but sometimes I have just enough time to read the installments but not enough time to comment (I am sure everyone here understands that dilemma). In fact, I have been neglectful of my own TR (and I have Photopass pics to post, but I have been lazy!)! So I keep trying to make mental notes to comment on certain things in your TR when I get time later, but by then you will probably be on day 250 in WDW or something and will have moved on from the day I am commenting on!!! :rotfl2:

Anyway, just wanted you to know I am still here (albeit silent most of the time) and thoroughly engrossed and enjoying your TR.:goodvibes By the way - Smiley was a great idea!!! I remember in the old, old days of the original DLR parking lot (which is no longer there now), we would have a heck of a time finding the car. Smiley could have helped!

And a big THUMBS UP ;);) (inside joke from my TR for those of you who don't know what I mean) on being able to do the good ol' ticket switcheroo and apply the 10-day ticket (it was 10 days, right) monetary value towards the other tickets for your friends!! That's a great feeling, isn't it? I was SO thrilled when I got to do that at DLR to get my AP in 2008, and again last year to get the 3 Hoppers, although it seemed like the CM almost didn't want me to do it (either she didn't know that they view the unused tickets "as money" or DLR is starting to get more strict in not allowing that sort of thing).

[MadilynnsMomma]

I'm here, hiding in the woodwork - life has gotten a bit crazy and I am just getting caught up! Super cool that DD got picked by Miyuki! :thumbsup2

[mariezp]

Anyone out there ready for another update? Let me make a few responses and I will see if I can get another installment posted for you!

DL55, DD's Pegasus did have a sort of Picaso Quality to it didn't it. My photography doesn't help at all. It looked much better in person and is pretty amazing how fast she whips a chunk of goo into a shape.
Do tell! I love Mexican food but have no idea how to cook it. I would love to hear some of your favorite recipes!

ladybugmom, thank you for the compliment on my American Adventure pictures. I even did real good at keeping my flash turned off!
My DD enjoyed Miyoko's show but probably not as much as I did. The things we make our kids do! :laughing:

LOVEMY3KIDDOS, we had so many days of less than perfect weather that I think I was actually thinking of the next day when I said it was drizzly in the evening. (went back and changed that to just cold!) I did take notes everyday otherwise I would not have been able to remember anything! I know it was at least dripping when we started out and watched the American Adventure but you may be right that it cleared up some the rest of the afternoon. I know it was still cool for sure.

Canyon girl, I think you are exactly right! It is much harder adjusting to the time zones when you go east than when we go to Disneyland. We never did make the adjustment!
I definitely enjoy the laid back approach so much more than having to hurry. We did probably end up missing a lot in the parks because we wasted a good portion of our day but I think if we had pushed much harder everyone would have just been that much more tired. My DH ALWAYS ends up with blisters on his feet so getting him to the park everyday is a miracle in itself! He swears next time he is going to go have some insoles specially made. Anyway, glad you got to try out the laid back approach too.
Congratulations on getting your photobook done! It is a major project just to sort through all the photos when you get home, isn't it?
Thankfully, we just missed the ice storm in my area. It was bitterly cold and windy but the moisture did not accumulate as bad as we were bracing ourselves for. Did it affect you any?

Gordon Bombay, thank you for reading along with me and taking the time to post. The Swiss Family Treehouse is pretty neat. It is A LOT of climbing! I would have liked to go through at a slower pace but my bunch is always in a hurry. There is lots to see and lots to photograph. I'd love to have one of those treehouses in my backyard!

QueenDoOver, thanks for sticking around! At least I have a few readers I am not boring to tears!
I don't think I even hit the tip of the iceberg on all we could have done at Epcot. One morning we were walking in and I had my "list". My DH said we must have done just about everything and I started reading off things we could still do. I think I stunned him because he had no idea of all the things that could be done. He had the camera rolling and I must say that I did indeed spout off a wealth of information!
Willingness? I am not sure I was really willing but it was a matter of preserving my sanity. I could have been the wife from you know where and demanded that we get up at the crack of dawn but that would have really resulted in a crappy vacation.. So even though I went along with everyone else my preference would have been to be in the park MUCH earlier everyday! Just wait til we go to Disneyland! I will be walking across the street at park opening while the rest of the bunch sleeps their day away!

Hi Sherry! Glad to see you posting around some of these trip reports.... both mine and yours! I know what you mean. I read and have to confess that I do not post all the time either. Some days I am just in the mood to write a long winded posted.... other days not so much. Plus sometimes life just has a tendency to interrupt. My kids have no understanding of me having a life outside of doing things for them!
Thank heavens I am not going to have to write up 250 days at WDW. Can you imagine how long that would take me!!!!?
Yeppers, I owe my ticket switcheroo knowledge all to you! Hopefully, I have just helped to pass the word along that Disney really does try to work with you... in most cases.

MadilynnsMomma, life does tend to get crazy like that. Guess so long as we all show back every now and then and remember where our priorities are, right? :lmao:

[mariezp]

Day 10, December 11, 2009

This gloomy weather really had apparently started getting to me. This morning when I woke for awhile I considered not even going to any park. DH quickly snapped me out of it when he went on a rant about how he only had 4 days left of HIS vacation. Anyway, we’ll not even get into that. Since DD’s big AK day had been a bust we decided to rework the plans a bit. I had originally scheduled Monday for The Hoop-De-Do-Review but decided to switch it to this evening (Friday) so we can get in a full day at AK on Monday. So far the weather looks best in the forecast on that day to make up what we missed. If I had kept HDDR on Monday we would have only had a half day as we were booked for the 5:00 show. Though I hated to stay out late tonight the 9:30 show was all that was available. DH said it would be fine so I went ahead and made the switch.

