Disney: Delicious innards on a sandwich of Panic! A Sept. '11 TR [Completed; Feb. 28] [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

teekathepony

10-03-2011, 08:11 AM

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: A Journey of a Thousand Miles begins with a Single Step (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42844163&postcount=26)
Chapter 2: Arriving Home (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42867850&postcount=36)
Chapter 3: Downtown Down Time (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42890885&postcount=54)
Chapter 4: Staring eyes in the Dark (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42910093&postcount=67)
Chapter 5: First park, favourite park. (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42943978&postcount=78)
Chapter 6: Football, Nachos, Steak and a whole new world. (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42992893&postcount=91)
Chapter 7: The Terrible Terrifying Tower. (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43052088&postcount=102)
Chapter 8: The Rest of the Longest Disney Day (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43288583&postcount=118)
Chapter 9: All About 50's (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43302335&postcount=125)
Chapter 10: From the World to the Universe (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43418808&postcount=133)
Chapter 11: The Most of the Rest of Universal (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43452056&postcount=144)
Chapter 12: "How do you eat soup without a spoon!?" (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=43614072#post43614072)
Chapter 13: Lions and Tigers and Bears! Oh my! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43721930&postcount=163)
Chapter 14: The rest of Animal Kingdom (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43774921&postcount=167)
Chapter 15: Magic Day (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43832021&postcount=175)
Chapter 15 part two (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43832202&postcount=176)
Chapter 16:Attenzione! Attenzione! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43889528&postcount=181)
Chapter 17: A Day of Rest (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43903420&postcount=188)
Chapter 17 part two. (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43903539&postcount=189)
Chapter 18: Get your Motor Running! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43946539&postcount=199)
Chapter 19: The Other Bad Bread (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43987193&postcount=207)
Chapter 20: The Peak of the Hill and Downhill from Here (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44045678&postcount=212)
Chapter 21: The Anniversary (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44101922&postcount=221)

Life Updates
#1: Weather (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42862805&postcount=33)
#2: Phone Calls (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42883758&postcount=46)
#3: Happy Thanksgiving! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42902854&postcount=62)
#4: Happy 1st Anniversary Wendy & Johnny! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42969183&postcount=86)

MEK

10-03-2011, 08:12 AM

subbing! Looking forward to reading your TR!

TanzUnited99

10-03-2011, 08:14 AM

Here and going back to read!

All caught up! Great start! :thumbsup2

Intrigued by the panic aspect - hope there wasn't too much of this and you all had a great trip :goodvibes

IheartDDuck

10-03-2011, 08:24 AM

I'm here and ready to start!

teekathepony

10-03-2011, 11:27 AM

subbing! Looking forward to reading your TR!
Welcome aboard! Thanks!

Here and going back to read!

All caught up! Great start! :thumbsup2

Intrigued by the panic aspect - hope there wasn't too much of this and you all had a great trip :goodvibes
Hello!! Great to see you here, welcome aboard!

I'm here and ready to start!
YAY! Welcome!

jenbear123

10-03-2011, 12:10 PM

I'm here! Sorry to hear about airport drama. Stupid Air Canada :headache: Can't wait to hear all about the trip!

teekathepony

10-03-2011, 01:07 PM

I'm here! Sorry to hear about airport drama. Stupid Air Canada :headache: Can't wait to hear all about the trip!
Yay!! Welcome aboard!
I wish I had better options for flying. It's AC or WestJet and anywhere I go with WJ I would have to overnight in Toronto. I hope some serious competition comes to the Atlantic area and soon. :sad2:

jenbear123

10-03-2011, 01:58 PM

Yay!! Welcome aboard!
I wish I had better options for flying. It's AC or WestJet and anywhere I go with WJ I would have to overnight in Toronto. I hope some serious competition comes to the Atlantic area and soon. :sad2:

I know there's some charters offered like Air Transat that fly out of Halifax. Not sure how often they go though.... At least it'd be another option to check out :thumbsup2

bouncycat

10-03-2011, 04:40 PM

I'm here too!!! I'm sorry I didn't text ya, things got crazy that night at MK!! I remembered how you looked on your picture, and looked for ya tho. I'll tell ya the craziness story some other time.

janabananas

10-03-2011, 04:52 PM

Subbing!

weezy26nm

10-03-2011, 04:56 PM

Can't wait to hear more! On our first trip in 2006, American Airlines lost all our luggage (5 people, 5 suitcases) but luckily it was on the way home and not on the way to Disney.

metsno1

10-03-2011, 06:03 PM

Welcome back! I'm most definitely in for the ride!

I was sooooo glad that you were able to get down there without too much trouble (hopefully!!??)...but the again, that's what I predicted even in the middle of the strike talk!! :cool1:

Can't wait to hear about the whole thing!!

teekathepony

10-03-2011, 06:52 PM

I know there's some charters offered like Air Transat that fly out of Halifax. Not sure how often they go though.... At least it'd be another option to check out :thumbsup2
There's lots of options out of Halifax for sure. It's a 4.5 hour drive for me that I'd rather not take if I could help it, but next time I will drive a bit to save myself the hassle!

I'm here too!!! I'm sorry I didn't text ya, things got crazy that night at MK!! I remembered how you looked on your picture, and looked for ya tho. I'll tell ya the craziness story some other time.
Oh my gosh, no worries! I know some of how crazy things were that night, it took me 45 minutes to get to a bathroom! :scared1: Hahaha, I was on the lookout for you too, just in case. I'll be waiting for the stories though. And welcome to the TR!

Subbing!
Welcome aboard!

Can't wait to hear more! On our first trip in 2006, American Airlines lost all our luggage (5 people, 5 suitcases) but luckily it was on the way home and not on the way to Disney.
Welcome to the TR! Ohh not fun! Same with us, thankfully we were on the way home.

Welcome back! I'm most definitely in for the ride!

I was sooooo glad that you were able to get down there without too much trouble (hopefully!!??)...but the again, that's what I predicted even in the middle of the strike talk!! :cool1:

Can't wait to hear about the whole thing!!
Welcome! Yes, you absolutely called it! We did get down with no trouble, I'll probably post the first chapter tomorrow now that we've got everything settled.

ZehnJahren

10-03-2011, 09:04 PM

I'm here too, and looking forward to hearing about your trip! How exciting!

poisonapple_PRINCESS

10-04-2011, 07:04 AM

AHHH! I've been waiting for this!!! Yay Yay Yay Yay!

:woohoo:

poisonapple_PRINCESS

10-04-2011, 07:05 AM

And I'm super bummed I didnt make it in time to be on the first page!! :sad2:

teekathepony

10-04-2011, 07:11 AM

I'm here too, and looking forward to hearing about your trip! How exciting!

Welcome to the TR! Thanks for joining!

teekathepony

10-04-2011, 07:12 AM

AHHH! I've been waiting for this!!! Yay Yay Yay Yay!

:woohoo:

And I'm super bummed I didnt make it in time to be on the first page!! :sad2:

But this just means you're first on page 2! Just as exciting! :woohoo:
Welcome aboard! Very glad to have you, no matter what page ;)

teekathepony

10-04-2011, 07:24 AM

Hey everyone! I had planned to make my first TR post this morning but I'm a little distracted. My luggage was lost and damaged by my airline on the way home, as I mentioned. One bag is all bent and the other is soaking wet and has handles and zippers ripped off. Fortunately, most of our stuff is just fine -- just some soaking wet clothes, a sopping wet and bashed in box (but thankfully Disney packs their breakables in 15 inches of styrofoam!)

Unfortunately, however, all my paper items were in the wet bag. Park maps, which are fairly easy to get again, but also Epcot F&WF guides, Johnny's Richard Petty NASCAR envelope including his "report card" with his lap times and his certificate, our Medieval Times crowns, etc. These are things with no monetary value, but they have a lot of value to me.

I have emailed both WDW and the Richard Petty company to see if there is any way I can be sent these things again. I am asking you all if you know of any way also.

I am currently packing up all damaged items and the two damaged suitcases to take to the airport so they can do a damage report. I hope this goes well, please wish me luck! Hopefully when I get back I'll have time for a real TR post.

bouncycat

10-04-2011, 07:34 AM

TanzUnited99

10-04-2011, 09:15 AM

Oh no on that happening to your luggage - hope you manage to sort everything out and WDW and Richard Petty can help replace the paperwork that means a lot to you.

vikkii19

10-04-2011, 09:30 AM

I'm here, can't wait to read your TR. So sorry about your luggage, hopefully they will compensate you somehow.

ZehnJahren

10-04-2011, 10:38 AM

Geez, what did they do to your luggage?? Throw it in a river and then run it over?? I'd be FURIOUS! :eek:

I hope you can get everything replaced to your liking. That's so unfortunate.

teekathepony

10-04-2011, 11:04 AM

Good luck!!! I can mail you out park maps and such if you need me to, but I'm not sure about the Richard Petty thing, or the crowns. Sorry that happened to you, and good luck at the airport!!! That sucks that they did that to your luggage!!!!
OH thank you so much, I have an email in to Disney but I just may take you up on that if you're sure you don't mind!

Oh no on that happening to your luggage - hope you manage to sort everything out and WDW and Richard Petty can help replace the paperwork that means a lot to you.
Thanks Tanz! I sure hope so too. One step down, I've been to the airport... unfortunately they were little help.

I'm here, can't wait to read your TR. So sorry about your luggage, hopefully they will compensate you somehow.
Welcome aboard!!
Thanks, I'm hoping so too but not really optimistic I'm afraid.

Geez, what did they do to your luggage?? Throw it in a river and then run it over?? I'd be FURIOUS! :eek:

I hope you can get everything replaced to your liking. That's so unfortunate.
Honestly, I found out today what they did. They left it outside in torrential rain. Why? Because it's a safety policy that they don't take luggage indoors to store it and there's nothing to put over it to keep it dry. The luggage guy actually told me this. Hard to believe when you pay so much and you can't even get an ounce of service.

teekathepony

10-04-2011, 01:17 PM

It had been a long, lonely day, that Thursday. It was the day before our journey began and I was alone with the dogs. Johnny went to work that morning at 7am and stayed in town for dinner, then went to work with the army reserves that night. The bags were all packed, every last detail was looked after and I was bored.
When finally Johnny arrived home at 10:30pm it was time for bed. Getting up at 3:30am the next morning would be no picnic. Of course we did not sleep; we were far too anxious about the coming day. When sleep finally came it was full of dreams of mice and castles.
“Honk! Honk!” yelled one cell phone.
“Ding! Ding! Ding!” called the other.
It was 3:30 am and time to get up and get moving. Slowly Johnny and I rose and stumbled around getting some light breakfast (toast and milk) and kissing the dogs goodbye. We got the luggage loaded in the truck and we were off to my in-laws’ house. We arrived there right on time at 4:30. They were ready to go and we immediately packed everything into their bigger truck. We left Johnny’s truck there. Johnny’s younger sister was up and unhappy about the hour, but drove us first to a Tim Horton’s (Canadian coffee chain) for a wake up coffee, then to the airport.
Sydney airport is adorable. It has two gates – an arrival gate and a departure gate. There’s never a line up. The agent who takes your ticket also checks your bags and loads you onto the plane. You have to walk across the tarmac to board and the planes are tiny little things that hold about 30 people.
We boarded and with a Gravol in me for motion sickness, I passed out and was asleep for 1.5 hours of the 3 hour flight to Toronto. This is the sight welcoming us;
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/317572_10150324877452989_508602988_8171151_3324074 14_n.jpg

When we landed, I followed the signs to USA connections. Unfortunately Johnny spotted a baggage claim sign and was convinced that we should go that way. Knowing he was wrong but out voted by him and his family, I followed them downstairs to the wrong baggage claim. I knew we had lots of time to kill in Toronto anyway. While we waited for bags that never came, we spotted the CTV television people and a bunch of girls in Pan Am costumes from the new tv show. They were taking pictures for the CTV website and asked if we wanted to be in them. We said yes, although I doubt they’ll use it. I can’t imagine I looked very good having been up since 3:30!
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/318561_10150324877532989_508602988_8171152_1008619 960_n.jpg

We finally realized that the bags weren’t coming so we asked a worker where we were supposed to be.
“Upstairs,” he said “follow the USA connections signs”
What’s that, sir? Wendy was right? Oh yes, this would be a theme for the coming trip. Wendy’s always right. Deal with it. (Anyone watch Modern Family? Sensing a Claire similarity here? I have a problem; I’m aware of it and working on it… a little)
So we trekked upstairs, found our luggage, swung through customs and got to relax a little. We found our gate. I got another cappuccino from Tim Horton’s and a breakfast sandwich with egg and cheese on a bagel. Yum!
When finally we boarded I was in for a nasty surprise; we were in seats directly in front of the emergency exits and they did not recline.
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/298269_10150324870282989_508602988_8171095_1448273 266_n.jpg

They were also a little straighter than most other seats. Johnny’s mother and step father in the seats in front of us reclined all the way back, leaving me with hardly any room. Have I ever told you I’m a little claustrophobic? Well, that plus being crazy tired equaled a terrible flight for me. I panicked for the entire trip, hyperventilating and crying and generally freaking out. I was so happy when we landed I nearly ran off the plane.

We did come through some of the prettiest clouds I'd ever seen though:
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/293395_10150324870097989_508602988_8171094_1356975 850_n.jpg

We got to the Magical Express line:
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/299862_10150324870612989_508602988_8171102_9870122 91_n.jpg

...and were very soon boarded on a bus!
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/311805_10150324870892989_508602988_8171106_1234239 312_n.jpg

Pop Century was the second stop (after the Beach Club, I think) and we got there no problem.

Up next: A good idea gone bad? Which section were we in? Did we get our requests? Stay tuned to find out!

poisonapple_PRINCESS

10-04-2011, 06:10 PM

teekathepony

10-05-2011, 12:02 PM

Ohhhh yay for first update! That really sucks about your luggage! :eek: You're photo's of the clouds are GORGEOUS! It's a shame you had a bad flight to florida. I've never flown before...I hope it goes alright. CANNOT WAIT for another update! :goodvibes

I'm very sure your flight will be just fine! On over 25 flights I've taken, this was the only bad one and only because I'm a head case ;)

ZehnJahren

10-05-2011, 03:14 PM

Honestly, I found out today what they did. They left it outside in torrential rain. Why? Because it's a safety policy that they don't take luggage indoors to store it and there's nothing to put over it to keep it dry. The luggage guy actually told me this. Hard to believe when you pay so much and you can't even get an ounce of service.

That just makes NO sense. Why on earth can't they store the luggage under something? And why are the handles and zippers ripped off the luggage? Sounds like severe neglect - I hope you do get some sort of resolution - even if it's just new luggage.

Edited to add - I sound a little too serious in this post; all I mean is that it just seems so EXTREME for just leaving it out in the rain! It's such a disappointment; I hope it doesn't ruin any fond memories of the whole trip at all. And I hope you could even get an apology, at least.

weezy26nm

10-05-2011, 03:22 PM

What’s that, sir? Wendy was right? Oh yes, this would be a theme for the coming trip. Wendy’s always right. Deal with it. (Anyone watch Modern Family? Sensing a Claire similarity here? I have a problem; I’m aware of it and working on it… a little)

OMG I'm always right too! I keep telling everyone the sooner they accept it the better it will be for everyone.:rotfl:

IheartDDuck

10-05-2011, 09:31 PM

The first time I had to actually deplane and walk across the tarmac was when we arrived in the Dominican Republic. I am a big airport kind of girl, that was just weird to me! :lmao:

Oh, you're like me! You know, where you're right the majority of the time, but people end up doing the wrong thing instead of listening to you, and then they look stupid in the end, you get to prove they should have listened to you anyway, but they do it again and again? (whew!). :rotfl: I know exactly what you mean. I'll remember that for the future. Listen to Wendy. Check. ;)

teekathepony

10-06-2011, 06:57 AM

That just makes NO sense. Why on earth can't they store the luggage under something? And why are the handles and zippers ripped off the luggage? Sounds like severe neglect - I hope you do get some sort of resolution - even if it's just new luggage.

Edited to add - I sound a little too serious in this post; all I mean is that it just seems so EXTREME for just leaving it out in the rain! It's such a disappointment; I hope it doesn't ruin any fond memories of the whole trip at all. And I hope you could even get an apology, at least.
Well, no worries! It's a serious issue. I agree though, and like my DH said "Why can't they even throw a tarp over them?" I've gotten apologies, but they're laced with words like "that's our policy" so it's not awesome. The luggage is now sent away to be repaired. Can you believe that? They're so bad with people's luggage that they have their own repair centre. I'll keep updating though.

OMG I'm always right too! I keep telling everyone the sooner they accept it the better it will be for everyone.:rotfl:
So you know how I feel! Isn't it just easier if they would accept the fact and live with it? :rotfl:

The first time I had to actually deplane and walk across the tarmac was when we arrived in the Dominican Republic. I am a big airport kind of girl, that was just weird to me! :lmao:

Oh, you're like me! You know, where you're right the majority of the time, but people end up doing the wrong thing instead of listening to you, and then they look stupid in the end, you get to prove they should have listened to you anyway, but they do it again and again? (whew!). :rotfl: I know exactly what you mean. I'll remember that for the future. Listen to Wendy. Check. ;)
Oh I love my little airport! I'm nervous in crowds so that's why when all my friends moved to big cities, I stayed here in my small town with my small airport! :rotfl:
See? We right people need to form a support group; "My family doesn't learn that I'm always right" or "My dog learns his lessons better than my husband" :lmao:

teekathepony

10-06-2011, 07:52 AM

Just a quick little life update.

I want to spend a moment in mourning for Steve Jobs. I had no idea how much he had to do with Disney until today. I got my first apple product (iPhone) just a few months ago and it really is a great piece of machinery. So to the passing of a great thinker and Disney shareholder and Pixar fairy godfather, I tip my hat. Rest peacefully, Mr. Jobs.

It is definitely fall here in the maritimes. We had a storm blow in last night bringing very high wind, rain, and cold temperatures. In fact, they had to close the bridge to our island because of conditions like this:
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/309731_10150833348015654_657120653_20870541_165277 031_n.jpg

Currently it is only 5 degrees (41 Fahrenheit). I went to feed the horses this morning and found Teeka soaking wet and shivering! Their stalls open right to the pasture so they have both open to them, and the silly goose stayed outside in the cold rain all night. :sad2: I covered her up with a blanket and fed her indoors.

The weather has me thinking about Hallowe'en. I really don't like Hallowe'en, it's just a speed bump on the road to Christmas. We live so far in the woods that we don't even get any trick-or-treaters. Since I'm in a bit of post-vacation-depression, I decided to participate in Hallowe'en a little this year. I'm going to Disney decorate! I have a few Hallowe'en themed Disney things to decorate with, as well I'm going to use my Cricut and my printer to make some signs and things.

What Disney Hallowe'en decorations do you own?

TanzUnited99

10-06-2011, 08:49 AM

teekathepony

10-06-2011, 03:33 PM

EEK I seem to have missed that you had posted Chapter 1! :eek: So sorry but am here now to catch up!

Yay on getting your coffee in first! :thumbsup2

Lol at being right! Isn't it rubbish when you know you're right and get outvoted?! It makes you want to say 'I told you so' when it turns out you were right all along! :rotfl2:

Oh no on having not so good seats. Intrigued about the good idea that may have gone bad.

Hear hear - rest peacefully Mr Jobs.

Wowsa at the weather conditions! You have it even worse than we do in the UK and that's saying something. Hope you all remain safe.

Yay on doing a Disney themed Halloween night - can I come? :laughing: The only thing I have is the candy bags we got from MNSSHP.

Tsk tsk! Falling behind! ;) Juuuust kidding!

When I know I'm right but am outvoted anyway, I assume a smug smile that no doubt drives everyone crazy. :lmao:

The weather sure got rough! But mostly on the coast(s). I'm quite far inland (well, as much as you can be on a tiny island in the Atlantic) so it really doesn't affect me much here.

Yes you can come! Hahaha, if you ever find yourself in my part of the world I promise I'll throw a Disney themed Hallowe'en night. Bring your candy bags. :rotfl:

teekathepony

10-06-2011, 03:42 PM

-- I would like to apologize in advance for the lack of photos in this post. I realize that it makes it nearly unbearable to read and therefore have kept this update short. I hope that you can appreciate how tired I was and that I did not feel like using my camera. Photos in the next installment, I promise!--

The day was already long and it was only 3:30. We dragged our heavy luggage into the lobby and I felt like I was finally home. We joined the very short line to check in and were soon directed to a CM at the very end.

Now remember, we were supposed to check in "tomorrow" (on Saturday) but we added a day. I knew this meant that we would stay in one room the first night, and then switch to another room for the rest of the stay. On the journey, we had talked about the possibility of asking to get a room we could just stay in. Johnny and I didn’t want to, Kevin didn’t care, but my mother in law wanted to. So when we checked in, she ran ahead of me and asked before I got to the counter. Oh boy… I let this one go, but in retrospect, it’s my biggest regret of the whole trip.

The CM conferred with other CMs, looked up many things on many computers and then came back and told us that she did indeed find us a room that we could go to tonight and stay in for the rest of our trip. We were in the 80’s building. Room 7259 (us) and 7257 (in-laws).

We stopped on our way for some lunch (bread sticks and marinara sauce for me, Johnny had his absolute favourite – Disney pizza!) Johnny and I also bought new refill mugs. (Teal for me, black for Johnny)

Our only room request had been king beds and when we arrived to those rooms we learned that neither of us had one. We called and talked to more CMs and we got ourselves fixed up with new rooms for the next night, (but we would have to stay where we were for one night). That was fine by us; I knew we wouldn’t get a great room for the first night having only booked it two days before. These rooms were FAR! Literally we could not get farther away from anything! I thought maybe the 90’s would be even worse, but after staring at a map we determined that no, in fact it was not worse and was at least closer to the parking lot. Oh well, all the weight I hadn’t lost before the trip would be worked off me on the way to and from the room!

We decided to go for a quick swim. We started out at the nice quiet computer pool, but MIL and S-FIL wanted to go to Petals for some drinks so we trekked to the Hippie Dippy pool instead. The minute we got there though, the lifeguards started to clear the pool and deck area. I couldn’t figure out why until I heard the faint rumble of thunder. Oh well, at least we got a little swim in!

We went back to the rooms to change and shower and decided to head to Downtown Disney. We were getting hungry and I was anxious to try out Earl of Sandwich for the first time!

What did I get at EOS? And why would we have to head back so early? Stay tuned for the next chapter!

MEK

10-06-2011, 03:57 PM

TanzUnited99

10-06-2011, 04:00 PM

When reading about the check in story and MIL running ahead I sort of expected this to happen for some reason - don't ask my why?! :confused3

I never tasted the pizzas at Pop but am regretting it now after Johnny rating them so highly. You didn't get a pink mug?

Oh no on being so far away from everything :sad2: I hope that the room you get the next day is better.

Yay you got to try EoS so early into your trip! Can't wait to read all about it and I promise not to fall behind this time! ;)

teekathepony

10-06-2011, 04:46 PM

Holy Crap - your weather looks absolutely terrible. I'm not sure I could stand that so early in the fall. WOW! All I can say is WOW!

Glad you finally made it to POP. I agree, the 80's are in the boondocks, but they are wonderfully close to the parking lot. I've stayed in the 70's a couple times and I think its my favorite location.
This type of weather is normal for us this time of year, we usually get one or two good rain storms in the fall, but the temperature is unseasonably cold! This is our worst year ever. First no summer to speak of, now no fall! I'm moving to Florida. :rotfl:

When reading about the check in story and MIL running ahead I sort of expected this to happen for some reason - don't ask my why?! :confused3

I never tasted the pizzas at Pop but am regretting it now after Johnny rating them so highly. You didn't get a pink mug?

Oh no on being so far away from everything :sad2: I hope that the room you get the next day is better.

Yay you got to try EoS so early into your trip! Can't wait to read all about it and I promise not to fall behind this time! ;)
Oooh you're on the same wavelength as me! Quick! What am I going to think next! :lmao:
Most people think the Disney pizzas are just boring pizzas, I like them, but there's something about them that Johnny just loves. I think he had 4? Maybe 5 on the whole trip. Nope, no pink for me. I was headed for a pink mug when the teal caught my eye. I'm really a moody colour lover and have no one favourite. I often surprise myself with the colours I choose! :rotfl: Part of being an artist I suppose! I was glad to get EOS done so I didn't have to worry about it any more! Hahaha

jenbear123

10-06-2011, 04:59 PM

poisonapple_PRINCESS

10-06-2011, 06:41 PM

Yay for another update! Did you use the refillable mugs enough to make it worth it? I havent decided if we're going to be getting them or not. :confused3 And yay for Disney Halloween Decorating! :woohoo: I was at the K-mart the other day and they have TONS of Disney Halloween stuff, but I didnt want stuff that said Happy Halloween...which it all said. So I didnt buy any and I'm giving myself some time to think if I want to purchase it or not....I frequently shop this way. ha! but sadly we also wont be getting any trick-or-treaters! But we have a full candy bowl anyway! :rotfl: Cant wait for another update! :cheer2:

weswife

10-06-2011, 07:17 PM

Hello,

I am enjoying your report! :thumbsup2 The pics. are wonderful! I agree the weather today is YUCK! Right now its rain/hail,so looking forward to my Nov. trip! :santa: I am in N.S. too! :)

Can't wait to read/see more! :goodvibes

teekathepony

10-07-2011, 06:54 AM

Before I get to your actual trip updates I wanted to comment on your life update. Seems like I've already missed a few trip updates :eek:

You own horses?! I am super jealous. It is my life long dream to own one. I'll probably be old and grey by the time I can afford one but I'm determined to make it happen. Silly horse for standing out in the rain.

I was very saddened to hear of Steve Jobs death. He made a huge impact on the tech world. Let's hope Apple does not die with him.
Yes m'am I do! Meet Teeka:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3188/2631264251_4abd2dc96c_m.jpg
I've had her for 15 years now. Another horse, Dale lives with me but he technically isn't mine (though his owner hasn't seen him in three years, so he might as well be!)
I imagine (hope?) Apple will continue on, somewhat like Disney did, in the hopes of fulfilling what Jobs would have wanted.

Yay for another update! Did you use the refillable mugs enough to make it worth it? I havent decided if we're going to be getting them or not. :confused3 And yay for Disney Halloween Decorating! :woohoo: I was at the K-mart the other day and they have TONS of Disney Halloween stuff, but I didnt want stuff that said Happy Halloween...which it all said. So I didnt buy any and I'm giving myself some time to think if I want to purchase it or not....I frequently shop this way. ha! but sadly we also wont be getting any trick-or-treaters! But we have a full candy bowl anyway! :rotfl: Cant wait for another update! :cheer2:
Hmmm, good question. On this trip? No, maybe not. We had a grocery order so we had cream soda, water and orange juice in the room, but also we were way out in the far 80's section so we never felt like making the hike back just for a mug of coke or hot chocolate. On every previous trip though, yes absolutely 100% we used the mugs more than enough to make it worth it.
We will also have a full bowl of candy despite no kids! We'll just sit and eat it ourselves. :rotfl:

Hello,

I am enjoying your report! :thumbsup2 The pics. are wonderful! I agree the weather today is YUCK! Right now its rain/hail,so looking forward to my Nov. trip! :santa: I am in N.S. too! :)

Can't wait to read/see more! :goodvibes
Hello! Thank you! And welcome, fellow Nova Scotian! :woohoo:
I don't know about where you're at, but here on my slice of the Cape the weather has done a 180 this morning. It's glorious and sunny (though a little chilly, but it is October I suppose!)

jenbear123

10-07-2011, 12:31 PM

teekathepony

10-07-2011, 02:34 PM

Teeka is lovely. Do you show her at all or just a pleasure horse? English or Western? I spent 6 years learning English but now would really like to get into the laid back Western style.

All caught up. Sorry to hear you had a less than stellar plane ride to Orlando. Getting there is always the worse part of the trip. At least it is when you dislike plane travel. I have a horrible memory and sorry if you've mentioned this before but were you on the dining plan?

Aww thanks! She sure is my sweetie. I don't show her now. She's just a pony (teeka the pony = teekathepony ;) lol) and our local club doesn't allow senior riders (18+) to ride ponies in the shows. I guess they had a problem with big adults riding too-small ponies. I ride her at home still. She's sturdy and big and I'm small and light so we fit just nice. We ride English and Western, but mostly Western. Teeka was bred as a halter pony (all about how her body is put together, very thick, heavy chest and hind quarters) so she's not much of a mover and can't really cut it in the English ring. She's an excellent jumper though, especially for her size. We had no problems on 3 foot fences. But I prefer the slow, laid back Western riding, and Teeka's really really good at it too. We do reining occasionally, that's our favourite.

I don't think I did mention it yet, so no worries! We were on the dining plan all but our very first day which was a separate reservation so we didn't bother for that day.

teekathepony

10-08-2011, 09:52 AM

I am one happy little girl right now. Let me regale you with the story of the last few minutes of my life.

It was a beautiful, sunny morning. I was in the kitchen putting some dishes away and finding ingredients for shortbread cookies. My phone rang. Thinking it must be Johnny, who is working in town this morning, I dove for the cordless phone. Looking at the number however, I was disappointed to see a long distance number.

"Telemarketers." I said to myself.

I decided to answer it, as I always do, just in case it really was important, which I doubted.

"Hello?" I said

"Hello, Wendy?" answered the voice

"Yes,"

"Hi Wendy, this is (insert unfortunately forgotten name here) from the Walt Disney World company, how are you today?"

Wow! WDW is calling me? Maybe a survey about my recent stay? Probably.

"I'm very well, thank you! How are you?" I said, thinking that I would do a survey if they asked.

"I'm very well too, thank you," the lovely lady responded. "I'm calling about the email you had sent us,"

Wow, email? Run, brain, run! Oh! Right! I emailed them to get an estimated cost of shipping some maps and pins to me, the things that had been damaged in my luggage debacle.

"I was hoping you could give me a more comprehensive list of the things that were damaged," She continued, "we wouldn't want to miss anything."

"Oh! Sure," I said. "Well I had a regular park map from each park."

"Okay, just one from each park?" She asked

"Yes, just one"

"And also you had the Epcot FWF guide maps correct?"

"Yes, that's right I had a couple of those, four in fact but two dried ok"

"Ok, perfect. Was there anything else?"

"Yes," my voice almost trembled with the tragedy of it all "I had a 40th anniversary pin from Magic Kingdom. It was smashed in. I understand that they had run out of those later in the day though."

"Ok," she said, not giving anything away, but certainly with an optimistic ring to her voice "Did you also have a park map from that day too?"

"Yes I did" I said, and anger over my luggage began to surface all over again. Stupid airlines.

"Ok!" Said the Disney lady "Give me a couple of days to track these things down for you. I'll get them all together and you should get a package in the mail sometime soon."

...

I'm sure it took me 5 minutes to respond. Actually it was most likely a second, but my brain reeled so fast it could have been several days.

"Oh my gosh... really? Thank you so very much!" I managed to stutter.

"It is my pleasure!" Answered the fairy godmother, and she sounded so genuine that I really believed her.

I thanked her several more times before hanging up and dancing about the kitchen drying a few happy tears with the dish cloth I still clutched.

THAT, folks, is yet another reason that I love Disney and all they do for people. They will do their very best and go above and beyond to do whatever they must to make your day magical. pixiedust:

TanzUnited99

10-08-2011, 09:57 AM

teekathepony

10-08-2011, 10:28 AM

:woohoo: on getting such a great phone call this morning!!

What a way to start your weekend! :goodvibes

I'm so happy that Disney World will be replacing the things you lost on your way back - thumbs up to them and your Fairy Godmother! :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

Oh my gosh, I was over the moon. I AM over the moon! What a great company they are. I think Walt would be proud of them. I mean, it's not as if it was in any way their fault that the things were ruined, but they'll fix the situation that Air Canada won't. Brilliant.

norybell

10-08-2011, 11:16 AM

teekathepony

10-08-2011, 01:15 PM

I'm in! Granted, I've been absolutely awful at following TRs lately...stupid work...but I'll do my best!

That's so awesome, that Disney's sending you replacements for all that stuff. What amazing service!

Welcome Nory! :cheer2: Don't worry, I'm very forgiving when it comes to things like work getting in the way. :rotfl:

I am so happy with Disney right now. I see a happy letter of thanks in their future. :love:

poisonapple_PRINCESS

10-08-2011, 04:07 PM

yay for a good phone call today! So happy that you'll be getting your things back! :goodvibes I love talking to Disney one phone. They're fabulous!

IheartDDuck

10-08-2011, 04:20 PM

Okay I'm all caught up now. (Since unfortunately as you know I'm home with nothing better to do). :(

Oh no, MIL running ahead of you? That's never a good omen. :lmao:

At least you guys were able to get it switched around to get king beds the following day.

That's so awesome that you got that call from Disney! It's exactly why they are the company that they are. I felt the same way yesterday when we were trying to get everything figured out. DVC gave everything back to my father with basically no questions asked.

I'm so glad they're going to replace everything for you, especially the pin.

teekathepony

10-09-2011, 06:31 AM

yay for a good phone call today! So happy that you'll be getting your things back! :goodvibes I love talking to Disney one phone. They're fabulous!
They are indeed! I hope I am able to get everything back, that would just make my life. lol

Okay I'm all caught up now. (Since unfortunately as you know I'm home with nothing better to do). :(

Oh no, MIL running ahead of you? That's never a good omen. :lmao:

At least you guys were able to get it switched around to get king beds the following day.

That's so awesome that you got that call from Disney! It's exactly why they are the company that they are. I felt the same way yesterday when we were trying to get everything figured out. DVC gave everything back to my father with basically no questions asked.

I'm so glad they're going to replace everything for you, especially the pin.

:( Awww, Danielle I wish more than anything that you were not here reading my TR and were instead off making the content for your own. I read your latest update, I hope you get to see the F&WF somehow! I think it's going to work out for you in one way or another.
Disney sure is quite the company aren't they? The only company that actually puts the customer first, lol.

teekathepony

10-09-2011, 07:21 AM

* Please note - I was tired this day and did not bring my camera but I couldn't leave you with another chapter pictureless, so I took some pictures at home this morning, and some were from previous trips :headache:*

When last we spoke I left you with our decision to go to DTD for the evening. We were excited to be getting on our first Disney bus!
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/216460_10150166480202989_508602988_6870524_630783_ n.jpg

The line was short and we got there in no time. I was a little dizzy and figured I must be hungry. We looked around in Disney’s Days of Christmas first. My parents had given us some US money as an early anniversary gift and we knew just what to spend it on.

[Time out for flashback! Last year on our honeymoon there was one thing we wanted very badly -- the Cinderella Castle Christmas village piece. We had decided not to get it due to already having spent so much, and were lucky we waited because it turns out it would never have fit in our luggage! /endflashback]

We made a beeline for the village pieces and there it was, all lit up for us to see, our Cinderella Castle.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/DSCF6610.jpg
We paid for the castle and had it sent back to Pop.

We wandered around a little more. I spotted the Earl of Sandwich sign and told the others that I had to eat something. I was feeling even dizzier and could barely walk! I figured it was just hunger, so off I went. Johnny came with me. I got the Earl’s Club with a coke and some brownie bites. Johnny got a Caesar salad which he said was pretty good. The club was great, although I like my bacon very crispy which this stuff was not. The brownies were amazing! But no matter how much I ate, I couldn’t stop my head from spinning! If I turned too sudden or even moved my eyes too fast I got dizzy.

“Just let the food settle” Johnny said, concerned.

Good advice, I thought. I sat a little longer but when it started getting late, we left to meet back up with my in-laws. I had to hold Johnny tight for fear of falling. It was the oddest sensation I have ever experienced. I knew I should head back to the room but no one else wanted to leave. I know my way back better than any of them but frankly, I was afraid I might pass out on the way.

One more stop I thought to myself, then I’ll go home.

World of Disney was in my sights. We all wanted to have a good look around in there. I got a Hallowe’en hat for my cousin, who had put in her requests.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/DSCF6614.jpg
We paid and quickly and decided to take the bag with us this time, then we got out of the very crowded store.

Still no one but me was ready to go back so I sat on a stone wall while they shopped. Johnny only made one quick stop in the Lego store before coming to get me. We all walked back to the bus stop and as we rounded the corner we could see a Pop Century bus just leaving. My MIL started to run but I said to Johnny right away “I’m not running for a single bus this whole trip.” (Seriously, considering how many times I said that, it should have been my TR title!) He agreed. We’re slow paced most of the time and I never mind waiting for the next bus. Of course it made no difference either way. The first bus already left and MIL didn’t come close to making it. So she got to the stop first but we all waited for the next bus. It didn’t take long at all, maybe 5 minutes, and it felt so good to sit in the cool bus in the dark and close my eyes and stop the spinning for a few minutes.

When we got back to Pop I went straight to the room with Johnny. Yay, our luggage was there! He then grabbed our refill mugs
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/DSCF6615.jpg
and went back down to get some hot chocolate. His parents, who had not gone to their room first, had stopped at the concierge desk to check if their luggage had made it since they were already passing through (and my MIL didn't trust the ME luggage delivery system!) It turned out that it hadn’t been delivered due to a last name spelling error! So lucky they stopped. They picked up their luggage and everyone headed back.

Meanwhile I had jumped in bed. Johnny came back with the hot chocolate but I only had a few sips before I fell asleep. It was the next morning before I realized that I had been wrong all night; it wasn’t hunger, but rather exhaustion that had been making me dizzy!

Coming up -- How would I feel in the morning? How would we like our new rooms?

poisonapple_PRINCESS

10-09-2011, 07:40 AM

mousescrapper

10-09-2011, 09:48 AM

Ok I am finally here :guilty: sorry it has taken me awhile to get over here...

first how awful about your luggage...but yeah! for Disney coming through they are awesome like that :goodvibes you should read our Mickey straw story from my Nov. 2010 TR it's pure Magic :thumbsup2

sorry so far the trip is starting out a bit rough for you, hope your first full day at Disney is a turn around

J~

teekathepony

10-09-2011, 10:50 AM

Ohhhh, that is the witch hat I wanted for Halloween at work! They're all sold out online and none of my local disney stores have it! :headache: Maybe I'll call Disney if I decide I want it that bad.