In the meantime we decided to head back to Epcot again to finish up a few things that we still wanted to see. We made it to the park today about noon and started towards the back of the park to find some lunch. Along the way we stopped off at Club Cool. I, of course, knew to be careful but the rest of the crew was unsuspecting. Mu-ha-ha! I watched their faces as they tried the Italian beverage. DS was first and then DH just had to try it too. Why in the world they would actually bottle something that tasted the bad is beyond me! We stood around for quite some time talking to a couple of CMs while watching other people’s reactions. They shared with us some of their stories and really made our visit quite memorable. After we had amused ourselves we set off for World Showcase.
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DS wanted to try some German food but I wanted to try the Fish and Chips so we headed in separate directions with plans to meet back up somewhere in between the two countries. Good grief the lines for food where horrible today! Certainly speaks volumes on just what an advantage there is to having ADRS! We waited probably a full 20 minutes or more for our meal.
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The guys were stuck in a long line of their own so we secured a table at the American Pavillion, which was no easy feat in itself. The guys showed up finally. They enjoyed their Bratwurst but I found the fish to be disappointing. Very bland.

Oh well, that was a good excuse to stop off and enjoy dessert so we made our way to the Norway Bakery to try some of the goodies I had heard so much about. We arrived to find yet another very long line. We weren’t doing a very good job of making up our minds so we tried decided to grab a Rice Dream, a couple School Breads and a couple Cream Horns to split among the 4 of us. All were good but the unanimous vote was that the School Bread was the best.

After wasting most of our day so far on food we decided we should probably get around to getting on a ride. DD suggested that we take the guys on the Grand Fiesta Tour since it was right there so that is what we did. For ride number two DD decided she really did want to do the Universe of Energy today so we headed there next. Of course, there was another line to wait in which turned out to be way worse than all the others but I did not have any idea at the time. Let’s just say for now…. keep your kids out of the bushes! Anyway, I thought the Universe of Energy was somewhat funny. However, the moment the show started with the “Big Bang Theory” it was destined to receive negative reviews from the rest of my family. If they had left off that part I think everyone would have thought it was a pretty neat ride.

Next we headed over to Nemo. We all liked it and thought it was very cute.
When we got outside we could not make up our minds where to go next . Since it was cold and drizzly we decided to head home and just rest before show time.
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We got home and DD was itching like crazy. Pulled off her shirt and she was covered in blotches. Evidently when we had been standing in line she had been touching the plants and one of them set off an allergic reaction in her. Thankfully after a while she cleared up. When we went to HDDR I had not figured out what it was yet so when she wore the same coat it set it off again. I was glad we had discovered what had caused the rash but I did feel bad for not figuring it out before she had to go through another round of itching. Needless to say, the coat went immediately into a hot washing machine. (never to be worn again because she refuses to put it back on)

Later in the evening we set out to embark upon, thankfully, our one and only experience with Disney’s resort transportation. We had a little confusion driving through the campground which resulted in a wrong turn but we eventually found the bus depot. When I got on the bus I asked the driver if we were in the right one that stopped at the HDDR. The rude jerk said in a VERY annoyed voice “Settlement last stop”. I asked what does that mean to which he replied “Settlement last stop”. Never having been to WDW before I had no idea what it meant. A simple yes or no would have been greatly appreciated. Needless to say, I was NOT impressed with out bus trip and was in a pretty fowl mood by the time we actually reached our stop.

Thankfully, we had been talking with a man and woman at the bus stop so we hoped by following them we were on the right track. We made it to the ticket booth with only 10 minutes to spare. We continued talking with the man from Massachusetts. DS found a guy to talk Jiu-Jitsu with so he was happy. With our tickets finally in hand we made our way inside to table 85. I don’t think they could have crammed in another single table. It was a very tight fit between tables but with a little rearranging we managed to all get squeezed into our seats. The show was very fun and the food was fantastic. It was so worth it just to hear my usually serious teenage son let out some good belly laughs. He said he laughed til his sides hurt. Six Bits and Clara, the girl with the crazy laugh, were our favorites. Sorry about the crummy pics. At least I did not use my flash!
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When the show was over we made our way back to the buses and crossed our fingers that we would find our car again. We lucked out and didn’t have any problem. We got back to the house and stumbled into bed early so that we could meet our guests, the N family, tomorrow morning with rested and smiling faces. Thankfully, they called to say that they wouldn’t be here until sometime between 11:00 and noon so we won’t have to get up too early.

[Pikester]

The Hoop is AWESOME! :thumbsup2

[DL55]

So sorry you got a jerk for a bus driver. :sad2: HDDR is so fun, glad you enjoyed it.
You got your guys to try the Beverly? :rotfl: Loved the faces.

[mariezp]

Day 11, December 12, 2009

Woke up this morning and started straightening up for our guests that would be coming today. I love the house we are staying in but I do miss maid service! Since they are staying overnight with us we did some rearranging in our sleeping arrangements so that they could have the upstairs for their family. (Another reason to love the house.) The 4 bedrooms took care of everyone except my son who volunteered to sleep on the couch.

The N family arrived right at noon. We showed them around the house and visited awhile.

My DD and her new BF.
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Before too long we set out to go eat at Bubba Gump’s. I had a slight idea of where it was located but I had no idea it would be inside the Universal City Walk area….nor did I have any idea how their parking was set up. We had plugged the address into DH’s "evil I phone" which took us straight to the valet parking area. We thought that was a bit much so we set out to find the regular parking. We had no idea that the alternative parking was in the giant Universal parking lot which actually cost $2 more and was a lot longer walk. When you head into the parking area it is one way and there is no way to escape other than driving through the booth. Apparently this happens a lot. The attendant just handed us a slip of paper and gave us directions on how to exit the parking lot. I cannot tell you how silly we felt with our friends following us all over the place…. lost and trying to find where the heck we were going. At one point Mr. N had gotten out from behind us and we were both going in circles trying to catch up with each other. Crazy but at least we had something funny to talk about when we finally did reach our destination. As you might have guessed, we did eventually end up back at the valet parking lot and then made our way to the restaurant.

Here's a photo of DS and his friends that are the main reason we made our trip to Florida.
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At 3ish in the afternoon the place was practically deserted. Our group of 10 was seated right away. The food was great and the service was good.
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Just like peas and carrots!
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The host at the front was kind enough to take a group photo for us when we left.
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For the second one he told us all to act silly. I really loved that. He should go to work at WDW. He would make a great addition to their Photopass crew.
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We made our way back to the car and proceeded to find a location on the "evil I phone" to go bowling. Only one problem. This time it let us down. We ended up in some ritzy apartment complex where there was obviously no bowling alley. We gave it one more chance. It led us to a tiny little bowling alley…. all of 12 lanes. We weren’t too sure about the neighborhood but went ahead and stayed for fear of where we would end up next. We were also quite wore out from our escapade and quite ready to take on the challengers. It didn’t hurt that I had a 50% off coupon from the Entertainment Book either. None of us were great bowlers. I was a bit off from my usual game since my back had been hurting and I was afraid to bend too much. We also had a group next to us who failed miserably in being polite enough to stay in their own area when it was our turn. Still we managed to have a good time. After a couple games we made our way back to our home away from home.

The teens settled in for some cards. My DD and her new BF headed for the pool. And, the adults headed for the lounge chairs on the deck. We sat around and chit chatted and made plans for the next day. Although they live in Florida they had never been to WDW as a family. It was going to be our pleasure to introduce them to the Magic Kingdom as well as enjoy their company for the day. The plan was to get up nice and early for their first big day. We'll see how that goes.... :rolleyes1

[mariezp]

Day 12, December 13, 2009

The next morning we all did manage to wake up by 9:00. However, we still didn’t actually end up making it to the Magic Kingdom until about 10:30.
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Of course, as I imagined they were all amazed and in awe on their first walk down Main Street. I had already informed them that our very first stop would be the castle for a photo to document our trip….. also, for a family picture for them on their first trip and us for our traditional annual pic in front of the castle. I will be so glad when my DD gets to the stage that she decides to keep her hair out of her face!
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With that done the next destination chosen was the Carousel of Progress. Odd choice possibly but it was good to give them a good look at the genius of Walt and his animatronics.

Next, the bravest of our bunch headed to Space Mountain.
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It was very tramatic... or should I say dramatic... for some.
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The rest of us whimps went on the People Mover which was followed by Buzz Lightyear. Fearing that we might spend our entire day in Tomorrowland I convinced them that we really needed to move along and tackle the big rides throughout the park in order to do the most we could in the time that we had. They were wise enough to see the wisdom I possessed so I led them to the Haunted Mansion.
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Afterwards we grabbed a meal at Columbia Harbor House. I don't think the town is big enough for both of them.
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Tummies full we were re-energized and ready to move on. We headed to Pirates. We got held up briefly by the parade but even that ended up being okay because their youngest DD seemed to enjoy it very much. After Pirates we went through the Swiss Family Tree House and then followed up with a Jungle Cruise.
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DD was still refusing to ride Splash so DH took her while I rode with the rest of the group.
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When we got off half of the group rode Big Thunder while the other half made our way to Small World. And, last was Mickey’s Philharmagic.
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They needed to leave the park by 6:30. Since there was nothing else with a short wait time we decided to head out early for the night. Of course, we forgot to consider that the parade was in progress so we ran into that mess. It was crazy trying to keep 10 people together in crowds like that! We finally made it out to our cars and headed home. They gathered their belongings and then we spent another 20 minutes saying all our goodbyes. They finally hit the road for their hour long drive home and we went in to rest.
We had a fabulous time with our new friends! Gotta say that it is a huge amount of stress trying to keep 10 people happy and moving. Man! I was more tired from this one day than any other day in our entire trip! Going to miss them tomorrow!

[DL55]

Did they have a good time? I don't think I'll ever try to have a large group visit the parks. Sounds like a lot of work. Great photos for your Christmas cards. :)

[mariezp]

I sure hope they did. They said they did. I think they have fun no matter what they are doing. Great family! However, I do doubt they will ever become dedicated Disney fans like some of the rest of us hanging out around here.

We have had varying sizes of groups on most of our trips but this was the largest bunch so far. Me, being the planner and organizer of all things Disney I probably wore myself out more than the average person trying to make sure everything was just right. It is so much easier when it is just the four of us. Funny thing though, since my son became a teenager.... he thinks vacations mean that someone else should go with us. :confused3

I thought the photos would be good for cards too but I was lazy when we got home and didn't even get any cards sent out. Shame on me!

[Canyon girl]

Man, I don't know if I could handle a group. I had been thinking about suggesting a family reunion at WDW, but after your report, I think I will keep my mouth closed and keep it for our family of 4! BTW, how is your DD liking the snow???

[mariezp]

Hi Canyon girl. You know, I was thinking that maybe all our days finally caught up with us and that might have been why we were so tired but I really don't think that was it. When we go to DL we are dog tired for the first week. The second week we seem to build up steam, have a resurgence of energy and it gets easier. So, I really believe that a large group is what tuckered us out. It was totally worth it! BUT if you decide to do the big group thing just be prepared. If you have a very large extended family you may be used to chaos already. There are only the four of us as we are seldom around many other family members so I am only used to mini chaos!
On the other hand with a bug bunch you do have plenty of opportunities to try out new ride buddies. And the thrill riders can do their thing while the non thrill riders can do there choice. I just found the process of making decisions of what was next to be much more time consuming in our case. Maybe your group would have a better idea of what they would like to do and speak up. Or maybe you are a take charge kind of girl and can tell them what they are going to do next! :laughing:

We have too much Texas blood running through our veins to enjoy snow much! It was really pretty to look at but a day of it is enough for us. My DD was very proud of herself this time around because she did not cry this time when her hands started thawing out after we had come back inside. That is a milestone! Every time she had played in it before when her fingers would start tingling she would cry and proclaim how she hated snow and never wanted to play in it again.
It's all melting now leaving a big old mushy, muddy mess. Not so pretty anymore. We lost a lot of tree limbs and one entire huge old oak tree from the weight of the 12" of snow. More clean up work in the future when it dries out.
Did ya'll get much in your area?