I love the refillable mugs! They're so cute! Do you use them at home? (I'm really debating getting these! :laughing: )

It's a shame you were feeling so poorly while everyone else was shopping! But OH MY that castle is GORGEOUS!

cant wait for the next update! :woohoo:
The hat is even cuter in person I must say! And it's got an adjustable strap inside the band.
I do use the mugs at home, quite often actually! I bring it outside with me full of cold drinks or I put hot chocolate in it in the evenings... it always makes me feel like I'm in Disney again :love:
I can't wait until Christmas time so I can put the castle out on display and light it up! It's getting a place of honour right in the middle of my coffee table!

Ok I am finally here :guilty: sorry it has taken me awhile to get over here...

first how awful about your luggage...but yeah! for Disney coming through they are awesome like that :goodvibes you should read our Mickey straw story from my Nov. 2010 TR it's pure Magic :thumbsup2

sorry so far the trip is starting out a bit rough for you, hope your first full day at Disney is a turn around

J~
Welcome!! :woohoo:
I am on my way to your Nov. 2010 TR now. I love Disney magic stories!
It was a rough start, but it does get better, I promise this won't be all negative! :thumbsup2

IheartDDuck

10-09-2011, 10:58 AM

TanzUnited99

10-09-2011, 04:53 PM

I felt the same about our first Disney bus - I was excited to be getting on it! :laughing:

Yay on getting the Cinderella Castle! :thumbsup2 We saw it and think I would love to get it one day but may have to wait for a while.

Oh no on feeling dizzy and disorientated - I hope you felt better the next day.

norybell

10-09-2011, 08:20 PM

That's too bad, that you felt so dizzy! I hope a good night's sleep was all you needed!

teekathepony

10-10-2011, 07:13 AM

Oh no, I'm sorry about the dizziness! I know what you mean though. When we visited Paris last year, I experienced exactly the same thing due to jet lag and exhaustion. You're right, it's the weirdest feeling ever and it's indescribable!

Good looking out deciding not to run for any buses the whole trip. As a whole, I think that's wise. It's not really worth it, right? Another bus will come to pick you up.

Mmmm, Earl of Sandwich. Love it!
Such a weird feeling indeed, and kind of scary actually! I couldn't figure out where to put my feet down :rotfl:
We rarely had anything to rush for and I just figure that if I'm on vacation, I'm taking it easy lol!

I felt the same about our first Disney bus - I was excited to be getting on it! :laughing:

Yay on getting the Cinderella Castle! :thumbsup2 We saw it and think I would love to get it one day but may have to wait for a while.

Oh no on feeling dizzy and disorientated - I hope you felt better the next day.
Oh on my first (recent) trip I'll never forget how exciting getting on my first Disney bus was! It doesn't diminish much though, my first bus of each trip is sill awfully awesome.

That's too bad, that you felt so dizzy! I hope a good night's sleep was all you needed!
It was indeed, apparently my body is a whiny little kid that takes a tantrum when tired or hungry. :rotfl:

teekathepony

10-10-2011, 12:13 PM

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/1163692217_1024x768_mickey-mouse-happy-thanksgiving-wallpapers.jpg

I'd like to wish all my Canadian friends a very happy Thanksgiving today. May you all be blessed with lots to be thankful for!

And for the American readers, have some pie on our behalf today, and I'll be back next month to wish you well and be jealous of your holiday. :rotfl:

I took a few pictures of my first Thanksgiving, which was yesterday with my parents.

Spinach salad with warm maple dressing... mmmm
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/DSCF5892.jpg
Our pretty table!
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/DSCF5895.jpg
I forgot to take more once the food was put out. We had roast chicken, since I'm allergic to turkey, along with mashed potatoes, carrots, turnips, cranberry sauce and gravy. Corn was cooked, but we forgot to serve it!
For dessert we had apple pie -- the very first one I ever made myself without my mother's help!
I am headed to my in-laws' today for my second Thanksgiving dinner in a couple of minutes. She's making a turkey, so it will be a meal of side dishes for me!

So if you're celebrating today, enjoy!

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/disneythanksgiving.jpg

TanzUnited99

10-10-2011, 12:54 PM

Happy Thanksgiving Wendy!

Your meal and table set up look amazing! :thumbsup2

Have a great second meal today.

kokotg

10-10-2011, 01:37 PM

Hi--it's your close neighbor at Pop checking in :).

Hope you felt better the next day and got fabulous new rooms!

jenbear123

10-10-2011, 03:56 PM

Gobble Gobble! Or in your case....cluck cluck (that is the sound a chicken makes right? :rotfl2: )

teekathepony

10-10-2011, 05:38 PM

Happy Thanksgiving Wendy!

Your meal and table set up look amazing! :thumbsup2

Have a great second meal today.
Thanks Tanz!

Hi--it's your close neighbor at Pop checking in :).

Hope you felt better the next day and got fabulous new rooms!
Welcome! I felt much better from then on thank goodness!

Gobble Gobble! Or in your case....cluck cluck (that is the sound a chicken makes right? :rotfl2: )
:rotfl: Buck buck buck BUGAWK! lmao, something like that! :confused3

teekathepony

10-11-2011, 06:48 AM

I awoke refreshed and completely awake and not the least bit dizzy. The only problem was that it was 5am! Even in my home time zone that’s early. So I lay there playing with my phone and making notes about the day before, but I got bored quick and woke Johnny to tell him that I was going to go for a walk around the resort. I quickly and quietly got dressed, threw my camera, cell phone, book and the refill mugs in my bag and off I went. Wow, it was still very dark! I decided to keep to the well-lit areas until the sun came up a little more. I wandered around and took the long way to Everything Pop. It was almost 6:00 so I headed to get some hot chocolate and find somewhere to sit with my book.

I got my hot chocolate and started to wander toward Hour Glass Lake. I had in mind that I wanted to see the progress on the new Art of Animation buildings. I walked there by way of the Hippie Dippy pool and took a few pictures of the completely empty pool deck as I did.
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/309435_10150325845212989_508602988_8175434_7288180 03_n.jpg

It was at this point that I kicked myself for only bringing my little point and shoot camera and leaving my SLR in the room! But I did the best I could.
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/312938_10150325845322989_508602988_8175435_1802902 503_n.jpg

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/303786_10150325845517989_508602988_8175437_1510693 714_n.jpg

I wandered to the Generation Gap Bridge and took a look at the new resort but it was too dark to see much. I took pictures of Pop instead:
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/305278_10150325845672989_508602988_8175438_2073966 220_n.jpg

Then I found a bench and started to read a little.

A few minutes later I felt like someone was staring at me. It was such a creepy feeling in the early morning darkness that I jumped. Looking around, I spotted a cute little bunny staring at me and wondering, no doubt, if I had any breakfast to share. I searched my bag for a granola bar or something but alas, I was foodless. Sorry little bunny, I have nothing for you!
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/300383_10150325845877989_508602988_8175439_1955664 353_n.jpg

It was 7:30 and I was feeling restless. I took one last walk over the bridge and got this:
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/314564_10150325846032989_508602988_8175440_1936563 698_n.jpg
... the only picture I got the whole trip and it's blurry! :sad2:

I slowly made my way back to Everything Pop where the crowd had increased a little. I refilled both mugs with hot chocolate and made my way back to our room the long way, around Memory Lane.

Having been awake so early, I was raring to go by the time I got back to our room with hot chocolate. I woke Johnny and we started to get ready for the day. His mother called us to tell us that she went to the check in desk to change to our next room and although her new room wasn’t ready yet, she was given her key to the world. We decided to go do the same.

“Hi,” I said to the CM at the check in desk. I am always the one who explains things, Johnny trips on his tongue. “We’d like to check out of one reservation and into another.” I gave her a quick explanation about our situation as she pecked away at her keyboard. It didn’t take long at all.

“Happy Anniversary” she said as she handed over two anniversary pins along with our keys to the world “All set, but your new room isn’t ready yet. If you put your luggage by your window I’ll have them pick it up and store it, then deliver it when your new room is ready.”

Knowing that she would say that, we had already done it and we told her that it was ready.

“Oh wait,” she said with one more glance at her monitor “your room is ready now. Number 7251.”

My mind raced… 7251? But that was only 7 rooms from where we already were! I could have cried. I had high hopes of moving much closer. Luckily Johnny was thinking rationally.

“We’ll just take our own luggage down then” he said. The CM smiled and said we were all set and she gave us an envelope. She told us to have a magical stay as we headed back to our rooms.

On the way I opened the envelope.

“Cool!” I said “A free photobook! ‘Magic Your Way Plus Disney’s Photo Book and Dining Package; Disney’s PhotoPass PhotoBook Voucher. This voucher good for One (1) Disney’s Photo Book*’”

I didn’t know anything about this voucher so I was pretty excited.

We got back to our old room and opened the door. To our disappointment, our luggage was already gone! Those luggage services people are quick. We went to my in-laws’ room but their luggage had not been picked up yet! How strange. We went down the hall to our new room expecting our luggage but no, unfortunately it was not there. It was most likely on its way to storage. We had a good look around our new room. Despite being still as far as you could get, the room itself was great. It was a handicap accessible room with a king bed. I took exactly one picture of the room! What’s wrong with me? I’m a horrible Diser.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/IMG_0301.jpg
That's it, that's all I got! And it was a few days into the trip. I'll learn. Next trip.
We got a great surprise though – a free fridge!

I put my DIS sign in the window and we called Johnny’s parents to come look at our new room. We thought if we waited just a little while we might see our luggage delivered before we left for a park. It sounded like good logic, but we had thoroughly explored the new room and still no luggage. Oh well, we stored the in-laws’ luggage in our new room and headed to the bus stop.

Here's a picture to show you where we were staying and the route we ended up finding was best:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/Untitled-1-1.jpg

Next chapter: Finally into the meat of our trip! Our first park! Which would it be?

MEK

10-11-2011, 07:13 AM

kokotg

10-11-2011, 11:07 AM

Yay--you got the king bed! We had the bonus fridge a couple of times at Pop; it's really nice.

Looking at your map, I can see why it took us so long to get to Classic Hall the time we cut through the 70's. Guess I should have looked at a map while I was there!

We spotted a couple of Pop bunnies, too--I don't remember seeing any other years (but maybe we were out at the right times more this year). I'm sure he didn't mind that you didn't have anything to feed him; he had plenty of grass to munch on :)

jenbear123

10-11-2011, 12:21 PM

Hey, I think we had a room in the same area the first time we stayed at Pop Century. We found a good short cut, like you did, through the parking lot. Many times we found ourselves running for a bus though :laughing: I love the early morning shots around the resort. Very pretty.

TanzUnited99

10-11-2011, 03:44 PM

I love that you wondered around Pop so early in the morning! What a great thing to do :thumbsup2

Your pics look fine to me and I love how at Disney World you can see a squirrel and bunny at every turn - miss not seeing them in the UK :laughing:

Yay on getting a King bed!

teekathepony

10-11-2011, 04:21 PM

I love the pictures you took of POP in the early morning. Even with a point and shot the came out really well. I love the early morning at the resorts. I think its really the coolest part of the day. Everything is so still and motionless and you can really just inhale the magic.

Congrats on your king sized bed! Aren't they the best? I had one at POFQ one stay and it was fabulous! Makes the whole room look different and cooler!
I loved my early morning stroll. Usually I'm too tired! But in a busy place like Disney, I felt like I had the whole resort to myself that morning.
Oh that King bed was fantastic. So much room!

Yay--you got the king bed! We had the bonus fridge a couple of times at Pop; it's really nice.

Looking at your map, I can see why it took us so long to get to Classic Hall the time we cut through the 70's. Guess I should have looked at a map while I was there!

We spotted a couple of Pop bunnies, too--I don't remember seeing any other years (but maybe we were out at the right times more this year). I'm sure he didn't mind that you didn't have anything to feed him; he had plenty of grass to munch on :)
We tried the 70's route too, hahaha, we did a few different ones before we found this one. My S-FIL still wasn't convinced it was the best but the rest of us were so that's the way we went! :rotfl:

Hey, I think we had a room in the same area the first time we stayed at Pop Century. We found a good short cut, like you did, through the parking lot. Many times we found ourselves running for a bus though :laughing: I love the early morning shots around the resort. Very pretty.
Thank you! It was a pain being that far away at first. If we'd had a vehicle it would have been great, so close to the parking lot! But we managed, and even lost some weight with all the walking! :lmao:

I love that you wondered around Pop so early in the morning! What a great thing to do :thumbsup2

Your pics look fine to me and I love how at Disney World you can see a squirrel and bunny at every turn - miss not seeing them in the UK :laughing:

Yay on getting a King bed!
It was very relaxing that morning. Loved listening to the birds!
I live in the absolute wilderness so I see squirrels all the time, (no bunnies though! I do miss that about WDW! :lmao:)

BerrysGirl

10-11-2011, 06:39 PM

IheartDDuck

10-11-2011, 10:28 PM

Early riser! That's soooo not me. I will never have those kinds of pictures. I could take a picture of my bed! :lmao:

First park. Hmmmmm. Magic Kingdom!

teekathepony

10-12-2011, 06:34 AM

I'm following you over from my TR :)
What a peaceful start to your first full Disney day! Those pictures are awesome.

I know you were bummed with your location but based on your map you were near the giant Roger Rabbit statue? I would looove to walk past that every day :goodvibes:
Hi!! Welcome! :cheer2:
We were close to Roger Rabbit but we never walked by him, we went in the other direction with a view of nothing but parked cars. :rotfl: Although granted it was fun picking out all the different license plates!

Early riser! That's soooo not me. I will never have those kinds of pictures. I could take a picture of my bed! :lmao:

First park. Hmmmmm. Magic Kingdom!
Only on the first morning! :rotfl:
Guess noted... but I'm not telling yet! :lmao:

mousescrapper

10-13-2011, 05:03 PM

teekathepony

10-14-2011, 10:46 AM

sorry your room wasn't any closer to the main area...but at least you have the king bed and the nice bonus voucher...I made a Disney photopass book twice now, they are really nice :thumbsup2

looking forward to hearing about the first park day popcorn::

I'm so glad to know the books are really nice! I've done photobooks before but not from Disney. I love them! Mine was shipped two days ago, can't wait till it gets here! :yay:

teekathepony

10-14-2011, 11:37 AM

We were all anxious to get going. Our new keys to the world were burning in our pockets. This was a freebie morning! We weren’t even supposed to be here yet! It almost felt sneaky. So what to do with our extra time?

We decided that since our very last day was supposed to be an Epcot day, but it had been partially reassigned to MK for the 40th celebrations, that we would go to Epcot this fine morning and get done as much as we could.
We almost ran to the bust stop and eagerly waited for the bus. There weren’t many people in line since we were leaving a little late (roughly 10:30 if my memory serves me). The bus came without much wait and we were off!
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/317467_10150325846182989_508602988_8175441_8028317 10_n.jpg
The in-laws on the bus.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/002.jpg
Johnny and I!

We got to Epcot and stopped for a few minutes to take some Photopass pictures and our own too.
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/308142_10150325846487989_508602988_8175444_4392943 20_n.jpg

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/311466_10150325846657989_508602988_8175445_4564633 13_n.jpg
Is this the first group picture? I think so. Intro: L - R Kevin (my step-father in law) Monique (my mother in law) Me, Johnny (DH)

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/003.jpg

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/312232_10150325847122989_508602988_8175448_5913448 50_n.jpg
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"I love EPCOT Thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis much!"

We decided to head straight for The Land to get a Soarin’ fastpass and then figure things out from there. We did just that and our fp return time was between 12:30-1:30pm. We decided to do Living with the Land since we were right there and the wait was only about 5 minutes. Everyone really enjoyed themselves, even though I usually wait until later in the day to do this ride as it offers a nice time off your feet. We hopped off with energy to spare and decided to run to The Seas with Nemo and friends.
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/304195_10150325848387989_508602988_8175458_2061362 217_n.jpg

The posted wait time was only 10 minutes, but it was essentially a walk on by the time we got through the long (but wonderful!) queue line. I love this queue, it’s so beautiful. We got in our clams and found Nemo.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/005.jpg

We spent some time in The Seas checking out all the fish (and I made my wish list for when we get a salt water tank running!) and of course watching the dolphins. That passed enough time that it was now 12:00. We were hungry so it was perfect timing for some lunch before our Soarin’ fp were ready!

We went to Sunshine Seasons. I’d never eaten here before! Mostly the different counters and slightly different cuisine intimidated me, but Johnny hates trying new things so he never wanted to try SS before. I convinced him this year and we were happy we did! I had the sweet and sour chicken with rice.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/DSCF6137.jpg
It was really tasty, but I did find that by the end of my plate I got sick of it. Johnny had a turkey sandwich and was disappointed with the turkey roll. He hates processed turkey but he never learns! Every sandwich In Disney has processed turkey! He said it was ok.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/DSCF6139.jpg
For my dessert I got the amazing strawberry shortcake! It was phenomenal. I can now understand the hype!
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/DSCF6138.jpg
Johnny had the apple… dumpling? Turnover? Gosh… what was it called? You know, the little apple dessert. He loved it!

We relaxed over lunch and when we were finished eating it was 1:15 – time to ride Soarin!
We got in the Fastpass line and waited approximately 20 minutes (the stand-by wait was something like 60 minutes, so we didn’t do too bad). We requested row 1 and were told to go to concourse 3, row 1! YAY!
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/317222_10150325848582989_508602988_8175459_1523211 963_n.jpg

This was Johnny’s parents’ first time on Soarin! In February when they were there the wait was too long and they only had 3 days to do 4 parks, so they skipped it. They both really really enjoyed it, and it would ultimately be a favourite ride of the whole trip! Johnny’s mother did get a little nervous thinking she would slip out of her seat. I noticed the film looked dirty and was often too distracted by the black blobs to enjoy the show.

We headed to Test Track to grab some fastpasses as the standby line was fairly long and the fp return time was not too far away. We then headed to Mission Space! Green team had no wait (and I get motion sick and my MIL has vertigo!) so despite Johnny’s wanting to go orange, we kept it low key.
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/311917_10150325849062989_508602988_8175464_2041205 457_n.jpg
We had fun! I love this ride but I get so nervous when they close the simulator... it's a small space! I'm claustrophobic but if I concentrate on the screen in front of me it's all good.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/008.jpg

We had a little time to go before our TT fp time, plus we were all feeling hot and tired so we went to Ellen's Energy Adventure. We had a great time off our feet and really enjoyed the ride too. Then we went to Spaceship Earth! I love this ride so much. Unfortunately when we got off, our pictures were nowhere to be found and we were running late for our fastpasses for Test Track. :(

We decided to try SE another time to send our photos home, and we headed to Test Track! With our fps we waited roughly 15 minutes. We had a blast and my in-laws loved it! (Another first for them).