[Canyon girl]

Marie, I grew up in AR, so I know the reaction your DD had. I remember going out in the snow without gloves and coming in with my hands burning. We like you (probably) are used to more ice than snow. However, we moved west and up in elevation a couple of years ago and were indoctrinated to real snow. We had just over 54 inches of snow in 5 days about 3 weeks ago. We haven't had much snow since then, but we really needed that snow to help us get out of a drought. Here is a picture of my poor Nissan Sentra.
http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo146/Canyongirl789/DSCF0305.jpg I'll PM you more.

[mariezp]

54" of snow! :scared1: WOW! Talk about a state of extremes! Stow storms in winter and heat waves in summer. Texas has nutty weather but it doesn't vary THAT much. Did you manage to dig your car out? :lmao:

[mariezp]

Okay, be warned that the report part for today is rather short but since it lacks in words I threw in extra pictures.

Day 13, December 14, 2009

Today we decided to use as a make up day at AK since DD’s big park day had gotten rained out. The weather was certainly bright and sunny. It actually ended up being too hot. When we arrived at the park DD and I headed straight for the Kilimanjaro Safaris. We stopped along the way to have some Photopass pictures taken.
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The safari ride was really very cool. I knew both of us would enjoy it. We saw quite a few animals and took lots of photos.
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[mariezp]

Continued....

When we finished we went down the Panganui Trail and looked around…. And took more photos.
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The guys had headed for EE when we had split up. DH ended up saying that it was the best ride of the whole trip. After DD and I had done a good bit of exploring DH called to say that they were ready for lunch. A quick vote and we were heading to RFC again. It had been everyone’s favorite … plus I had brought my $25 gift card that I had forgotten to use… just in case, so I hated to let it go to waste. It did take us a little while to get in since we did not have an ADR but it was worth it. The food was great again.
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When we finished eating it was so hot back outside and we were all still so tired from the day before that we bribed DD with one last souvenir and headed home to spend the rest of the day resting and relaxing in the pool. We ended up playing more ping pong. I washed more of our clothes. And we got ready for our last day in the park tomorrow.

[Canyon girl]

54" of snow! :scared1: WOW! Talk about a state of extremes! Stow storms in winter and heat waves in summer. Texas has nutty weather but it doesn't vary THAT much. Did you manage to dig your car out? :lmao:

A huge chunk of the snow fell over 36 hours. It was snowing so fast that I gave up on the snow shovel. I called a guy with a heavy duty snow blower to blow us out the next day. It was WILD! Because of the equipment that our town has, 54" to us is like a foot to you guys...just too much! Now, I need to read your addition.


ETA: I just finished your pictures. It looked like your DD had a great time at AK! I'm glad you were able to get back there. Are you planning on another trip to WDW next year, or are you going back to DLR? Since your family hit it off well with your DS's friend's family, it would seem that another FL vacation would be in order.

[DL55]

Glad to see you got back to AK. EE and the Safari are my favorite rides. I enjoy the animals just as much. We still haven't seen the Lion King show. :guilty:

[mariezp]

DL55, I am glad we went back to AK too. Still could have used more time apparently. My DD was just singing the blues yesterday because she did not get to see everything. :sad1: If you enjoy watching shows you really should make it to see Lion King.

[mariezp]

Day 14, December 15, 2009

Well, our vacation is just about over. This is our last day in one of the parks so Magic Kingdom seemed the appropriate choice since it is our favorite. I feel like we have been ripped off cause we only got to spend 5 days there whereas when we go to California we usually spend the majority of 2 weeks in Disneyland. 2 weeks is just not enough time to cover everything in WDW! At least not at our pace.

We started the day out with my list in hand of rides that we all really wanted to do one more time. We rode the monorail over one last time. Everyone seems to enjoy getting to the park better by this mode of transportation than the ferry except me. I think they mostly don’t like the idea of the boat sinking. I, however, found the monorail to have a very unpleasant odor.

Anyway, we got to the park and everyone decided we should go eat first so we rode the train around to Frontierland. We grabbed FPs for Splash. Then DH and DS headed off for one last turkey leg while DD and I got in line for corn dogs. DH seemed to think that it might save a little money if we ate a meal where we were not sitting inside a restaurant. I am not so sure. $27 for 4 corn dogs, chips and drinks and I have no idea how much the hot dog, roasted corn, turkey leg and their drinks cost. At any rate, I personally think it is well worth quite a bit to have an air conditioned place at your own table. Instead we wandered around until we finally managed to snag a pair of benches where we sat down in the heat and listened to the blaring music of Tianna’s Showboat. Lordy, they had those speakers up loud!

When we finished eating, our FPs were still not good yet so we wandered over to Pirates and were able to mark it off our list. We headed back over to Splash and the guys got in the FP line while DD and I sat out to wait til my DS got off so I could go ride with him. After a few minutes DD asked me if we would buy her a bubble gun if she decided to be brave enough to ride Splash. Of course, by this time it was already too late to catch up to the guys so we went and got another set of FPs so when they got off we could all ride together.

The new batch of FPs were not good until later so when the guys disembarked we made our way over to Haunted Mansion and then Small World. We grabbed a FP for Peter Pan. Then we all headed back to Splash. DD was pretty nervous about her first ride. I was really proud of her for finally giving it a try even if we did have to pay with a bribe. At the end she said she would never ride it again but I think she really liked it because she did come off smiling. And, she has since then started making plans for what kind of a deal she can make if she rides Splash next time we go to DL.
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We made our way back to Fantasyland. We watched Philharmagic again. Next we headed over to watch Storytime with Belle. DD got to participate as Belle’s father. She loves being on stage. It was a cute show. I love it when they pick a man from the audience to be beast. We had a good one. My guys knew better than to be anywhere near the front.
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When we were done with the show we went back to Peter Pan to make use of our FPs.
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Next we rode Snow White.
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We then rode once more on Pooh.

DD had to get in one more ride on Dumbo even though the line was long again. What a shame too cause we got to spend way too much time behind the meanest grandma in WDW. It was so sad and I really had to bite my tongue to not speak up and say something. She was swatting and swinging at one grandson because he was taking up for his younger brother that she was chewing out. Some people should never be parents. After making a fool of herself she finally pulled the children out of line. I felt sorry for the kids but I was very glad to be rid of her. My DD could not understand how someone could be so mean. After that episode our wait in line was pretty uneventful. We spotted the guys playing chess on the "evil I phone" from our lofty elephant.
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With Dumbo now behind us we headed for the Carousel. I took more pictures while waiting in line.
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Pretty sad. I barely remembered to take and shots of the castle. This is one of the few.
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Then we worked our way over to TL for the Laugh Floor.
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[mariezp]

Continued....

We had covered pretty much everything on our list so we started towards the front of the park. We stopped off on the bridge for a parting photo in front of the castle. Really glad we did because it turned out to be the best one of the trip.
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We picked up some goodies at the bakery and headed out the gate.

I don’t think anyone really felt too sad to be leaving. We were all just glad to be heading home tomorrow cause we were all pooped. We did have some fun but we really felt like we missed the magic. The whole trip was just hustle and bustle in the parks. There were always so many people walking everywhere even though the lines were not all that long. I guess most folks just end up like us… spending the majority of their time walking from point A to point B. In our household we have all agreed that bigger is not always better.

This time around I didn’t have as much leisure time to enjoy the fine details that makes Disney special. Also, the whole trip we ended up with only 2 autographs. And, I only used one memory card for photos. Way different than my usual methods of madness!

We did think the house was fantastic. And, meeting our new friends made the whole trip worthwhile. But as for future plans.... I think we will just head back to Disneyland on our next trip.

:rolleyes1 Ummmm...... tomorrow would be good!

[Sherry E]

There was someone over on the DL side of the boards this past week that I referred over here so they could read your TR (and hopefully your Pre-TR too). They are also on the verge of making their first-ever WDW trip and, I think, were a little overwhelmed and intimidated by the massive volumes of info to be had on the WDW side of the board. I have a feeling that sometimes the people who are very helpful tend to give too much info at once, or the info is too technical, which can all be scary for a first-timer. Sometimes, I think, people want to talk to someone who has JUST done what you are about to embark on, who started out at the same point of uncertainty as they are, who can break it all down, one step at a time, in stages, in layman's terms! So I sent this DIS-er over here first, to kind of see how you went from not knowing where to start to putting together a whole 2-week trip to WDW and completing it. Hopefully they have been reading along!

Anyway, I was going to say that the Belle in your photos above is different-looking than the ones I am used to at DLR, because she has more hair - or rather, it is a wig and the wig has lots of hair! The ones I am used to at DLR don't have quite that much hair hanging down on their foreheads!! Interesting...

I am so glad you all made it back to AK. From the pictures I can tell I would love it there. I bet there are all kinds of cool Disney details aroudn that park, but you have to really have the time to be able to study them.

On the one hand, I can see where someone would read your TR and say, "How could 2 weeks not be enough time?" But I totally understand where you are coming from. There is SO much to see at WDW - and I would have wanted to visit as many of the different hotels as possible too, because those have their own little details - and everyone has their own pace at which they are most comfortable when taking on the parks - whether it be WDW or DLR - so it is entirely possible that 2 weeks would not be enough at all. If you are not a 'commando' family, running to and fro, willy nilly every day, grabbing Fast Passes left and right and maximizing time to the fullest, your 2 weeks can easily pass by in no time, and you realize you didn't even get to really 'see' half of what there is to see - all the little nuances and hidden gems.

Hopefully you will be able to make your 2010 trip to DLR, and hopefully it will be close to when the holidays begin so you can get just a little taste of that. If it is like last year, they will begin 2 weeks before Thanksgiving. If it is like 2008 and 2007, they will begin one week before Thanksgiving. But you've got to see IASW Holiday with the new Disney character dolls, because some of the holiday additions were changed to complement the character doll scenes. And, of course, the Winter Castle at DLR seems to be much more beautiful than the one at WDW, from what I can see in photos (even though it is not as tall!), and the giant tree on Main Street is lit up in almost all blue lights at night, as though it has been covered in icicles (which was a new touch that was different from what it looked like in 2008 at night!).

Great report - love the pictures, especially with the nifty Disney camera and the PhotoPass pictures in front of the Castle! I am sad to see it end! Hurry and make another 2-week trip somewhere so we can all follow along!!

[rmonty02]

Just wanted to say thanks for the TR mariezp. Aside from the rain:umbrella:, looks like you guys had fun:thumbsup2 The house was marvelous.
I've only ever been to DL and planning a WDW trip to share with my parents(our dream):cloud9:. I'm actually excited about seeing the CB, because like others I grew up with it(even though it will be hokey). So now I'm just hoping my 3y old reaches 40" by Nov. so that he can ride on more rides (1 1/2" to go):woohoo:

[Pikester]

It's the last day :sad1:.

I've enjoyed reading your report.

[MadilynnsMomma]

It's so sad to see a report come to an end :sad2:

I really enjoyed following along on your adventures; maybe some day I will make it to DL and can decide which I prefer.

P.S. - FINALLY got my "review"/mini-TR started in my old PTR thread.