When we got out of TT I got a text from my cousin Melissa -- she and Ron were at Pop Century just getting ready to check in! We headed out of Epcot and to the busses to get back to meet the rest of our team!

Next: Melissa's room, passing time, first Dismeet and dinner at the Boardwalk!

kokotg

10-14-2011, 12:41 PM

IheartDDuck

10-14-2011, 07:56 PM

Well, I figured I was wrong about the park you went to, but what can you do? :lmao:

I love Epcot! I loved that park even when I was a kid. I'm glad that you enjoyed the strawberry shortcake at SS. It's amazing!

MEK

10-15-2011, 07:12 AM

Great update.

I love the picture with Spaceship Earth and the Mickey balloon. Very cool! :thumbsup2

I would say your Epcot day is off to a great start. You really got to do a lot, even after arriving late.

The strawberry shortcake looks delish!

Looking forward to more!

teekathepony

10-15-2011, 07:38 AM

Hooray for freebie days! We always try to have at least one day when we don't have plans in advance and we can do whatever sounds good. Epcot's my favorite, too :)

You got some great group pictures in front of SE!

We missed Universe of Energy this year :( ...it's the first year we haven't done it, and it makes me kind of sad. I love Ellen. And Bill Nye! and dinosaurs are nice, too.
We did get some fun pics in front of SE! My photopass CD is on its way so I should have some more soon! :dance3:
I miss Bill Nye's show so I love getting a dose of him on Ellen! I love Ellen too.

Well, I figured I was wrong about the park you went to, but what can you do? :lmao:

I love Epcot! I loved that park even when I was a kid. I'm glad that you enjoyed the strawberry shortcake at SS. It's amazing!
I want some strawberry shortcake from SS right now... hahaha omg, it was so good!
I can't remember anything from Epcot when I was a kid (I went when I was 5) but I know in the last 4 trips it's become my favourite. The area music gets me teary eyed!

Great update.

I love the picture with Spaceship Earth and the Mickey balloon. Very cool! :thumbsup2

I would say your Epcot day is off to a great start. You really got to do a lot, even after arriving late.

The strawberry shortcake looks delish!

Looking forward to more!

Thanks!
Yep, short lines were seriously in our favour that day. We got more done than I realized!

TanzUnited99

10-15-2011, 08:43 AM

jenbear123

10-15-2011, 03:02 PM

You got a lot done so far at Epcot! Your food looks yummy from SS but their portion sizes are huge! I can understand how you would tire of it by the end. Can't wait for more!!!

teekathepony

10-15-2011, 06:49 PM

Yay on having a freebie morning!

Love the Epcot photos and I agree in that it sure is a great park! :thumbsup2

Mmm my strawberry shortcake!! I soo want one right now! :rotfl:

:woohoo: on getting first row on Soarin and the more I read about Johnny the more I notice the similarities with Zaheer - lets just say he was also keen to ride Orange side of MS! :laughing:

I wonder who that DIS meet could be :rolleyes1 :lmao:
Must be a boy thing. :lmao:
Yes I wonder who it could be! :confused: :confused3 :idea:

You got a lot done so far at Epcot! Your food looks yummy from SS but their portion sizes are huge! I can understand how you would tire of it by the end. Can't wait for more!!!
We did get a lot done! The short-line-deity was on our side for sure. The food was scrumptious but you hit it right on -- too much! lol!

teekathepony

10-17-2011, 08:19 AM

Hi everyone! Did you all have a great weekend?

I wanted to share a little of mine. On Saturday we went to two different Christmas fairs and learned of three more coming up within the next month! I'm so excited, I love Christmas!

Yesterday was my first wedding anniversary. :love: Johnny and I spent the whole day together. We agreed no gifts and no major celebrations, as our celebration was Disney and our gift to each other was Discovery Cove! We kept saying "This time last year we were..." at every hour. We went to an early movie (The Big Year -- it was really good!) then did a little shopping. We went to a building supply store and they had all their Christmas decorations out! I spent a while looking at those.

We came back home and went for a walk. It was an absolutely beautiful day and the fall colours are out. We took the dogs around a pond nearby. Here are some pictures I snapped:
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/298309_10150340631047989_508602988_8261751_5976513 62_n.jpg

Holly loves walks around the pond:
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/314929_10150340631302989_508602988_8261755_3306583 52_n.jpg

My kitty Oliver followed us:
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/291955_10150340631642989_508602988_8261760_1432241 429_n.jpg

Johnny and Sheeka went ahead a bit:
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/303713_10150340631862989_508602988_8261762_2057430 849_n.jpg

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/294199_10150340632367989_508602988_8261768_2135629 325_n.jpg

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http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/320791_10150340633612989_508602988_8261782_1538918 683_n.jpg

Then we came back and had a nice meal and lit our special "German Wedding Candle". I have a dear friend who lives in Germany, and she stood in my wedding. As a gift she had this amazing candle made for us. She told us that in Germany, every couple has one when they get married, and that they light it in the church (which we did) and then they light it on every anniversary!
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/295906_10150340633757989_508602988_8261785_1684683 235_n.jpg

We finished the evening watching No Strings Attached on our brand new Netflix subscription (well, we're starting the one month free trial... so far... ehh.)

I promise I'll have a proper TR update either later today (unlikely, I have a new scrapbooking course starting tonight!) or tomorrow!!

BerrysGirl

10-17-2011, 09:25 AM

What a fun morning! I really need to get around to trying the strawberry shortcake at SS. It always looks so good!

vikkii19

10-17-2011, 02:11 PM

Sunshine Seasons looks great. I haven't been either, but will definitely try it in the future. You're pictures look great and happy anniversary.

TanzUnited99

10-18-2011, 02:11 PM

Congrats on your first wedding anniversary! :cool1:

I love the photos from your walk and the candle - what a great wedding gift.

teekathepony

10-19-2011, 08:02 AM

What a fun morning! I really need to get around to trying the strawberry shortcake at SS. It always looks so good!
Ohh yes, you must try it! I'm not even a big strawberry shortcake fan in general, but this one was amazing.

Sunshine Seasons looks great. I haven't been either, but will definitely try it in the future. You're pictures look great and happy anniversary.
It was pretty good! Lots of choices, that's for sure. And thanks!

Congrats on your first wedding anniversary! :cool1:

I love the photos from your walk and the candle - what a great wedding gift.
Thanks Tanz! :goodvibes

teekathepony

10-19-2011, 09:15 AM

If you remember, we had just received a text from Melissa telling us that she had arrived at Pop Century. We headed back to our rooms and I got another text telling me that she was in her room and what her room number was -- 4365. Nowhere near us! We called from our room and found out that their travel agent had booked them into a preferred room without them knowing. They were ok with it, after all they were in the 60's right at the pool! They had prime rooms! I have to admit, it made me think about paying for preferred next time.

We agreed to meet at the Hippie Dippy pool for a swim. It was great, I haven't seen Melissa since the summer at our grandmother's funeral, so it was super to see her in a much happier context! We got down there and had a lot of fun in the pool.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/Johnnys%20Disney%20pics/DSCF3535.jpg
"YAY! I'm in a Disney pool!"

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/Johnnys%20Disney%20pics/DSCF3537.jpg
Melissa and Ron having fun!

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/Johnnys%20Disney%20pics/DSCF3539.jpg
I believe my MIL had just tried to drown my S-FIL and he had water in his eyes and nose, hence the face!

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/307300_10150835677580128_554975127_21024723_109749 1789_n.jpg

At roughly 5:30 we got out of the pool and all headed back to our rooms to shower and get ready for our dinner at the ESPN club. While Johnny was in the shower I called home to chat with my parents. I checked the time and realized that I was almost late for my very first Dismeet! I checked my cell and had a text saying that she was already at the pool. I grabbed Johnny and headed down to meet TanzUnited99 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2809078)! We chatted for a while, what a nice person she is! I'm sure I could have chatted forever, but we eventually broke off to head our separate ways. I didn't get any pictures though! I'm so glad I got to meet you Tanz!

We had met up with Melissa and Ron at the pool also so they headed back to the boondocks... I mean, our room with us. I quickly got ready for dinner and we all left for the bus stop! We stopped in at the concierge desk to find out the best way to get to the Boardwalk and he recommended going to DHS and either walking or getting the boat. We did just that and all voted boat.
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/300618_10150835678090128_554975127_21024728_184835 9998_n.jpg
It's like it knows I'm scared of it and it's saying 'Tomorrow, Wendy -- you're mine!'

We actually got off at the Swan & Dolphin stop and walked to the Boardwalk.
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/301243_10150835678310128_554975127_21024729_921743 225_n.jpg
So beautiful!

I've never been in this area before and I was so glad we decided to this time. It was beautiful and we all enjoyed the sights as we walked slowly toward the ESPN club. We had no reservations as this restaurant is just walk up, so we had no rush for anything.
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/303138_10150325849477989_508602988_8175471_1428520 863_n.jpg

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/309599_10150325849747989_508602988_8175474_1763479 156_n.jpg

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/294139_10150325849937989_508602988_8175475_1990119 66_n.jpg

We wandered to ESPN and saw the line to get in was already long so we joined it.

"Party of 6" we said when the CM came to us.

"Any particular game you want to watch?" He asked

We all looked at each other. Most of what was playing was football and I know absolutely nothing about football (but ask me about hockey, eh!) and no one else had any preferences so we were content to sit anywhere. We waited for quite a while for a table, I think it was almost 45 minutes but when we did get seated we knew it was worth the wait.

We took some pictures while we waited:
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/320590_10150325850107989_508602988_8175476_1301801 818_n.jpg
(Johnny is a NASCAR fan, so he liked this one)

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/298932_10150325850292989_508602988_8175477_8230793 28_n.jpg

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/305887_10150325850497989_508602988_8175478_1916927 053_n.jpg

95 tvs with 25 satellite channels, I believe! Unfortunately for me they were all tuned in to football, but it was still a really fun atmosphere.

While we waited for our food we took some pictures too!

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/Moniques%20Disney%20Pics/014.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/Moniques%20Disney%20Pics/013.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/Moniques%20Disney%20Pics/012.jpg

We were served fairly quickly and the food was absolutely amazing. I can't remember what everyone got, but I had nachos and they were the best nachos I'd ever had.
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/313099_10150325852852989_508602988_8175489_1282152 157_n.jpg

Johnny had a steak and he told me (get this!) it was the best he'd ever eaten, even better than Le Cellier's!
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/291834_10150325853102989_508602988_8175490_1749794 26_n.jpg

I think Melissa had a burger, which she loved.My MIL had the wings? I think? And she enjoyed them too. My S-FIL had the same nachos as me... and I can not remember for the life of me what Ron had. Huge portions for all dishes too.

We enjoyed our time at ESPN and took our amazing desserts home with us. Melissa and Ron wanted to shop in the ESPN store a little and Johnny wanted to see the arcade so I told them I'd go find out how to get back to Pop. We knew we would have to get to Downtown Disney but I couldn't see anything that would take us there. When everyone was ready, we wandered back down the Boardwalk and found two CMs, one right after the other, who couldn't tell us how to get to Downtown Disney! I thought that was so strange for Disney CMs! The next one we found pointed us in the direction of the Swan's bus stop and we were all set. We got to Downtown Disney and to the Pop Century line where we got in trouble! There was no one at all around the bus stop, so instead of walking through the whole line, we entered the exit. A bus CM came over and told us in a very stern voice to use the proper line! :confused3 I have no idea what difference it made, even when the bus came we were still the only 6 at the stop. Oh well, it gave us some giggles at the man who took his job very seriously. A bus came within 5 minutes and when we got back to Pop we all dispersed to our rooms and fell straight to sleep!

Next chapter: Our first full park day, Melissa's first park this trip and Ron's first park ever! Where did we go? (Hint: Read this post carefully!)

poisonapple_PRINCESS

10-19-2011, 12:37 PM

TanzUnited99

10-19-2011, 04:12 PM

Great pool pics!

Aaw thank you - it was great meeting you too and I felt exactly the same! I could have carried on talking to you for a long time as well. I feel bad that we didn't get a picture together. I think I had left my camera in the room.

On to ESPN and the food looks soo yummy - I'm drooling over the nachos!! :laughing:

Love your ToT comment and how strange about the CMs not being able to help you.

Lol at being told off for not entering the Pop bus line in the proper way! We did that a few times too but luckily got away with it.

ZehnJahren

10-19-2011, 04:54 PM

Glad I got to catch up - been at WDW and now on the beach in Ft. Myers and our inernet reception has been super spotty. Trying to catch up on all these TRs and PTRs I've been watching, plus prepare for my own - all with touch-and-go internet service!

That's so funny about ToT - I always feel like it's giving me the stink-eye anytime I see it. Even from Epcot. It's very menacing! When I was there last week, a mom standing next to me with her two girls told them that the preshow was actually the ride, and to make sure they put their hands up - I thought the one litle girl was going to pee herself when her mom said that!

What made you guys go to ESPN? Just hear the food was good? I've heard very little about it, but that steak looks good.

kokotg

10-19-2011, 05:07 PM

Looks like a fun afternoon/evening! I love the Boardwalk at night--so pretty! And a better steak than Le Cellier...hmm, I might have to check that out :laughing:

IheartDDuck

10-19-2011, 08:01 PM

I know where you guys are going the next day...:rolleyes1 That tower is coming to get you for sure.

ESPN Club is pretty good. Although I don't remember much about it, because the last time I was there was on Superbowl Sunday this year. I wonder WHY I don't remember anything? :lmao:

How great that you had your DISmeet with Tanz! That's just so much fun.

teekathepony

10-20-2011, 08:04 AM

Ohh the ESPN club looks awesome. DBF went there on his last Disney trip and still talks about it to this day AND still wears his ESPN jacket he got while there...regardless that it is falling apart (LITERALLY) ugh I hate that thing. Annyyway...we'll probably end up there on our trip. :laughing: Maybe he can get a new, not so nasty ESPN sweatshirt....I better stop talking about that stupid sweatshirt before this turns into a five paragraph essay about why I despise that thing! :rotfl:

Cant wait to the next update! popcorn::
LMAO! I know exactly what you mean. Although it doesn't always work out in a good way when they get a replacement for an ugly old object... in Johnny's case, he replaced a hideous old Nike hat with a hideous new Bass Pro Shop hat. :sad2: It's no better. :rotfl:

Great pool pics!

Aaw thank you - it was great meeting you too and I felt exactly the same! I could have carried on talking to you for a long time as well. I feel bad that we didn't get a picture together. I think I had left my camera in the room.

On to ESPN and the food looks soo yummy - I'm drooling over the nachos!! :laughing:

Love your ToT comment and how strange about the CMs not being able to help you.

Lol at being told off for not entering the Pop bus line in the proper way! We did that a few times too but luckily got away with it.
I didn't even think of a picture, I had my phone I could have snapped one! How silly. Next time ;)
Those ESPN nachos were to die for. I'd teleport back to the Boardwalk just for some nachos if I could.
I was so shocked at being told off by a Disney CM :lmao: We have always gone in the front of the line when no one's around, no other CM ever minded! :rotfl:

Glad I got to catch up - been at WDW and now on the beach in Ft. Myers and our inernet reception has been super spotty. Trying to catch up on all these TRs and PTRs I've been watching, plus prepare for my own - all with touch-and-go internet service!

That's so funny about ToT - I always feel like it's giving me the stink-eye anytime I see it. Even from Epcot. It's very menacing! When I was there last week, a mom standing next to me with her two girls told them that the preshow was actually the ride, and to make sure they put their hands up - I thought the one litle girl was going to pee herself when her mom said that!

What made you guys go to ESPN? Just hear the food was good? I've heard very little about it, but that steak looks good.
So jealous right now! Hahaha, just kidding, I hope you had a super fabulous trip so far!
ToT IS menacing! I've always thought so and even more now. (I'll get to that later! :lmao:)
We went to ESPN because my in-laws had eaten at the Flying Fish in February and didn't like it. My S-FIL, while walking around the Boardwalk mentioned that he would rather have gone to ESPN than the FF. (He's a sports fan) So this trip when we were talking about restaurants and such, he mentioned that one, we looked up the menu, it looked awesome. I wanted to go to the Boardwalk anyway because I'd never been, so we decided it sounded like a nice evening! We hadn't heard anything at all about the food but it was so so so delicious.

Looks like a fun afternoon/evening! I love the Boardwalk at night--so pretty! And a better steak than Le Cellier...hmm, I might have to check that out :laughing:
That's what he says! Best steak he ever had. I watched him cut it with his fork, and there was no fat on it anywhere! He recommends it to everyone now -- "If you ever go to Orlando, go to the ESPN club at the Boardwalk and get the steak!" hahaha

I know where you guys are going the next day...:rolleyes1 That tower is coming to get you for sure.

ESPN Club is pretty good. Although I don't remember much about it, because the last time I was there was on Superbowl Sunday this year. I wonder WHY I don't remember anything? :lmao:

How great that you had your DISmeet with Tanz! That's just so much fun.
Hahaha ohh there were a few people in ESPN that night that probably wouldn't remember much of their night either! And it wasn't Superbowl Sunday! :rotfl:

poisonapple_PRINCESS

10-20-2011, 04:39 PM

LMAO! I know exactly what you mean. Although it doesn't always work out in a good way when they get a replacement for an ugly old object... in Johnny's case, he replaced a hideous old Nike hat with a hideous new Bass Pro Shop hat. :sad2: It's no better. :rotfl:

:rotfl2: Hahaha I'm going to have to take a photo of the nasty thing and post it....its had so many repairs I'd LOVE for him to replace is with something not so...incredibly nasty!

BerrysGirl

10-22-2011, 08:51 PM

teekathepony

10-24-2011, 11:05 AM

I feel ya on shelling out the extra $$$ for the preferred room. If we had stayed at the Pop I was gonna request that DBF do the same thing. I've stayed at both a preferred and a standard room at All Star Movies and I DEFINITELY preferred the preferred (ha!).
Hahaha, I see the benefit now. Other times I've not paid for a preferred and still ended up in the 50's or 70's which was fantastic, but unfortunately my luck ran out this trip! :lmao:

ZehnJahren

10-24-2011, 02:05 PM

Hahaha, I see the benefit now. Other times I've not paid for a preferred and still ended up in the 50's or 70's which was fantastic, but unfortunately my luck ran out this trip! :lmao:

We got one of those "holy crap this room is far away" rooms at Pop on this trip, and had I not had big plans to move us to the CR for half of the trip I'd have really been kicking myself for not going for preferred. Just the two nights we were there were crazy - it felt like it took forever to get ANYWHERE. I got off the bus on the second day I was at WDW and wondered whether it was farther to walk to the room or to walk back to HS. I know it's an exaggeration, but GEEZ!

That being said, I would stay at Pop again. :wizard:

teekathepony

10-25-2011, 09:33 AM

Quick update, then onto the TR!

I went to my mail box yesterday and had a key for the package compartment.