[DL55]

Enjoyed your TR. My DH likes WDW more than DLR. I like both, won't complain where ever we go. Since we have family is So Cal. I think we'll still visit DLR. ;)

[mariezp]

2 weeks now.... I am totally ashamed of myself for not getting back to respond sooner. :sad2: What can I say? Between life in the real world and Disney withdrawals my mood for posting has been somewhat lacking. :confused3 However, we have briefly discussed some possibility of a return trip to DL this year so my spirits are lifted a bit today. So on with some replies!

Sherry, I imagine I owe at the very least half of my readership to you! Thanks for sending them my way. As for your last referral I can certainly relate to feeling overwhelmed and intimidated by the planning process of heading to WDW. I would certainly be more than happy to share any info I gathered while planning for our WDW trip. Not sure I figured it all out but I think I made a pretty good dent for a first timer!
It is going to be such a breeze to plan for Disneyland next time!!! I can't wait! Our finances are not looking so hot right now but I am brainstorming with a couple different plans to raise some vacation funds. I'll keep you posted. DH told me just yesterday that he feels cheated cause he did not get his DL fix so I've got that on my side. I am thinking November so don't forget to consider that month when you start making your plans. Wouldn't it be great to actually get a chance to meet at DL? I'm thinking maybe a few less days for us to cut down on our expenses... say maybe Nov 10-21. I am looking forward to seeing the castle walkthrough, Captain EO, and, I believe, the World of Color should be done by then. I do hear they have been changing around my Blue Bayou menu. I am not so sure we are going to be so happy about that. Garsh! How I wish I were there right now!
Yep, WDW's Belle had a unique hair style. Didn't really get to check out many others cause as I mentioned characters were far from a priority on this trip. Still, I imagine there are probably quite a few subtle differences between the characters in both parks.
I think DD and I could have easily spent another day in AK to explore all the details. The guys are really less than enthusiastic about animal parks so if we ever make it back we just need to ditch them so they don't detour our plans.
I guess the main idea at WDW is to keep people coming back. Where we try to do it all in one 2 week trip other people do keep coming back for more. Unfortunately, I knew the likelihood of us making a return trip was almost nil so I was trying to see it all and end up disappointed that we were not able to see more. Seems like we barely scratched the surface. On the other hand, I am satisfied enough to not go back and return to our favorite park, DL, instead.

rmonty02, hi there! I hope you and your parents have a fabulous first trip to WDW! It is a lot of work but also a lot of fun. You can gather a lot of useful info around the DIS but if you have not already signed up on Tourguidemike.com I would highly recommend it. I found more info there than I could have ever possibly ever put to use. If you have any questions you can always pm me and I will be glad to offer anything I found out during my experience. Here's hoping your 3 year old has a growth spurt! :thumbsup2

Pikester, glad you are still here too. I have been reading along with you too. Actually need to go leave a comment over there. So much fun sharing these reports but also nice when it is all finally done, right?

MadilynnsMomma, I will be heading to you PTR next! I hope you make it to DL some day too. Such a different experience but so totally worth seeing just once even if only to go to the original park.

DL55, I am with you! If someone offered to take me to either park I wouldn't say no! I honestly can understand why some people would prefer WDW. There are lots of options to keep you entertained. However, I knew even before we went that we would prefer the simplicity, compactness, coziness and charm of DL. Guess it is a good thing they built both, or should I say all the Disney parks, to keep everyone happy. Anyway, wish I had family in California! That would give me such a good excuse to make it to DL more often.


Oh yeah, I realized I forgot to include one very important photo documenting a very special occasion, DD's first Splash ride. Not only did I need to include it for documentation's sake but also because it is so darn cute! The look on her face is priceless! Okay, maybe priceless is not the word I am looking for but let's just say that she is exuding the look of many first time riders. I did go back and add the photo to the report but am including it here as well so those who have already been reading don't have to go back to find it.
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[mariezp]

Not really much left to tell... not in the park anyway.... but while I was finishing our trip I thought I would throw in a few words and a couple of last pictures for our departure day.

Day 15, December 16, 2009

So, obviously we made it home okay. Funny thing that even on the way home from a Disney trip your mind is still there. Spotted this hidden Mickey on a door at the airport. (Yeah, you have to use your imagination a little!)
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Anyway, our plane ride back home was uneventful. Great to land and be back in Texas. Apparently, we were in store for a beautiful welcome home present. This was what we saw on our drive home that evening. Of course, my pictures do it no justice. It was the most beautiful sunset we had seen in over 2 weeks.
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All was well back at home and we were so ready to be home. The dog and cat were happy to see us again and have forgiven us for leaving them so long. It took me several days to get rested, caught up on laundry and back in the swing of things. Now with a couple months behind us I am ready for another Disney trip. November at DL is starting to sound real good!!! Here's hoping I can pull it off!

[DL55]

The picture of your DD on Splash Mt is a classic. :thumbsup2
Imagination is required for hidden Mickeys otherwise they aren't very hidden. :rotfl2:

[DisneyMomma81]

What a great report ~ I wasn't able to see some of your fotos and several were gray on the bottom 1/2 Do you think you would've made it to the park earlier if you'd stayed on site or tried harder to get there early cause you would've planned on taking mid day breaks and returning in the evening? Our 1st visit was last Oct. ~ it was so hot ~ we had fun but I prefer DLR, we took a mid day break each day, we started each day early ~ in time for rope drop most days. Are you still planning on DLR in Nov.? We plan to be there for Thanksgiving weekend! Do you homeschool? If not how many days did your DD miss ~ is DS still in H.S.? My kids missed 5 days of school but we had 8 *DS & my mom had 9 days ~ they flew overnight* days in the park ~ they had a 2 day break that we took advantage of.