“Yay! A package!” 3 pieces of Mickey Mail were inside! I had a new 2011 Vacation Planning DVD (which I didn’t order, but whatever, they’re always fun to get in the mail!), an Adventures by Disney brochure (we’re going to Germany in two years and it turns out Disney has a vacation package there!), and my Photopass photo book!! I expected the CD first as it was shipped first, but I was so pleased to get the book. It’s beautiful! I am so pleased with it!
I got the brown leather look Mickey cover:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/IMG_0404.jpg

and used the Vintage theme throughout:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/IMG_0405.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/IMG_0406.jpg

Now please bear with me today. I updated my iPhone which had all my TR notes in it and when it updated half my notes were gone. I have to rely on my pictures and my memory to tell me when I did everything. I think I can get it right. Here we go!

Chapter 7; The Terrible Terrifying Tower

4 of us set our alarms for 6:30 that morning –Johnny, his mother and step father and myself. We all bounced out of bed with an enthusiasm that was indicative of how early in our trip it was. We got ready and were out the door and at the bus stop at 7:30. A bus came with very little wait and we were on and seated and ready to go. We got there quickly and bounced back off the bus and to the entrance to find the early entry line. We found it, gave our names and were ushered inside the park!

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/305202_10150326039977989_508602988_8176688_9010488 94_n.jpg

We took a few pictures of the empty park:
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/303747_10150326040127989_508602988_8176691_1250952 154_n.jpg
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/297647_10150326040282989_508602988_8176693_1126575 511_n.jpg

...and then made our way to Hollywood & Vine for breakfast. If you read my PTR you may remember that we debated on this breakfast as it’s a character breakfast for kids. When we checked in I asked if there was any such thing as a corner table where we might be out of the way but as I suspected, the CM told me that the characters make their way to every table equally.
“You can just wave to them though and they’ll wave back” she said. I thanked her and said I would. We didn’t wait too long for a seat, maybe 10 minutes.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/021.jpg

We got in and seated and ordered our drinks and hit the buffet! We all had a lot of food and enjoyed everything very much. The characters were coming around but we waved and smiled and they waved back and moved on.
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/309396_10150326041027989_508602988_8176707_8748580 15_n.jpg
Food!

We finished eating and settling the bill and were out the door right at 9:00. We were too far back in the rope drop line to see the show or whatever was going on but we could hear the music. We discussed our options as we waited. We planned to meet Melissa and Ron at 9:30 at the Pixar archway. It was too early to head over there now but we didn’t know if we would have enough time to do anything else. I reasoned that if we did anything besides TSM, we would have no wait and most likely have more than enough time.
As the rope dropped and the stampede made their way to TSM, we struggled to cross the street and head to Rock N Rollercoaster!

We stopped for some Photopass pictures on the way. The whole area was very quiet and the PP photogs were looking bored.

There was no wait at all for RnR. Johnny’s parents hadn’t done this ride on their last trip. We got on and had a fantastic ride and when we got off we were all so excited. RnR is my favourite Disney ride!
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/297890_10150326041447989_508602988_8176713_1990261 761_n.jpg
In-laws: Holding on for dear life. Johnny and I: rock hands and screams of joy!

I was ready to go again but it was time to head to Pixar Place to meet Melissa and Ron.
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/305227_10150326041747989_508602988_8176719_1151093 29_n.jpg

We met up with Melissa and Ron and got 6 fastpasses for TSM. Our return time was not too bad, considering (and once upon a time I had it written down but it’s gone with my old iPhone notes! I’m thinking it was something like 2:30-3:30?) Fastpasses in hand, we all went next door to One Man’s Dream.
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/299595_10150326041942989_508602988_8176721_1521958 703_n.jpg
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/313177_10150326042337989_508602988_8176726_1762918 927_n.jpg

We took our time in the museum area and watched the film. After that, we headed to the Tower of Terror.
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/309778_10150835686000128_554975127_21024767_112576 7293_n.jpg
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/321548_10150326043067989_508602988_8176741_4177993 82_n.jpg

I admit I was nervous, but I conquer roller coasters! I figured I’d be fine. As a claustrophobe and control freak I dislike elevators and take stairs every time so that was making me re-think things. Claustrophobe + control freak… not a good combo to ride ToT! I tried to take in every detail of the beautiful queue as we walked through.
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/309646_10150326043492989_508602988_8176746_6782032 47_n.jpg

The wait was short, 10 minutes or less and soon we were seated. I was a little shocked at the tiny seatbelt that would hold me in place. I expected RnR style over the shoulder harnesses! Melissa was quick to point out the handles on either side of my seat and I took advantage. The lead up, of course, was freaky to begin with but when we started dropping I started screaming. I did not like the random drops or the sensation you get with the quick drops and as I type my muscle memory is kicking in and I can feel every drop all over again. Let’s just say that I did not enjoy the Tower of Terror, and would walk through the queue line to see the beautiful inside but will most likely never ride again. However, I’m glad I crossed if off my list of Disney rides I’ve done.
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/306968_10150326044067989_508602988_8176756_5998018 17_n.jpg
I am in the back 4th from the left with my two arms down and hanging on for dear life. It's a shame this didn't turn out better, but I was shaking a lot when I took it!

Being so close to RnR (and wanting to prove I wasn’t a total wuss!) I suggested we do RnR again. Johnny’s parents declined and said they’d meet us at the exit. Melissa and Ron were excited to do another thrill ride. We had a longer wait this time. I believe the posted time said 30 minutes but it was actually closer to 45. Nevertheless, we rode and had a blast.
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/308295_10150326044942989_508602988_8176772_8497790 16_n.jpg

We then headed to Star Tours. I was excited to ride the newly refurbished ride and see all the new scenarios!
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/321523_10150326045392989_508602988_8176776_2175370 75_n.jpg
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/307299_10150835686180128_554975127_21024769_819495 037_n.jpg

The posted wait time was 15 minutes so we jumped into line where we waited in the blistering heat with no shade, no AC and no fans for over AN HOUR. We all started getting very annoyed and cranky. I never would have waited an hour in the stand by line! I would have gotten a fastpass had I known. Finally we made it into the building. We still waited a while but at least it was cool. I kept looking around at all the fun droids and characters in the queue but I was thinking that they could remove a few of them and make the indoor line a little longer so people don’t have to stand in the heat as long.
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/304225_10150326045857989_508602988_8176787_2701079 61_n.jpg
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/314983_10150326046512989_508602988_8176801_3171313 02_n.jpg

The ride itself didn’t seem all that much different to me… sure the story was a little different but the ride vehicle looked the same, felt the same and I must admit I was fairly unimpressed. (But that might have been the hour in the sun)

I can’t remember exactly what time it was when we got off Star Tours, but I do know that we had 10 minutes to get to Lights, Motors, Action! for the next show. We ran and slipped in just as they were starting. We watched the show (I really don’t love it, so I mostly looked through my pictures and played with my phone). Johnny loves it, and he snapped a few pictures.
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/293485_10150326048192989_508602988_8176828_1917136 14_n.jpg
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/298155_10150835687620128_554975127_21024782_110311 2932_n.jpg

After the stunt show it was time for lunch. While everyone started consulting maps and weighing options, Johnny and I already knew where we were eating – Starring Rolls! Everyone agreed after we described the sandwiches and desserts so we headed there. We all had sandwiches but I can’t remember everyone’s desserts. Melissa had the Strawberry Parfait, and Johnny and I both had an éclair which was pretty good. Should have had a cupcake though!
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/307213_10150326048672989_508602988_8176835_2056455 85_n.jpg
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/311793_10150326049982989_508602988_8176853_6729701 25_n.jpg

Up next: Would we finally get to TSM? Did we make it all day at DHS?

mousescrapper

10-25-2011, 10:05 AM

ZehnJahren

10-25-2011, 02:42 PM

Wow, what a strange wait at Star Tours! I didn't realize so much of the queue was outside (didn't make it on this past trip); that's not very pro-Disney of them. :rotfl: But your photo book looks VERY nice; I've been going back and forth with the idea of making one for my mom for Christmas. It must be so exciting to have gotten it already!

It's so interesting how one man's Tower of Terror is another man's ultimate nemesis - for example, I love ToT but RnRC drives me nuts and I can't ride it often. Being strapped so tightly in that harness drives me insane! Then I start thinking "what if the ride has an e-stop and I'm stuck in this harness for an hour" and usually I just skip it. But the ToT is just so much fun to me (though menacing, of course!), and I love the up and down since it's such an unusual experience! It does have the kind of queue you can just stroll through and enjoy, however - I had to take the "chicken exit" on our last trip at the time of our last ride however and was pretty disappointed. Oh well, at least I got to talk through the cool queue again! Plus, what a creepy boiler room - I always think of Nightmare on Elm Street while I'm in there!

poisonapple_PRINCESS

10-25-2011, 07:37 PM

Love the update! I am so excited for tower of terror! :rotfl2: Cant wait till the next update! Your ride photo's makes me SUPER excited! :cheer2:

teekathepony

10-26-2011, 08:22 AM

all caught up...you guys are having a great time :goodvibes

* love the freebie day at EP

* the pixs in front of SSE are great, I love the balloon shot and you alone w/ your arms wide :thumbsup2

* love that you got 1st row on Soarin, i also noticed the dirty look of the film...it distracted me too :headache:

* the hippy dippy pool very fun!

* we ate at the ESPN club too back in '98 and remember those nachos were awesome too! I'd also take hockey over football ;)

* pre park at DHS looks great, i love the pictures in front of the hat w/ not a soul behind you :cool1:

* grrr on the wait for Star Tours that really stinks...

* sorry you did not love ToT...that IS my fav ride there! but at least you tried it :thumbsup2

looking forward to more

J~
I was so proud of myself for trying ToT and a little disappointed that I disliked it so much! :rotfl:

Wow, what a strange wait at Star Tours! I didn't realize so much of the queue was outside (didn't make it on this past trip); that's not very pro-Disney of them. :rotfl: But your photo book looks VERY nice; I've been going back and forth with the idea of making one for my mom for Christmas. It must be so exciting to have gotten it already!

It's so interesting how one man's Tower of Terror is another man's ultimate nemesis - for example, I love ToT but RnRC drives me nuts and I can't ride it often. Being strapped so tightly in that harness drives me insane! Then I start thinking "what if the ride has an e-stop and I'm stuck in this harness for an hour" and usually I just skip it. But the ToT is just so much fun to me (though menacing, of course!), and I love the up and down since it's such an unusual experience! It does have the kind of queue you can just stroll through and enjoy, however - I had to take the "chicken exit" on our last trip at the time of our last ride however and was pretty disappointed. Oh well, at least I got to talk through the cool queue again! Plus, what a creepy boiler room - I always think of Nightmare on Elm Street while I'm in there!
I was really surprised at how much of the ST queue was outside, uncovered, no fans, etc. It really made no sense to re-do a queue and not make it better (and maybe worse?) :confused3
Hahaha, I've had that thought about RnR too, what if I'm stuck upside down? Luckily, it's never happened and I love that ride too much to stop!

Love the update! I am so excited for tower of terror! :rotfl2: Cant wait till the next update! Your ride photo's makes me SUPER excited! :cheer2:
Hahaha I hope you like ToT more than I did! (Most people do though :rotfl:)

TanzUnited99

10-26-2011, 11:59 AM

PrincessAmongPrinces

10-26-2011, 02:31 PM

Subscribed and all caught up! Great start so far Wendy! :goodvibes

I'm glad you guys got to squeeze in an extra Disney day! And good for your for facing the ToT! I love that ride, and I dearly missed it on this most recent trip. And above all -- Happy Anniversary! I wish you and Johnny many MANY more!! :hug:

vikkii19

10-27-2011, 02:20 PM

Wow, that photobook looks really nice. I've never been on TOT or RNRC, but hope to on our upcoming trip. DH didn't want to last time, so this time I'll go by myself.

teekathepony

10-29-2011, 10:29 AM

Love the Photopass Photo book - very cute and a great way to treasure all the memories! :thumbsup2

Oh no on losing your TR notes.

I'm glad you enjoyed H&V for breakfast. Wow you sure accomplished a lot at DHS - love that you rode RnRC twice and oh no on not enjoying Tower of Terror - I loved it, however good on you for trying it once.

We felt the same about Lights, Motors, Action and you should definitely have got a cupcake at Starrring Rolls! :laughing:
I'm in love with the photo book so much, haha. I may have lost my notes but my memory is usually pretty good for Disney things!

Subscribed and all caught up! Great start so far Wendy! :goodvibes

I'm glad you guys got to squeeze in an extra Disney day! And good for your for facing the ToT! I love that ride, and I dearly missed it on this most recent trip. And above all -- Happy Anniversary! I wish you and Johnny many MANY more!! :hug:
Welcome aboard! And thank you very much!

Wow, that photobook looks really nice. I've never been on TOT or RNRC, but hope to on our upcoming trip. DH didn't want to last time, so this time I'll go by myself.
I really think everyone should try everything once... although I won't be going back to ToT I'm still glad I tried it! :rotfl:

BerrysGirl

10-29-2011, 03:18 PM

My Mom LOVES Tower of Terror but ever since they changed it to the "random" drops they do now, my Dad cannot handle it. So in March he learned a handy trick... there's a chicken elevator! He waits in line with my Mom, drops her off on the ride, then takes an elevator up (or down?) to the dump shop to meet my Mom after the ride. It works perfectly and my Dad always refers to it as his private ride! :rotfl:

teekathepony

11-07-2011, 07:28 AM

TanzUnited99

11-07-2011, 10:51 AM

Oops! I'm still alive, still here. I've had a busy couple of weeks and a couple of days sick last week put me behind. I promise there's another update right around the corner!

I finally got my Photopass CD too, so more pictures to come!

I'm glad to hear you are still alive! :laughing: Seriously, I hope you are feeling better hun and look forward to the update as well as the PP pics :goodvibes

poisonapple_PRINCESS

11-07-2011, 06:25 PM

Oops! I'm still alive, still here. I've had a busy couple of weeks and a couple of days sick last week put me behind. I promise there's another update right around the corner!

I finally got my Photopass CD too, so more pictures to come!

I've been wondering where you were! :rotfl: Yay for photopass CD!

MEK

11-07-2011, 07:16 PM

I'm so glad your TR was bumped today because I am all caught up. Loved both your updates.

ESPN - so happy to know you enjoyed the food there so much. The food looks great and its definitely a place I would like to try on one of these trips.

ToT - You sound EXACTLY like me with your approach to ToT. I, too, am a little claustrophobic and a control freak who doesn't like unexpected drops. I grip hold of the handles for dear life, but I keep forcing myself to ride it and I usually am laughing by the end of the ride. Nice queue pictures.

I am looking forward to trying Star Wars, but your hour in the sun does not look fun.

:thumbsup2 for Starring Roles. Their pastries, ect look amazing.

Fun updates.

ZehnJahren

11-18-2011, 11:07 PM

I'm bumping and waiting. :)

teekathepony

11-19-2011, 02:01 PM

Oh my good gracious, I'm so sorry. I am here and alive! Can you believe life got in the way of my Dis'ing? Terrible. But I'm here and I'm posting this and then writing an update and then going to update myself on all of you!

teekathepony

11-19-2011, 02:43 PM

Ok here we go! I apologize profusely for the delay. No one particular thing held me up, just life in general. (Although I blame my Christmas addiction recently.)

Just a quick few Disney related life updates first:

1. I got my package from guest relations including one regular park map from each park, an Epcot FWF guide, a MK 40th map and a 40th pin, all the things that got ruined in my luggage on the way home! I hugged the maps and cried like a baby when I got them. Thank you Disney, it means so much.

2. I finally got my Photopass CD! I'll put some pictures up from days I've already posted about and from here on out, I'll include them in my updates!

-----------------------------------------------
Chapter 8: The Rest of the Longest Disney Day

So please reach far back in your memories and recall the last post. We had just finished eating at Starring Rolls!

We checked the time and were happy to note we were within our TSM FP time! We ambled (with full bellies) toward Pixar. When we got we looked for the fastpass line and realized it snaked out the door! We jumped onto the end and soon it moved. We were twisting around the edges of the queue, admiring the amazing theming in there. Even with our fps we waited somewhere between 30-40 minutes in line. DHS was busy that day and TSM was packed.

We got to the final CM who asked us how many.

“Six!” shouted 5 of us. Despite our loud and unanimous shout, she must not have heard us or perhaps she wasn't paying attention, because she split us up. Johnny and I went first and didn’t realized what she’d done, and the other 4 had never ridden this ride so they weren’t sure enough about where they were going to question the CM. I can’t remember it perfectly but essentially we were all over the place, not only were we not next to each other in line thereby getting close cars, we wouldn’t even be going at the same time! I said to the CM working the gates that we 6 were supposed to be together but that the previous CM had split us up for whatever reason. She fixed us up but it meant letting two couples go ahead of Johnny and I and one in front of Melissa and Ron to make us even with my in-laws.

Frustrating.

Anyhow, we finally got on and had a blast. I did terrible; Johnny had the best in car!

After TSM we split up. Johnny’s parents didn’t want to stay at the park all day so they decided to go back to Pop and have a swim. I couldn’t stand the idea of missing so much just to swim in the pool (this was our only day at DHS and we had so much time to swim!) so I decided to stay even if I was the only one. Johnny is my Prince Charming so he stayed with me, and Melissa and Ron were on such a tight schedule they decided to stay as well. We split up and arranged to meet my in-laws at the restaurant for our dinner reservation.

And then there were four! We headed first to The Great Movie Ride. No cowboy scene for us. I had a girl sitting next to me who obviously had no nerve endings in her elbows and got very excited at every new scene, jumping around taking pictures of everything and swinging those elbows, hitting everything within a 2 foot radius. Since the CM had for some reason squeezed too many people in our row, I was unfortunately well within that 2 foot radius. We did have a good guide though and a fun ride for the most part, but I was a little glad to get off. Call me crazy, but I like my personal space.

Next we went to watch Indiana Jones.
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/296426_10150326052627989_508602988_8176882_5942396 11_n.jpg

Johnny and I had fun giggling at the "extra" while Melissa and Ron wondered why we were giggling. We were getting tired -- it had already been a long day! We went to The Voyage of the Little Mermaid, waited 20 minutes at the end of a line just to get in and find there were only two seats left. I let Melissa and Ron sit there while Johnny and I sat on a bench in the back where we couldn't see a thing. When they closed the doors and everyone was seated, I laid down on the bench and closed my eyes until the show was over. At least I got to hear the music!

Next we went to The Magic of Disney Animation.
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/300574_10150326053812989_508602988_8176897_1077729 443_n.jpg

We watched the show and wandered through the rest of the building. Am I crazy or is that place oddly confusing? Anyway, then we decided to get our picture with Mickey! I've never met sorcerer Mickey before so I was pretty excited.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/Photo0053FourBySix.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/Photo0057FourBySix.jpg

When we finished there it was almost time to head to 50's PT for dinner. We debated sneaking a ride in before we went there but we were so tired no one wanted to run anywhere. We headed slowly to 50's, taking a few pictures along the way.
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http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/Photo0061FourBySix.jpg

Next: Did we have a good time at 50's? And am I really reserving a whole post just for one dinner?

poisonapple_PRINCESS

11-19-2011, 05:05 PM

FINALLY an update! :thumbsup2

Sorcerer Mickey is too precious!

oooh cant wait to hear about 50's! I CANNOT wait to go eat there!

TanzUnited99

11-20-2011, 03:27 PM

Yay an update!!! :woohoo:

Oh no on the madness at TSMM - am glad it all got sorted in the end so you were able to ride together. We enjoyed Indiana Jones as well.

Lol at closing your eyes on VoTLM! :rotfl:

Love the pic with Sorcerer Mickey and then the one of you and Johnny at the end! :thumbsup2

I already know the answer to if you had a good time at 50s PTC but am looking forward to the review :goodvibes

teekathepony

11-20-2011, 06:42 PM

FINALLY an update! :thumbsup2

Sorcerer Mickey is too precious!

oooh cant wait to hear about 50's! I CANNOT wait to go eat there!
I know right? Hahaha, I'm so bad at finishing what I start. I promise to do better from now on!
I adore Sorcerer Mickey, he's so cute!
I can't wait to write about 50s! :upsidedow

Yay an update!!! :woohoo:

Oh no on the madness at TSMM - am glad it all got sorted in the end so you were able to ride together. We enjoyed Indiana Jones as well.

Lol at closing your eyes on VoTLM! :rotfl:

Love the pic with Sorcerer Mickey and then the one of you and Johnny at the end! :thumbsup2

I already know the answer to if you had a good time at 50s PTC but am looking forward to the review :goodvibes
Yes indeed, and more to come, I promise! I'm starting to think I god Disney Depressed and just didn't want to face writing about a trip that was over when another one is nowhere in the near future. :confused3 Whatever the case, I think I'm over it.

IheartDDuck

11-20-2011, 06:47 PM

ZehnJahren

11-20-2011, 06:58 PM

Wow, I definitely would have said something to the little girl swinging around and hitting me - "Please be careful sweetie, I'm delicate." :laughing:

So glad to see an update - we ate at 50sPT on our trip too, and I think it took up quite a bit of one of my posts, so I probably could have made it a full post too! :rolleyes1 That's where I got my entirely beloved and well-used light-up ice cube (that is sitting near me right now). For some reason, I have fallen in love with it and would use it daily if there were any way I could replace the battery. :thumbsup2

teekathepony

11-21-2011, 07:39 AM

Sometimes an entire post for one meal is necessary. :lmao:

Anytime you have to head anywhere after eating big meal, it seems to be a struggle. Just walk as fast as you can and you'll get there. :laughing:
Haha, it certainly is in this case! I'll fill a post for sure. I hate scrambling to get somewhere after eating in Disney, especially if it's a ride we're heading for!

Wow, I definitely would have said something to the little girl swinging around and hitting me - "Please be careful sweetie, I'm delicate." :laughing:

So glad to see an update - we ate at 50sPT on our trip too, and I think it took up quite a bit of one of my posts, so I probably could have made it a full post too! :rolleyes1 That's where I got my entirely beloved and well-used light-up ice cube (that is sitting near me right now). For some reason, I have fallen in love with it and would use it daily if there were any way I could replace the battery. :thumbsup2
Oh if only she was a little girl! Well, she was small, but she was my age! She er... didn't speak English so I really didn't want to get into anything or say anything, I just kept thinking 'the ride is not much longer!'
I love those ice cubes! I always wanted to get one and just never did. :confused3

teekathepony

11-21-2011, 10:55 AM

Chapter 9; All About 50's

It was late, almost 8:00pm and we were hungry. We all met in front of 50's Prime Time Cafe where we checked in and were given a buzzer and told we could wait in the living room. It was nice to sit on the old fashioned couches and watch the old tvs for a few minutes.
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When our buzzer went off we excitedly jumped up. The CM lead us to a small room off the main room where we sat down.
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"Now, remember," I cautioned everyone, "they're going to make fun of you or put you in the corner or yell at you to get your elbows off the table. Just play along and we'll have fun!"

50's was entirely my idea and I felt nervous, almost as if the meal would reflect on me personally, whether everyone enjoyed themselves or not. I had spoken with every member of our group many times about what to expect and hoped that they would all play along. As we nervously sat waiting for our waiter, I took some time to admire the amazing theming in the room.

Suddenly a tall thin guy rushed into the room, threw some napkins and forks and knives on the table and announced himself as Cousin Richard, our server.

I smiled and thought 'Cousin Richard! We want to have fun!' really hard, hoping Cousin Richard could pick up some serious ESP.

"Are you on the dining plan?" he asked us. "Yes!" we replied. "I need to see one of your cards." One person from each couple handed him a card.

"I only need one!" He replied briskly, everyone giggled nervously

"Okfortheregulardiningplanyougetanentreeadrinkandad essert.Youcangetanythingonthemenuebutthis,this,and thisarenotincluded.Elbowsoffthetable.Somethingsome thing,dessert,somethingsomething,"

Or something like that. I still have no clue what he said, but he pointed to a few things on the menu like an airline stewardess on speed. And then he left.

We all burst out laughing, no one really knew quite what to make of the experience so far. No setting the table ourselves or whatnot, but still funny. So we got down to business and decided on our meals.

I knew I was getting the fried chicken with a vanilla milk shake. Johnny, who was terrified that they would force feed him mashed potatoes ordered a chicken caesar salad. MIL and Melissa also ordered fried chicken, (all of us with green beans) Ron got spaghetti and meat balls and S-FIL got chicken caesar salad too. Cousin Richard made a fuss over how long we were taking to order and shouted for us to get our elbows off the table a bit. He played with each one of us as we ordered and mostly had fun with my MIL who changed her mind a few times. Once we placed our order and he left, we started chatting some more. The food came quickly and we dug in. We were so hungry! And everything was delicious!
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While we were eating we made a pact to all have our elbows on the table when CR returned. We figured that way we couldn't get in trouble! So when he came back in (carrying a large, empty platter) we did it. Well. His jaw dropped at the nerve of us and he dropped the platter, catching it miliseconds before it touched the floor, and just centimeters from my MIL's foot. Startled, she let out a loud F-bomb, quickly slapping her hands over her mouth and looking at CR, terrified. CR stood up straight, staring at MIL with a look of horror on his face.

"MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" He shouted as he took off back to the kitchen.

Well we were absolutely in stitches, I couldn't breath I was laughing so hard.

I was full to bursting but there was a ton of food left on my plate. I gave Johnny (whose salad was long gone) a piece of chicken and everyone else started sharing food too. When CR came back to collect our plates he picked up Ron's spaghetti plate which had a chicken bone in it. He raised one eyebrow and looked back and forth between Ron and Melissa. Melissa thought she was in trouble because she didn't eat her meal herself but she said meekly "I shared..." CR responded "Sharing is caring sister, sharing is caring." I pointed to Johnny's plate which also had a stray chicken bone and to my own plate to indicate that I was sharing too. "Don't be a suck up." was my response. :rotfl: We were all laughing and having fun at this point and we were so full that laughing was hurting. Then we ordered dessert. I had a root beer float because the brownie just seemed too much like more food and I was stuffed. I can't remember what everyone else had, but Melissa had the brownie and she loved it.
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CR came to collect our dessert plates and I asked him if he could get a picture of all of us and handed him my camera. He got this instead:
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We started laughing again.

"No no," I said "All of us!"

"SARAH!" He yelled and another server came into the room. Thinking he would give the camera to her to take a picture of all of us, I laughed even harder when he took this:
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Gasping to breath through laughter, eyes watering and clutching our stomachs (well, at least I was!) CR came over and crouched beside MIL

"Hands above the waist sister! Hands above the waist!"

And Sarah took this picture for us. See me in the purple in the back, red faced and dying?
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When CR came back with the bills we knew our time was coming to a close. MIL told him that we had absolutely enjoyed our time and that he had really made it special. "Write a letter, sister." he said. He wrote out the address for guest relations on the back of the receipt. We swore we would write a good review.

He smirked. Then he looked around. He settled himself on the window in the wall next to us and started telling us hilarious stories. I won't share them all with you, but in essence he told us about a few interesting and funny problem customers, his experiences with star customers (Leann Rimes, Steven Tyler, Michael J Fox). He told us the most amazing stories and we sat and chatted and relaxed for at least 45 minutes, maybe an hour. Occasionally he would take off running after a stray running child or naughty adult, but he kept coming back and chatting with us. It was almost 11pm when we left.

As we walked out of DHS I was overcome with pats on the back and sincere thanks for booking our party at that restaurant. All 6 of us gushed about the food and the fantastic time we had. I felt so proud, my meal time gamble had been a roaring success.

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TanzUnited99

11-21-2011, 11:05 AM

archdandy

11-21-2011, 12:48 PM

I just caught up with your TR. It sounds like you guys had a great trip so far, even if there were a few hiccups! I'm from Ontario, Canada so I know how hot it can be in Florida waiting in the sun for rides :sick: I hope to see another update soon!

poisonapple_PRINCESS

11-21-2011, 06:18 PM

YAY for the 50's post! OHHH I cannot wait to go here! :goodvibes At first I was nervous you weren't going to have a good time. (not fun server or something) But I am so glad you did! Your server seemed absolutely amazing! I reeeally hope we have a fun one! And that is so awesome he sat and talked with you like that! Gotta love friendly people! :thumbsup2 SOO excited! I want to try the chicken. I love fried chicken.

Wouldnt it be funny if we happen to get the server you had? :rotfl: We shall see...

IheartDDuck

11-21-2011, 08:03 PM

That is so awesome that your experience was so much fun! That restaurant is just that much better when you have a server, excuse me, COUSIN that gets in on the fun. I would definitely ask for him when I return.

teekathepony

11-22-2011, 07:07 AM

I loved that you had fun at 50s PTC! :rotfl: at what Cousin Richard said when he came to see you and ask if you guys were on the dining plan and then his reaction at you all having your elbows on the table! :laughing:

Mmm the brownie dessert looks good. I'm so happy the gamble paid off for you and your review is making me want to give this place another try.
We had such a good time, I would go back in a heartbeat. I think being with a big group helped too, because we were loud and talkative all on our own.

I just caught up with your TR. It sounds like you guys had a great trip so far, even if there were a few hiccups! I'm from Ontario, Canada so I know how hot it can be in Florida waiting in the sun for rides :sick: I hope to see another update soon!
Well hello, fellow Canadian! Welcome! It was a great trip, everything has hiccups and you always forget about them after a while, you know?

YAY for the 50's post! OHHH I cannot wait to go here! :goodvibes At first I was nervous you weren't going to have a good time. (not fun server or something) But I am so glad you did! Your server seemed absolutely amazing! I reeeally hope we have a fun one! And that is so awesome he sat and talked with you like that! Gotta love friendly people! :thumbsup2 SOO excited! I want to try the chicken. I love fried chicken.

Wouldnt it be funny if we happen to get the server you had? :rotfl: We shall see...
The other two tables in our little room had a different server who didn't seem to play around at all, I felt so bad for the people at those tables who were watching us a bit. I'd say if you guys play along and be really obvious about it, you'll have a great time. Cousin Richard told us that all the cms try to read people and whether or not they're into it. I sincerely hope you DO get cousin Richard, he will make it a great time I'm sure!

That is so awesome that your experience was so much fun! That restaurant is just that much better when you have a server, excuse me, COUSIN that gets in on the fun. I would definitely ask for him when I return.
It was my first experience and I'm glad it was so good, I would go back and ask for him again for sure!

MEK

12-01-2011, 10:04 AM

Sorry I've gotten behind on your TR. I see there were a few updates I missed and I'm so excited that you use a photo hosting site that I can actually see at work.

First - I don't know if I commented on your 10/17 anniversary post, but those pictures our gorgeous. A photographer, you certainly are!

Your update at 50's Prime Time was hysterical. I haven't eaten there in awhile but you brought back some good memories. I know the right "cousin" can really make for a fabulously fun meal. So funny that you were laughing so hard you couldn't catch your breath.

I bet the celebrity stories were entertaining as well. and isn't ti cool to walk out of a close park?

teekathepony

12-07-2011, 06:36 AM

teekathepony

12-07-2011, 09:22 AM

Ever thought of the name comparisons here? I always feel like Disney had a world, so they had to make theirs a Universe! (But yes, I do know that the name Universal Studios is much older.) Just strikes me as funny.

*Ding Ding!* called my cell phone that morning. I woke up and sat up in bed -- It was Universal Studios day and I was sorry to tell Mickey that I was excited. This would be my second time to US, both since Harry Potter has been open.

A bit of Harry Potter background here:
When I was young and Harry Potter started to be a craze, I refused to join in. I thought it would be so silly, books made for kids. My best friend Sarah told me over and over again that I NEEDED to read the first book. She knows me well and knows that I'm a bookworm with OCD who can not own a book and not read it, so in a cunning move she gave me Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone for my 15th birthday. I read it, and at the first sentence (literally) I was hooked. Now I am a huge Harry fan.

http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1054/1261392714_7ecf651bf4_z.jpg
Me, with my beautiful collection!

WWoHP is a dream come true for me. I can walk through Hogsmead! I can wander through Hogwarts castle! I can see Buckbeak! So although I hate the rest of US, I go there for the WWoHP.

We all got ready and met down in front of Pop Century. We asked a CM to get us a taxi van and it arrived in no time. Away we went!

We got there nice and early, just after the gates opened. When we got to the gate ourselves, Melissa and Ron got in no problem.
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They got in and waited for us.

Johnny and S-FIL were no problem. MIL and I however, could not get into the park. You see instead of purchasing our tickets ourselves like smart people, we let the stupid travel agent do it. (Reminder: I was already very frustrated with the lack of help we received from our TA). She got us tickets through a wholesaler at the same price we could have gotten them straight from Universal -- so no advantage. However with these vouchers, we needed a photo ID. Did the TA tell us this? No. It was in teeny tiny print on our vouchers and we didn't see it. Melissa and Ron, who got their own tickets from the US website didn't need ID. Johnny and Kevin had their wallets. It took us a good 45 minutes of arguing and pleading with the one worker after another and then we were sent to customer service. We had room keys from Disney with our names on them, and we explained over and over again that it wasn't as if we would take our passports (i.e. the only photo ID MIL and I had in FL!) to Universal! We thought we were going to have to get another cab back to Pop just to get mine and MIL's passports. Eventually though, they let us in, but with not a single smile or "Have a nice day". I really hate most of US. If it weren't for WWoHP I never would have gone back. It was MIL's first time there and her first impression was that the staff was neither friendly nor helpful.

"Get used to that." I said "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Disney anymore!"

We decided that since WWoHP was on top of everyone's priority list, we would head straight there. I rushed on ahead so I could turn around to see Melissa's face. It was worth it, she was so excited!

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I took Melissa's picture with the Hogwarts Express:
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We made our way through the village, promising to come back and explore it properly. We had lost so much time at the gate that we wanted to get into Forbidden Journey before it got too busy!

The wait time was only 25 minutes so we piled in, taking some pictures as we went. We didn't stop until the very end of the greenhouse, just before re-entering the castle.

Some of our pictures:
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Pick me! I want to be in Gryffindor!

The whole way in, MIL was nervous. She didn't know what to expect. I also did not warn her about the giant acromantula (Harry Potter giant talking spiders, for those of you who are not fans), or else my arachnophobic MIL would NOT have ridden. We finally got on and MIL, S-Fil, Johnny and I were in one ride vehicle.

THIS is what we got when we came out:
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L-R --
Me= just plain happy to be there. Also too short to properly sit up!
Johnny = laughing his **** off at his mother's petrified screams
S-FIL = laughing at both Johnny and MIL
MIL = screaming because the acromantula jumped out at us.

This was my & Johnny's third time on this ride, but everyone else's first. We all agreed that it was an absolute blast! I have a confession here... this is my #1 favourite ride I've ever ridden in my entire life. I have to admit it's better than anything at Disney.

I will leave you with that small piece of blasphemy for today. My intro was long and I hope I didn't bore you all too much with it. Coming up next: Would we enjoy the rest of our Universal Studios visit? Stay tuned!

vikkii19

12-07-2011, 09:42 AM

mousescrapper

12-07-2011, 09:56 AM

Hi Wendy :wave2:

glad I diodn't have too much to get caught up on :goodvibes we have done the whole day at DHS before too it can be tiring, but sounds you had a great day and even did some new things too bad about some of the long lines and rider confusion :headache: I just love your story about 50's PTC...what fun. I have only dined there once before kids and it just wans't Matt's cup of tea and i worry w/ the hi=umor/sarcasism it won't fly for Nathan and his Asperger mind...though he would haveloved that fried chicken :thumbsup2

sounds like Cousin Richard was a hoot and really made your experience top notch and how fun he sat and chatted w/ you for so long too, I love CM's like that

I bet that will be one of the best parts of your whole trip :thumbsup2

onto HP...is that a Canadain title Philospher's Stone in the US it's Soccerer's Stone :confused: we are HP fans here too, especially Nathan he has read the series at least a dozen times over :laughing:

hope the rest of your time there is fun

PS come say "hi" over at my Oct trip TR link below

J~

bouncycat

12-07-2011, 10:30 AM

Few notes for ya Tink, sorry I haven't been posting, things been hectic. I have been reading tho!!! First, I LOVE 50's prime time!! I actually just made us a ressie for there for New Years Eve with a friend of ours who has never been!! She doesn't know yet!! :) Second, I'm SOOO glad you enjoyed WWHP. Any fan needs to see it, and yea, that ride is awesome except for the spiders LOL The whole area feels like you walked right into the book or movies!! The first time we went there, I got a Pigmy Puff, he sits by my bed, and my cat comes and loves on him quite often when I'm reading in bed. It's cute!! Glad you updated again, and glad you had fun at 50's. I've seen Richard before, but never had him as a waiter. they're sooo much fun, and Chris LOVES the PB&J shake they have there!!

teekathepony

12-07-2011, 02:09 PM

Glad you enjoyed 50's PTC. We went for the first time this last trip and enjoyed the food. Our server was Sarah that was in your picture, she wasn't that great. She didn't do any tomfooleries, which is what I was looking forward to. She just wasn't into it.

WWOHP looks great. We were supposed to go and decided against it that same morning. Hopefully next trip we'll make it there.
That's no fun, I was glad we had a great waiter!
I loooove WWoHP so much! I could do without the rest of the park though! :lmao:

Hi Wendy :wave2:

glad I diodn't have too much to get caught up on :goodvibes we have done the whole day at DHS before too it can be tiring, but sounds you had a great day and even did some new things too bad about some of the long lines and rider confusion :headache: I just love your story about 50's PTC...what fun. I have only dined there once before kids and it just wans't Matt's cup of tea and i worry w/ the hi=umor/sarcasism it won't fly for Nathan and his Asperger mind...though he would haveloved that fried chicken :thumbsup2

sounds like Cousin Richard was a hoot and really made your experience top notch and how fun he sat and chatted w/ you for so long too, I love CM's like that

I bet that will be one of the best parts of your whole trip :thumbsup2

onto HP...is that a Canadain title Philospher's Stone in the US it's Soccerer's Stone :confused: we are HP fans here too, especially Nathan he has read the series at least a dozen times over :laughing:

hope the rest of your time there is fun

PS come say "hi" over at my Oct trip TR link below

J~
Hello hello!! I will pop over to your Oct. TR asap.
Philosopher's Stone is actually the title of the book as JK Rowling intended it. In every country (to my knowledge) other than the USA that's what it's name is. I have no idea why American publishers changed the name of it :confused3

(eta: Just found this: "Scholastic Corporation bought the USA rights at the Bologna Book Fair in April 1997 for US$105,000, an unusually high sum for a children's book.[14] They thought that a child would not want to read a book with the word "philosopher" in the title and,[29] after some discussion, the American edition was published in October 1998 under the title Rowling suggested, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.[14][30] Rowling claimed that she regretted this change and would have fought it if she had been in a stronger position at the time.[31] Philip Nel has pointed out that the change lost the connection with alchemy, and the meaning of some other terms changed in translation, for example from UK English "crumpets" to US English "muffin". While Rowling accepted the change from both standard UK English "mum" and Seamus Finnegan's Irish variant "mam" to "mom" in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, she vetoed this change in the later books. However Nel considered that Scholastic's translations were considerably more sensitive than most of those imposed on UK English books of the time, and that some other changes could be regarded as useful copyedits.[27] Since the UK editions of early titles in the series were published a few months earlier than the American versions, some American readers became familiar with the British English versions after buying them via the Internet" Interesting!)

Few notes for ya Tink, sorry I haven't been posting, things been hectic. I have been reading tho!!! First, I LOVE 50's prime time!! I actually just made us a ressie for there for New Years Eve with a friend of ours who has never been!! She doesn't know yet!! :) Second, I'm SOOO glad you enjoyed WWHP. Any fan needs to see it, and yea, that ride is awesome except for the spiders LOL The whole area feels like you walked right into the book or movies!! The first time we went there, I got a Pigmy Puff, he sits by my bed, and my cat comes and loves on him quite often when I'm reading in bed. It's cute!! Glad you updated again, and glad you had fun at 50's. I've seen Richard before, but never had him as a waiter. they're sooo much fun, and Chris LOVES the PB&J shake they have there!!
Allo allo allo! Good to see you back. I'm the same, trying to read and keep updated but not commenting. I had so much fun at 50's, I would absolutely go back!!

TanzUnited99

12-07-2011, 04:52 PM

poisonapple_PRINCESS

12-07-2011, 06:05 PM

I AM SOOOOO JEALOUS!!!!

That photo of you and your books is gorgeous! Such an awesome photo!

Love your photo's! I'm DYING to see more! I have to live through you since I wont be able to go on my trip! :sad:

teekathepony

12-07-2011, 07:31 PM

I can't believe you got to see WWoHP for a second time - I'm soo jealous!! :lmao:

I can't wait to finally visit but in the meantime am looking forward to the London tour becoming available!! The books are awesome! Oh no on the hassle of getting in and the CMs not being helpful.

Great pics of Forbiddon Journey and I love MILs expression at the end...hilarious! :rotfl:

If it makes you feel any better, I am crazy jealous of your London tour!! :rotfl:

I AM SOOOOO JEALOUS!!!!

That photo of you and your books is gorgeous! Such an awesome photo!

Love your photo's! I'm DYING to see more! I have to live through you since I wont be able to go on my trip! :sad:
Well thank you, re: Picture! It was an oldie from a "365 project" I did where I did a self portrait every single day for a year. That got old real quick! lmao, but it's 100% photoshopped. I take terrible pictures so I got real good at sprucing them up! :rotfl:
Ok... when I first read your last two lines I panicked big time! I thought it meant "I won't be able to go on my trip" as in for some reason your whole trip was canceled, but then I rushed to your PTR and saw nothing, re-read it as "I won't be able to go to WWoHP on my trip" and relaxed, lmao! :lmao:

IheartDDuck

12-07-2011, 07:45 PM

Hahaha, there's no blasphemy in saying that you think that's the best ride out there right now. It has a lot of technology that many rides don't have and it utilizes it pretty well.

poisonapple_PRINCESS

12-07-2011, 08:30 PM

Well thank you, re: Picture! It was an oldie from a "365 project" I did where I did a self portrait every single day for a year. That got old real quick! lmao, but it's 100% photoshopped. I take terrible pictures so I got real good at sprucing them up! :rotfl:
Ok... when I first read your last two lines I panicked big time! I thought it meant "I won't be able to go on my trip" as in for some reason your whole trip was canceled, but then I rushed to your PTR and saw nothing, re-read it as "I won't be able to go to WWoHP on my trip" and relaxed, lmao! :lmao:

:rotfl2: Oops! I guess I should've been more specific! :lmao: I literally laughed out loud when I read that...I'm still going!! And in 8 days to be exact! :woohoo:

teekathepony

12-12-2011, 08:51 AM

Hahaha, there's no blasphemy in saying that you think that's the best ride out there right now. It has a lot of technology that many rides don't have and it utilizes it pretty well.
It's true, the technology in it is pretty spectacular!

:rotfl2: Oops! I guess I should've been more specific! :lmao: I literally laughed out loud when I read that...I'm still going!! And in 8 days to be exact! :woohoo:
I'm just glad all is well!!

teekathepony

12-12-2011, 09:42 AM

After slaying the dragon, we set off to properly explore Hogsmeade village.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5106/5730819634_111ab52d2f_z.jpg
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5149/5730809450_75953cac1a_z.jpg

We took our time looking at things, but didn't buy anything since we planned to come back last thing to get our souvenirs. We stopped to watch the choir sing (Click to watch video):
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/th_DSCF6241.jpg (http://s11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/?action=view&current=DSCF6241.mp4)

Then Johnny, Melissa, Ron and I decided to try The Dragon Challenge! We were on the red dragon. It was definitely the most intense roller coaster I've ever been on, but I loved it! I knew though, that was my threshold of intensity. I wouldn't want to go on anything worse than that.

Then we stopped in the Hog's Head for a drink.

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/318317_10150327033552989_508602988_8181133_1149351 130_n.jpg
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/298370_10150327033912989_508602988_8181137_1422208 783_n.jpg

After enjoying our butterbeers we headed on to Jurassic Park:
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/300384_10150327034187989_508602988_8181141_1092097 947_n.jpg
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/309045_10150327034477989_508602988_8181144_8572875 10_n.jpg
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/303227_10150327034377989_508602988_8181143_4224061 69_n.jpg
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/305354_10150835703295128_554975127_21024885_193306 240_n.jpg

We had a blast on the Jurassic Park River Adventure and spent a while in the Discovery Center.
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/299168_10150835703505128_554975127_21024888_101807 8834_n.jpg
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/311299_10150835703950128_554975127_21024894_761511 604_n.jpg

We stopped for a bite at Burger Digs and all had a grand Universal bashing session as we compared tales of horrifying prices and terrible food.

The Dragon Challenge plus butterbeer plus onion rings were starting to play tricks on my tummy a little when we started walking again, so when we came to Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls, I took a pass and held everyone's souvenirs and cameras and sun glasses. Again, my caring hubby stayed with me, despite my insistence that I would be fine alone! Johnny and I stood with our cameras waiting for the other four to come splashing down the drop. I thought I had a picture of them, but I can't find it!

From there we wandered over to Marvel Super Hero Island. We all did Spiderman and loved it! Then S-FIL, Melissa and I sat out Doctor Doom's Fearfall while the other three walked right on.
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/302063_10150835705480128_554975127_21024913_131199 3892_n.jpg
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/321669_10150327034742989_508602988_8181147_1901479 734_n.jpg
(thats them! It's dark and blurry, and they're around the back, but it is them!)

At this point we were near the entrance so we split up a bit. Melissa told me that The Hulk was worse than Dragon Challenge so I sat it out and went to our locker. MIL and S-FIL did some shopping. We all met back at The Hulk and Johnny told me the opposite -- that it was much smoother and easier than Dragon Challenge! Darn. I would have liked to do it. Next time!

I'll leave you there for today and finish Universal off in the next post. Would we get back to the WWoHP for one last look around? Where did we eat our dinner? Next time!

TanzUnited99

12-12-2011, 10:55 AM

MEK

12-12-2011, 12:14 PM

The Hulk is definitely more intense than the other coaster there (which used to be called Dueling Dragons) because the hulk literally blasts you out of the long tube and straight into a manuever. But the hulk is terribly fun and very, very smooth so I bet you could handle it.

Fun update! Nice pics! Not so sure about that butter beer, although everyone seems to like/love it. Glad you are enjoying universal.

poisonapple_PRINCESS

12-12-2011, 05:36 PM

Literally drooling! I wish we were going there SO BAD! :eek: Is butterbeer good??? I've heard it is. I WANT TO GO SO BAD! :scared1: Someday....hopefully sooner than later.

I cant wait for the next update!!

IheartDDuck

12-12-2011, 07:19 PM

Oh, I agree! When I went on Dragon Challenge in November, it was a lot rougher than I remembered it being. It's something that's common when roller coasters age.

Hahaha, Universal food bashing. It's pretty bad, isn't it? At least the butterbeer is good. :)

teekathepony

12-13-2011, 06:32 AM

Love the video of the choir...is bringing back happy memories of the movies :thumbsup2

Aaw that's sweet of Johnny to wait with you whilst everyone went on Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls. I would love to try that Doctor Doom's Feerfall...looks like fun! :laughing:
I loved the choir, when they did the theme I wanted to rush home and have a Harry Potter movie marathon! :rotfl: And yeah, Johnny's pretty darling. Next time, I'm doing Dudley Do-Right, but I hated ToT so much I doubt I'll ever get on Dr. Doom's!

The Hulk is definitely more intense than the other coaster there (which used to be called Dueling Dragons) because the hulk literally blasts you out of the long tube and straight into a manuever. But the hulk is terribly fun and very, very smooth so I bet you could handle it.

Fun update! Nice pics! Not so sure about that butter beer, although everyone seems to like/love it. Glad you are enjoying universal.
The Hulk is more intense, yes, but easier to ride because the loops and twists are larger and not as sharp (or so says DH!) I wouldn't mind being blasted. I'm definitely going to try it next time! I LOVE butterbeer, so so good! Like buttery and fizzy and the topping is heavenly toffee... mmm I want one right now...

Literally drooling! I wish we were going there SO BAD! :eek: Is butterbeer good??? I've heard it is. I WANT TO GO SO BAD! :scared1: Someday....hopefully sooner than later.

I cant wait for the next update!!
Hahaha see above. I ADORE the butterbeer!! In three days (within two years) at Universal I think I had like 5 butterbeer. You need to get yourself there sometime ;)

Oh, I agree! When I went on Dragon Challenge in November, it was a lot rougher than I remembered it being. It's something that's common when roller coasters age.

Hahaha, Universal food bashing. It's pretty bad, isn't it? At least the butterbeer is good. :)
Yeah the food was terrible. :sick: Small portions too (which, with terrible food is kind of a blessing in disguise!)

mousescrapper

12-13-2011, 03:05 PM

teekathepony

12-14-2011, 07:17 AM

thanks for the tid bit on the year 1 title...now i recall hearing that before...now i know why we be going to US anytime soon w/ all the coasters...i am the only thrill junkie in our group...maybe some day when all the kids are much older. I know they would love to see WWoHP :thumbsup2

so what exactly is butterbeer? beer or soda?

It's more soda than anything. Not beer at all, no alcohol. The drink part of it is like a slightly fizzy, buttery tasting (but very mild, not too sweet. Like a perfect shortbread cookie with no icing. :rotfl: :confused3) The topping is... almost indescribable. It's the smoothest, silkiest foam I've ever encountered. It tastes like the best toffee or maybe butterscotch you've ever had. Again, not too sweet and definitely not sugary. Oh my now I'm drooling. It is very hard to describe and it's a little daunting to take your first sip. I did because I knew I HAD to have butterbeer, no matter what it tasted like, but I've had a lot of people come up to me and ask what it's like before trying it themselves.

teekathepony

12-20-2011, 01:21 PM

Wow guys! It's 5 days until Christmas!! I'm a Christmas fanatic, I love this time of year. It's currently snowing just a little, perfect little flurries and there's a chance it will keep up until Christmas day! My tree is up and trimmed, my shopping, baking and wrapping are all done. I am cleaning like crazy today, getting my house in shape for my Christmas party Friday night!

Check out some of my festive photos:

My living room, all decked out:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7034/6498907185_fa292839a6_z.jpg

My girl, Sheeka gets so excited for Christmas!
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7023/6498922635_269fc86e44_z.jpg

The outside:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7144/6498860507_6e37155562_z.jpg

Picture is 20 days old, obviously, but I had to show off my countdown!
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7166/6433526019_5c43b5fbe5_b.jpg

Our tree! We have a Disney tree skirt, star, and tons of ornaments on there;
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7024/6498877623_37dee1ee02_z.jpg

Another favourite decoration of mine!
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7014/6433517419_3930ba29a9_z.jpg

I won't be around much over the holidays, but in the new year Johnny will be working 3 hours away and staying in a hotel there all week, so I'll be all alone and you won't get me off the Dis!

So I wish you all a very merry Christmas and happy holidays!

TanzUnited99

12-20-2011, 01:25 PM

Love the Christmas decorations! :santa:

Have a merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! :goodvibes

teekathepony

01-03-2012, 11:37 AM

Well hello everyone! I hope you all had an amazing holiday season, whatever you celebrate. I sure did. We had a fantastic Christmas, a nice quiet New Years and as a special bonus present, my fish who are very rare around here had 15 babies on New Year's Day!

I am however, a little glad to be coming down off the holiday high. I put away all my decorations and cleaned my house and it's nice to relax again. Just to keep things interesting I've started a "365 project" -- one photo every day for a whole year. I've done them before and only finished successfully once. If anyone is interested in seeing the project, it can be found here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/teekathepony/sets/72157628679650901/).

Enough about me, on with the show!

"How do you eat soup without a spoon!?"

Last post ended with us finishing the Universal's Islands Of Adventure loop and meeting near the entrance. We had a few hours left at the park and the only remaining requirement was that we go back to WWoHP. We decided to head that way slowly and to do whatever we had missed. Into Seuss Landing we went. We rode The Cat In The Hat which is always fun, then we spent a while in the gift shops where Johnny and I got Thing 1 and Thing 2 t-shirts, and his mother got a "Mother of All Things" shirt.

We wandered through the Lost Continent but no one was very interested in much there so we just went back to the Wizarding World.

We got our picture with the Hogwarts Express and conductor:
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/294434_10150327034912989_508602988_8181150_9998281 11_n.jpg

We wandered around just absorbing the Harry Potter atmosphere.
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/311090_10150327035107989_508602988_8181152_1501574 921_n.jpg

We went in all the shops. I got a Harry Potter Gryffindor quidditch jersey t-shirt and a chocolate frog, as well as a Gryffindor messenger bag. It was a successful shopping trip.

Johnny and I wanted to run to Forbidden Journey for one last ride before we had to go. No one else wanted to so they made their way back to the exit while we ran. We were running low on time -- we had to be at Medieval Times for 6 -- but the line was short. We got on and had a blast! When we got off it was just starting to rain. Johnny and I made our way toward the exit and it turned torrential! We got absolutely soaked! We met up with everyone and we ran for a taxi to MT.

When we got there we all rushed to the washrooms to change into our various new DRY Universal t-shirts. We dried our hair with the hand dryers and went out to explore!

The decor was great, there were suits of armor everywhere!
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/320761_10150835712230128_554975127_21024925_201470 3398_n.jpg

The show was a lot of fun.
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/316934_10150835713585128_554975127_21024937_100039 4419_n.jpg

We cheered for the blue knight!
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/301428_10150327035797989_508602988_8181161_1673568 167_n.jpg

The food was really good, all except the spare ribs. I don't eat ribs, but I was told they weren't that good. And yes, we had to eat it all with our hands!
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/295748_10150327035977989_508602988_8181163_1889159 278_n.jpg

Best soup ever!
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/299202_10150327036072989_508602988_8181164_6616042 88_n.jpg

All in all we had an amazing time here. We got right into it cheering for our knight! The sports were awesome and the horses performing were spectacular. I highly recommend this dinner theatre!

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/313919_10150327038002989_508602988_8181184_1168939 537_n.jpg

We called for a cab and made our way back to Pop Century, a day's worth of shopping in our hands and still wearing our blue crowns. It was an awesome day, but I was ready to get back to Disney tomorrow!

TanzUnited99

01-03-2012, 12:34 PM

poisonapple_PRINCESS

01-03-2012, 05:06 PM

Ugh, your photo's are gorgeous. Slightly jealous. Actually....VERY jealous.

MEK

01-03-2012, 06:03 PM

Your Christmas photos are absolutely beautiful. Nicely done. Wish I knew how to photograph / photoshop like that.

Congrats on your fish babies.

The one photo a day sounds like such a cool project. I have always wanted to do that - but I wanted to do it from the first day of summer to the last.

So glad you enjoyed your day at Universal and the Medieval nights dinner looks like a lot of fun. I enjoyed seeing your pics since I never read too much about that show.

mousescrapper

01-03-2012, 08:10 PM

Wendy thank you for describing the butterbeer so wonderfully...I would definetly love trying one of those...Yum!

I love your holiday photos too..I love decorating too and put up 3 trees this yr our main one w/ the Disney ornaments too :goodvibes

Love that you are doing the 365 project I attempted one in 2010 but failed miserably maybe I'll try again...I tried to do it via the Becky Higgins site but just had trouble keeping it up...I like your Flicker idea :thumbsup2

The rest of your Universal and Medevial Times update sounded great...we have one of the MT places about 30 min from our house and have been a few times...it is quite fun. The last time we went was over 5 yrs ago and we cheered on the Blue knight, Bekah was given one of his sashes it was so cute

teekathepony

01-04-2012, 09:47 AM

I'm happy to read you enjoyed the holiday season and wow on your fish having 15 babies! That's great news - congratulations!

Love the shirts you all got - i so want a Thing 1 t-shirt!

Okay the more you write about WWoHP the more jealous I get and wish I had persisted on going even if it was for a few hours! :lmao:

Yay, I'm glad you enjoyed your meal at Medieval Times - a great way to end your Universal day! Looking forward to reading more about Disney!
Next time you really must go to WWoHP. It's a pretty amazing experience!

Ugh, your photo's are gorgeous. Slightly jealous. Actually....VERY jealous.
lmao, I had to pay far too much to go to school to learn to be a photographer, and I don't even use much of what I learned anymore. I think I'd rather cut my student loans in half and take less than stellar pictures. :rotfl:

Your Christmas photos are absolutely beautiful. Nicely done. Wish I knew how to photograph / photoshop like that.

Congrats on your fish babies.

The one photo a day sounds like such a cool project. I have always wanted to do that - but I wanted to do it from the first day of summer to the last.

So glad you enjoyed your day at Universal and the Medieval nights dinner looks like a lot of fun. I enjoyed seeing your pics since I never read too much about that show.
Well thank you! The 365 project is really cool. If I can do it and do it right, then it makes for a very interesting thing to look back on in years to come.