[mariezp]

DL55, glad you liked the Splash photo. I thought it was one of the best ones we have ever had taken.
True, you do need imagination to find those hidden Mickeys. I just thought finding them in airports might be a little out of the ordinary.... that and he did have some pretty puny ears. :rotfl:

I am quite annoyed! I had a nice long post almost ready for you DisneyMomma81 and THEN I hit some wrong button and it disappeared into oblivion! So here I go again...
So glad you stopped in and thank you for the nice compliment! Not sure what the problem is with the photos loading. Maybe I have too many pics! Did you happen to try reloading? I know sometimes that helps. They seem to be working fine for me. :confused3

I love answering questions! so here goes....
Do you think you would've made it to the park earlier if you'd stayed on site or tried harder to get there early cause you would've planned on taking mid day breaks and returning in the evening? No. When we are on vacation sleeping late is one of our guys favorite things to do. I would not have felt comfortable heading out on my own staying onsite or offsite at WDW so going earlier just was not an option. Being in transit 30 minutes to an hour seemed to make mid day breaks hardly worth the effort. By going to the parks later in the day and staying til close we probably ended up with just about the same amount of time each day anyway.
Now when we go to Disneyland it is a whole different story! The guys do sleep in but since we are just right across the street my daughter and I do go early and leave them to sleep in. We do also take mid day breaks because it only takes 10 minutes to get back to our room.

Are you still planning on DLR in Nov.? If at all possible! Our finances are not what they used to be but right now I am working on saving a trip fund so we can pay cash. That way I will feel like I have earned it and know that it will not be coming from money I might have used elsewhere. We have been married 20 years and vacations have always been pretty important to us. We loves us some Disney family time! It's pretty priceless. My kids will be grown before I know it so I really don't want to look back and wish that we had gone when we opted to stay home instead.
November is a wonderful month to go. I hope you all have a great time for Thanksgiving weekend. I have thought about going that week but I have just not worked up the courage to fight those crowds yet!

Do you homeschool? Yes we do which makes us fortunate to be able to work our schedule around our vacation. We homeschool year round so we can take our big break in the fall. We love the off season! It is nice that you are able to manage a trip in the off season with some creative planning. There is no way you could get me to go in the middle of summer! (Well, don't hold me to that. If I won a trip or someone offered to take me for my birthday in July I certainly would never turn them down. However, I can honestly say that summer would never be my first choice no matter how much I love DL.)

It is always interesting to find someone else who loves DL better than WDW like I do. So, do tell, what do you like about DL better? For me lots of reasons but I think basically it is because it just feels more like home to us.

[DisneyMomma81]

It is always interesting to find someone else who loves DL better than WDW like I do. So, do tell, what do you like about DL better? For me lots of reasons but I think basically it is because it just feels more like home to us.

#1 ~ The weather! It was so hot and humid early Oct. in FL ~ I know it'll be warm in DLR early July but with much lower humidity it'll be much more tolerable. We can handle heat but humidity + heat = YUCK! And mid day breaks won't be a problem since we can walk back for a swim/break.

#2 ~ Being able to walk to the parks, and hop easily. We took a mid day break daily @ WDW - we used only Disney Transportion and while it worked just fine it took some time.

#3 ~ S CA is much closer to UT, we could drive - haven't yet - but I would never drive to FL.

KCmike mentioned that if they built an Epcot @ DLR he'd never go back to WDW ~ I very much agree, but I'd also need an Everest ~ that was a fun ride.

Good luck on making your Nov. trip ~ that might be our 1st driving trip ~ airfare the day before Turkey Day might be a bit high ~ however I've already purchased our airfare for our July trip ~ just the airfare there, we fly in on 7/2 and it wasn't too high, I go through JetBlue so if there is a drop in price I get a credit.

[mariezp]

DisneyMomma81, your reasons sound a lot like mine.

#1 California weather has been so much nicer on all our trips as obvious in my TR. Our Florida trip went from one extreme to another... starting with cold, followed by rain and was heating up quite well by the time we left. The majority of our DL trips have been wonderful weather. We did go one year in September when it was hotter than we really liked. And, we have been when it has rained but it was a nice rain that moved on and did not stay for days. Don't know if Florida weather is always such a crap shoot but I do know that California weather has always been, for us, much better and easier to plan for.

#2 I will take walking across the street and park hopping any old day. My husband said one of the parts he missed about DL was not having to drive somewhere everyday. I know we could have stayed onsite and used Disney transportation but it just did not appeal. After the one bus incident we had I don't think we would ever be willing to try it.

#3 You got me on that one! I think for us we are almost smack dab in the middle between California (1374 miles) and Florida. (1143 miles) Either way is a long way to drive but flying is a breeze. Traveling east in the time zone really was no fun. I don't think we ever did adjust. On the other hand, traveling west is great! We gain an hour so it makes getting up every morning just that much easier!

Maybe someday if they ever build that 3rd gate at DL we will get an Epcot. That would be just about perfect! I really could have used another week to have just taken in exploring all the lands.

My guys did say that Everest was the best ride of the whole trip. I never made it on it but that's okay cause coasters are not really my thing but it did sound interesting. If they ever make one in DL I will be sure to give it a try at least once.

Boy, you are not kidding. I bet airfare is high the day after Thanksgiving! I've been watching and it is staying pretty high even when I am looking! That may be a good thing. If it goes down I will be tempted to snatch it before we even decide if we are going. Guess that would help seal the deal but I might get myself in the doghouse. Might be worth it! For us driving ends up being more expensive because I refuse to drive long hours everyday which means we also have to consider the cost of overnight lodging. Flying is just so much simpler. Glad you got a good deal for your July trip already.

[reyasmommy]

Thank you for sharing your TR! :goodvibes

On your last day at Disney I'm sure you were still having a MUCH better time then I was. I was in Labor and dealing with a non-working epidural. Sure it was one of the best days of my life, but definately the most painful. :rotfl:

Your family is adorable...once again, thanks for sharing. ;)

[mariezp]

Thank you reyasmommy! You are right no matter what... our last day was better than labor!
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u295/mariezp/clipart/smileyOMG-1.gif And, without a non-working epidural! http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u295/mariezp/clipart/smileyOMG-1.gif You poor thing! BUT just look at that beautiful baby's face! All worth it!