Wendy thank you for describing the butterbeer so wonderfully...I would definetly love trying one of those...Yum!

I love your holiday photos too..I love decorating too and put up 3 trees this yr our main one w/ the Disney ornaments too :goodvibes

Love that you are doing the 365 project I attempted one in 2010 but failed miserably maybe I'll try again...I tried to do it via the Becky Higgins site but just had trouble keeping it up...I like your Flicker idea :thumbsup2

The rest of your Universal and Medevial Times update sounded great...we have one of the MT places about 30 min from our house and have been a few times...it is quite fun. The last time we went was over 5 yrs ago and we cheered on the Blue knight, Bekah was given one of his sashes it was so cute

3 trees? I'm jealous! I wish I had the room for more than one. When our rec room downstairs is finished I'm definitely adding another tree!
I love doing the 365 on Flickr because there are a ton of others doing it and the support system and inspiration is really great.

orcasandowls

01-04-2012, 11:42 AM

I'm jumping in late, but I wanted to let you know you have another reader eagerly anticipating your next update. Love the photos from Christmas, too!

poisonapple_PRINCESS

01-08-2012, 07:41 AM

lmao, I had to pay far too much to go to school to learn to be a photographer, and I don't even use much of what I learned anymore. I think I'd rather cut my student loans in half and take less than stellar pictures. :rotfl:

Noooo, I love looking at other people's AMAZING photo's! I just wish I could afford to take photography up as a serious hobby.

I forgot to mention I LOVE your countdown! I wanted it while we were at Disney and then just figured I'd order it off the internet when we got home...well by the time I got around to doing it they didnt have it on their website anymore!

Soo I'll just admire yours I suppose! :sad: :laughing:

teekathepony

01-08-2012, 10:21 AM

I'm jumping in late, but I wanted to let you know you have another reader eagerly anticipating your next update. Love the photos from Christmas, too!
Well hello, and welcome!! Thanks too :)

Noooo, I love looking at other people's AMAZING photo's! I just wish I could afford to take photography up as a serious hobby.

I forgot to mention I LOVE your countdown! I wanted it while we were at Disney and then just figured I'd order it off the internet when we got home...well by the time I got around to doing it they didnt have it on their website anymore!

Soo I'll just admire yours I suppose! :sad: :laughing:
You can actually learn a lot of photography tips on youtube and Flickr and places like that. I've seen famous high paid photographers who do all their work with an iPhone! It's more about how you manipulate the light and place your subject(s) than how fancy the camera is. :)

teekathepony

01-13-2012, 08:26 AM

Tuesday, September 27.

It's Animal Kingdom Day!

After fighting long and hard with myself this morning, debating whether or not to bring my good camera, I decided that my little point and shoot would do. For one thing, I have 3 previous trips worth of AK photos at home, and for another, I knew we wouldn't get another chance to visit AK so I didn't want to skip any rides (EE, Kali) because I was encumbered with a huge camera. So I might just slip a few old pictures into this post to jazz it up. ;)

The day started just fine. We agreed not to wake up too early because of our previous late night, but we did decide to be at the bus stop for 9am. We did just that and found the lines for almost every park were absolutely crazy. We joined the AK line that snaked around the queue markers and wayyyy past the next bus stop, but we were optimistic knowing that Disney busses never take long!

What a mistake. We waited over an hour and within that time we only saw ONE bus. MK in that same length of time had 9 busses. The heat was unbearable and we took turns leaving the queue to stand in the shade for a few minutes. People were getting agitated and running into Pop to report that we weren't seeing any AK busses. Finally a second bus came and we actually managed to squeeze on this bus. This was the first time I've ever seen a family split up -- they let a whole family on the bus except the mom! I've never ever seen Disney anything split up a party before. We didn't get to the park until 10:40. It was my worst Disney bus experience ever, I'm sorry to say.

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/296387_10150835722210128_554975127_21024970_747944 183_n.jpg
Finally!
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/297432_10150835722645128_554975127_21024972_122192 3308_n.jpg

By the time we got there we were all so hot and annoyed that we headed straight to Kali River Rapids, hoping to get soaked.
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/315768_10150835722950128_554975127_21024973_449366 100_n.jpg

Well, Johnny and I certainly got our wish! As always, we were the only two coming off dripping wet. Feeling much better, cooler, and happier, we decided to head to Expedition Everest!
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3413/5731135115_12e196b965_z.jpg
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/307913_10150835726065128_554975127_21024998_130334 9153_n.jpg
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/307016_10150835728825128_554975127_21025017_213180 7113_n.jpg

It was actually more of a walk on. Johnny's parents decided not to come on with us, but we had a blast as usual! We hung around Asia for a while waiting for my in-laws who were off exploring the Maharaja Jungle Trek.

When we met up again we decided we were starving and headed to the Yak and Yeti cs restaurant. We managed to snag seating for 6. I had the Honey Chicken and it was delicious.
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/297353_10150327057872989_508602988_8181263_2500788 80_n.jpg
Actually I could totally go for some of that right now...

We then went to the Safari!
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/313595_10150327058187989_508602988_8181265_1435580 855_n.jpg

It was only a 30 minute stand-by wait, so we went that route. We had a great safari with a good cm. The giraffes were particularly awesome this trip, coming right up to our vehicle and nearly poking their heads in!

Here's just some pictures from the safari, both this trip and previous, just to spice things up. ;)

http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1198/1477616062_3c17f86f62_o.jpg
http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1208/1477621048_d118db7ac3_o.jpg
http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1379/1477620060_436264a566_o.jpg
http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1426/1477618022_b0a15d117d_o.jpg
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2635/5731676688_2f62dfbe70_z.jpg
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/299507_10150835737805128_554975127_21025074_261834 395_n.jpg
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/297959_10150835738305128_554975127_21025076_135798 311_n.jpg
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/306917_10150327060477989_508602988_8181284_3280580 87_n.jpg
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/295928_10150327059902989_508602988_8181279_5972259 08_n.jpg

After the Safari we split up. Johnny and I went one way, Melissa and Ron went another, and my in-laws another. What way did we go? Find out in the next chapter!

TanzUnited99

01-14-2012, 06:55 AM

MEK

01-14-2012, 07:29 AM

I hate when you have to wait that long for a bus. That happened to me once when I was staying at BLT and trying to get to HS. It was so frustrating.

I appreciated your decision on whether to bring the good camera to AK. I absolutely love taking pictures at AK. It's a photographer's dream and I never get tired of finding new details to photograph. But who wants to bring a big camera on kali or EE.

Sounds like you had a great morning! I can never do the Mahalaraja Trek when its that hot. Lovely safari pics!

teekathepony

01-16-2012, 08:09 AM

Tuesday 27 September was the day we were leaving the magic behind :sad2: I remember how hot it was on that day and was sweating by the time we were leaving for the airport.

Not a day where you want to be stuck on a bus for so long :eek:

Yay on getting wet on KRRs! Mmm the honey chicken looks yummy!

Also great safari pics - I think your pics turned out just as nice with the small camera :thumbsup2

It was possibly one of the hottest days of the trip I think. Definitely a rotten day for standing in a line! I was sooo happy to get wet on Kali!

I hate when you have to wait that long for a bus. That happened to me once when I was staying at BLT and trying to get to HS. It was so frustrating.

I appreciated your decision on whether to bring the good camera to AK. I absolutely love taking pictures at AK. It's a photographer's dream and I never get tired of finding new details to photograph. But who wants to bring a big camera on kali or EE.

Sounds like you had a great morning! I can never do the Mahalaraja Trek when its that hot. Lovely safari pics!
The long wait was really frustrating, it was the only time that I've ever waited that long for a bus at Disney!
If I know I have two days at AK, I bring my good camera one day and do the animal trails and things, and the second day I just take my little one and do the rides! Hahaha

teekathepony

01-18-2012, 11:25 AM

I just want to do a little tiny life update before I get on with the show. A day and a half ago I bought a saltwater aquarium with two clownfish! (Nemo!)

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/393429_10150499873492989_508602988_8983535_7619903 62_n.jpg

If you're a Nemo fan, you might notice that the stripes on my clowns unlike Nemo and Marlin, do not go all the way around. It's called a "misbar" pattern.

I'm very excited about my new babies (and there are other critters in the tank as well!)

Enough about me, on with Disney!

Chapter 14: The rest of Animal Kingdom

We had just split up to go our separate ways. When they heard that Johnny and I were heading to FOTLK, my in-laws decided to come with us. We had a great seat in the very back of the elephant section and we all LOVED the show, as always. My in-laws who had never seen it couldn't stop raving about how awesome it was. I agree!
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/300005_10150327062447989_508602988_8181298_8647358 5_n.jpg

After doing FOTLK we decided to take a nice relaxing stroll through the Pangani forest trail.

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/298824_10150327062602989_508602988_8181300_3062544 89_n.jpg
These baby ducks were cheep cheeping and they were oh so very cute!

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/312557_10150327062902989_508602988_8181302_1160779 889_n.jpg
Just chillin.

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/304052_10150327064442989_508602988_8181315_1496328 701_n.jpg

After the trail we headed over to Dinoland.
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/310882_10150327065247989_508602988_8181332_2006420 106_n.jpg

Where we spotted Pluto!
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/299577_10150327065527989_508602988_8181337_1899646 47_n.jpg
Hey Pluto!

Of course we went on Dinosaur:
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/302516_10150327065677989_508602988_8181338_1882874 184_n.jpg

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Then we headed to Tusker House for our 5:10 reservation. Unfortunately I have no pictures of our meal, but I do know that I tried a lot of different things and liked most of it. Our service was unfortunately bad. I know it's a buffet and there's very little service anyway, but we had to wait forever to get our first drinks, and she never came back once to see if we were doing ok, clear plates, get refills or anything. I believe we had to ask another server to get her to bring our check. And the place was nearly empty! I will tell you that the automatic tip for large groups left a bad taste in our mouths for that meal. She did not deserve a tip.

But at least the food was good.

When we got out the park was after closing an hour ago so we meandered through the empty park on our way to the exit. We snapped a few pictures with the Tree of Life:

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/306480_10150327066612989_508602988_8181346_1795976 763_n.jpg
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/313078_10150327066797989_508602988_8181348_1308971 309_n.jpg
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And said goodbye to Animal Kingdom:
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/298185_10150327067477989_508602988_8181352_1452751 205_n.jpg

Johnny and I and my in-laws decided we were going to get a snack and relax by the pool, Melissa and Ron declined so we said good night and changed into our bathing suits. Cooler in hand we went for a swim.

We headed back to our rooms not too late, knowing we had an early morning ahead.

MEK

01-18-2012, 02:20 PM

You new fish are so cute. Great picture.

The baby ducks are adorable.

I hate when you get bad service at a buffet. I mean, Really? :confused3

TanzUnited99

01-18-2012, 03:13 PM

Congrats on the new additions - I love that they look like Nemo! :thumbsup2

Lol at the pic of the gorilla just chillin!

Oh no on having bad service at TH - there is no need for it especially when it wasn't even busy :(

Great tree of life pics!

mousescrapper

01-22-2012, 08:33 PM

Getting caught up...what a headache w the bus to AK I have never heard of waiting that long for a bus to take you to the park :headache:

You got some nice shots and hit some a the good stuff...so glad the day wasn't all bust :goodvibes

Relaxing by the pool at the end of a long day sounds wonderful

teekathepony

01-23-2012, 07:08 AM

You new fish are so cute. Great picture.

The baby ducks are adorable.

I hate when you get bad service at a buffet. I mean, Really? :confused3
Thanks :)
I know right? Like, you don't have to remember my order, bring me my food or put up with me for the most part, the least you could do is bring me something to drink. :confused3 If I could get THAT myself too, I would!

Congrats on the new additions - I love that they look like Nemo! :thumbsup2

Lol at the pic of the gorilla just chillin!

Oh no on having bad service at TH - there is no need for it especially when it wasn't even busy :(

Great tree of life pics!
Hehe thanks Tanz!
That's what was more frustrating than anything I think, there were maybe 5 other full tables in the whole restaurant. :confused3

Getting caught up...what a headache w the bus to AK I have never heard of waiting that long for a bus to take you to the park :headache:

You got some nice shots and hit some a the good stuff...so glad the day wasn't all bust :goodvibes

Relaxing by the pool at the end of a long day sounds wonderful
(re: bus wait) Nor have I! I'm always praising the Disney bus system. Just a hitch or glitch or breakdown I'm sure, but I was very surprised that something wasn't done about it sooner.
We had a very good day despite the bad start. Typical Disney, they can make anything better!

IheartDDuck

01-23-2012, 11:02 AM

teekathepony

01-24-2012, 07:10 AM

Okay, caught up now.

That's absolutely crazy that you had to wait for a bus that long, and at POP no less. POP normally has absolutely the best bus service of all the resorts. That's just not cool. I would have been angry too!
At the time it was really awful, and so very hot out that day. Of course now I think back on it and think to myself "One bad bus experience in 4 trips to Pop Century is not that bad really" but that logic was just not coming to me in the Florida heat that day! :lmao:

teekathepony

01-24-2012, 07:46 AM

Before my next post, I just wanted to share a few of the Photopass pictures from Animal Kingdom with you. I just realized that I never uploaded them to Facebook, which is where I have been getting the pictures for my updates, so you haven't seen any!

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/398551_10150514276507989_508602988_9024657_1933680 527_n.jpg

Turns out we didn't get very many really nice ones at AK, but that's ok.

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/395747_10150514276602989_508602988_9024658_8281373 31_n.jpg

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/409384_10150514276757989_508602988_9024659_4944591 32_n.jpg

There! All caught up.

Now onto our regularly scheduled program.

teekathepony

01-24-2012, 08:07 AM

Wednesday, September 28

I lost my notes for this day with a cell phone update, but I think I can remember it ok.

This was the morning I'd been waiting for!

After the relaxing evening previous and the early bed time, I was up with the sun and ready to go. Our group met at the bus stop at around 7:00 and got in the Magic Kingdom line (which was empty!)

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/304005_10150327253947989_508602988_8182301_1909586 677_n.jpg
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I believe we only waited 10 minutes for our bus. It was a most relaxing 10 minute wait though. The sun was only just coming up and it was lovely and cool out, just a perfectly beautiful day. When our bus came we hopped on, I triple checked that I had my camera, batteries, lenses, flash, whatever else I might want and we were on our way!

We got to the Magic Kingdom in no time. There weren't too many people around and we found the early entry line easy enough.

We wandered around and got some pictures and some PP too.
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/320850_10150327254207989_508602988_8182304_5535114 10_n.jpg

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So we walked up an almost empty Main St. Wow. It was an amazing sight. I could have stared at that castle forever. We were nice and early for our 8:05 breakfast, so we took our time taking lots of pictures.

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/304279_10150327259942989_508602988_8182328_5729087 84_n.jpg

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/313073_10150327260347989_508602988_8182332_1658107 952_n.jpg

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http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/301967_10150327260742989_508602988_8182336_7216560 68_n.jpg

In case anyone is thinking "Wait... I was there at that time and there was an ugly crane behind the castle!"
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/313362_10150327261907989_508602988_8182345_2119165 205_n.jpg
Yes there was. :( BEFORE Photoshop that is.

So we slowly headed to Crystal Palace to check in.
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/296377_10150327262287989_508602988_8182349_2483447 31_n.jpg

We got our buzzer and I wandered away with my camera again.
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/310173_10150327261372989_508602988_8182343_1004542 527_n.jpg

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/320559_10150327262102989_508602988_8182347_2056412 776_n.jpg

Everyone relaxing under the palm trees waiting.
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/305437_10150327262647989_508602988_8182352_1891572 687_n.jpg

Our buzzer went off and I had time for one last shot:
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/299650_10150327261702989_508602988_8182344_1123759 358_n.jpg

And we were in!
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/313497_10150327262902989_508602988_8182353_7712913 36_n.jpg

We were back in a quiet corner which was nice. This was our view:
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/314753_10150327266432989_508602988_8182389_8858043 28_n.jpg

I honestly can't remember much of what we ate (bits of everything I guess!) and I didn't take pictures! Sorryyyy haha

Characters came around:
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/310250_10150327263267989_508602988_8182361_1373228 499_n.jpg
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/319969_10150327263992989_508602988_8182367_1133807 484_n.jpg
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/316971_10150327264577989_508602988_8182374_6322876 90_n.jpg
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/305849_10150327265712989_508602988_8182383_1298467 533_n.jpg

...

teekathepony

01-24-2012, 08:36 AM

We relaxed and took our time and got out of the doors just as the MK opening ceremony was finishing up. We walked back down Main St. to go rent a locker for my camera.
Stopped on the way to watch these fine folks:
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/306414_10150327267372989_508602988_8182399_5461804 35_n.jpg

I locked up my camera and gear and we were ready for a full day at Magic Kingdom!

We walked back into the park trying to decide what to do first. We hopped on the train and decided to decide along the way!

When the train pulled up in Frontierland we thought this was as good a place to start as any, and we hopped off the train.

Onto SPLASH MOUNTAIN!
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/307463_10150836023985128_554975127_21026535_124144 413_n.jpg

We thought it would be a good idea to get soaked early in the day. There was no line to speak of and we got right on. We had a blast and got a little wet too, just enough to cool us down. We figured since we were in the area we may as well head to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad! Another non-existant wait time and we were on and off the ride before you could blink.

We wandered back in the general direction of Liberty Square. I stopped in front of The Country Bear Jamboree and considered for a moment. It had literally been 20 years since I'd seen this show and although I knew it hadn't changed, I felt I owed something to Walt Disney to see his show again. I haven't seen it on previous trips because I remember thinking it was boring when I was 5. I told the others that I was going to go in and watch the show, warned them about the corny aspect and they decided to come anyway. :rotfl:

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/303032_10150836024860128_554975127_21026539_167539 7957_n.jpg

This was about the part of the trip when everyone stopped trusting my judgement. :rotfl2:

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/307244_10150836025575128_554975127_21026544_209269 1995_n.jpg

I think next we went to Pirates of the Caribbean but I can't find a picture anywhere! :confused3

After that we definitely went to the Jungle Cruise!
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Next was my absolute favourite MK ride -- The Haunted Mansion!
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/399795_10150514277437989_508602988_9024667_5342228 _n.jpg

I loved the new queue, wish it were just a little wider so that people who wanted to rush past could, while others (like me) who wanted to take their time and see everything could a little easier. But anyhow, it was neat. I also loved the new hitchhiking ghosts! They made Johnny's head disappear!

From THM we headed back to the hub to decide what to do next. We ended up wandering towards Tomorrowland. Stopped along the way for a PP:
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/396419_10150514277567989_508602988_9024668_9139890 48_n.jpg

Or two...
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/395468_10150514277687989_508602988_9024669_2120291 252_n.jpg

First to my close second favourite MK ride:
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/301540_10150836031400128_554975127_21026582_246629 062_n.jpg

BUZZ Lightyear to the rescue!

Johnny got the highest score of all six of us, I may just have gotten the lowest. :rolleyes:

I believe at this point Johnny's parents went back to the hotel to relax and swim. I wanted