Been there somewhat. I was trying to suffer through the pain and not take anything with my daughter. When I finally decided I couldn't take it anymore they could not find the keys to unlock the cabinet to get to their equipment. I did finally get my working epidural but it took a little longer than I had anticipated! If I had known I would have ordered it sooner. Funny though... one look at their precious little faces and you totally forget the pain.... well, for awhile at least.

Anyway, thanks for the sweet comment on my family. I think they are pretty cute!

[basketballmom]

Marie, I just found your trip report a couple of days ago and finally finished reading it! I had totally forgotten you had planned a family trip to WDW and I enjoyed your perspective. And, I totally agree with you about the lack of "magic" (especially in Fantasyland) and how bigger isn't always better.

Yes, there are things at WDW I wish we had at DL....Mickey's Phillharmagic is at the top of the list!! And Expedition Everest! But our hearts remain with Disneyland!!!:lovestruc

I am glad y'all had a fun and safe trip! :goodvibes

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

Hey!!! Our house got really busy and pulled me away from here for the past couple of months...but I finished reading your report! Sorry you didn't get all the magic you were hoping for...you'll have to make up for it next trip!!! :thumbsup2

[heatherleigh]

I really enjoyed your report. It's only the 2nd WDW TR I have ever read. This makesw me happy to think we won't be doing WDW for a few years yet. I think it will be more enjoyable when our kids get older.

[lovesdumbo]

Hi Marie:wave2:
Sorry it took me so long to find the time to read your TR. I really enjoyed it!

Remember me from your PTR? I was at WDW 11/30-12/7 with just my oldest DD(10). My youngest was diagnosed with pneumonia the day before I left. Then my DS(9) was diagnosed when pneumonia when I was gone. My DD & I (and my friend and her DH) had a great trip but I came home sick and my brother was struck and killed by a car on Dec 11th. My Dad died when I was 6 so he was like a Dad to me.:sad1: It still doesn't seem real.

I also took my youngest, Emma, to WDW in January for her 7th birthday. I have to say I wasn't sure I was up for it. I was still sick since December so I broke down and went the doctor 2 weeks before that trip. He diagnosed me with bronchitis and gave me antibiotics but then the blood test showed I had whooping cough.:sick: I was feeling better but not 100% for the trip but I had to take DD for her birthday. I had taken her older brother & sister for their 7th birthdays so I really had to take her. I felt a lot better in FL than I did in Massachusetts. I don't think I would have recovered as quickly if I hadn't gone. We had a VERY magical trip. We were there for one of the only warm weeks they had this winter. It was exactly what I needed.

Now I'm looking forward to taking my DS for my birthday in May.:cool1: He's my early riser.:laughing:



LOVE that photo of your DD on Splash! I wish I had purchased the photo of my DD on Everest at 5 years old. She wanted to do it but hasn't been on since. I think she might be up for it on her next trip. She loves Big Thunder but won't go on Splash or Space Mnt yet. I think her favorite thing on her birthday trip was the Sum of All Thrills design your own coaster thing at Epcot.

[mariezp]

Ugh! http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u295/mariezp/clipart/gnome.gif Naughty Disboard! http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u295/mariezp/clipart/angry-smiley-8020.gif I have had no notifications that anyone was posting! Of course, I guess I should have been checking the TR myself so shame on me too. :blush: Anyhoo......

basketballmom, it is always a relief to find someone who understands what I am talking about! I posted my TR on another Disney fan site and got raked over the coals for expressing my opinion about my own trip. :confused3 I don't always expect everyone to agree with me but it was fun to share our thoughts and experiences.

LOVEMY3KIDDOS, glad you got to make it back and finished reading up. We did have some fun. Now I am just even more ready for the next trip!

heatherleigh, I think you may be on to something. There is so much territory to cover at WDW that it certainly would be easier with older kids. My DS-18 just recently has admitted that he did indeed like WDW. I think that is in large part thanks to Epcot.

lovesdumbo, well of course I remember you! It sounds like your WDW trip was just on the border of avoiding disaster! Unfortunately, that's the way it works sometimes and there is no way to avoid some of the things that can go wrong. Thankfully you managed to still have a great time with all the sickness lurking around. Seems like we usually have about a 50/50 chance of someone getting sick while on our trips and generally someone always comes home sick. Glad you managed a speedy recovery with a little magical help!
Gotta admit even though we still love DL best I am still jealous that you have already had a return trip to WDW and are already planning another. I am so ready for either Disney park right now!
Your DD has mine beat. My Emma has been on Big Thunder but refuses to ride it again. Although she says she never wants to ride Splash again either I am pretty sure we can get her back on with the right bribe! My son was never a big thrill seeker either until he was probably at least 11 or 12 so who knows... give our girls a few more years and they will probably be ready for anything!
I am so sorry about your brother's death. I hope you have been able to find some peace and comfort. Never an easy thing to lose a loved one, especially someone you are close to but at least the passing of time can help to ease the hurt a little. :hug:

[mariezp]

Had a good laugh this morning from my daughter and this was the only place I could think to share it! 6 months later she is still watching the video from our vacation. Of course, she still watches all the previous year's vacations too, but this particular morning she was watching our WDW vacation. Anyhoo.... She says "Ya know, I think I have to admit that they did kinda mess up the Tiki Room". So funny cause she argued with the rest of us.... which just happens to be her specialty.... but anyway looks like there is hope for her yet! My baby girl is learning to appreciate the merits of originality.

Can't wait to get back to DL to see the real Tiki Room. Which by the way I do not think I ever got back to mentioning here.... we will be heading back to DISNEYLAND in NOVEMBER! Yippee! :cheer2: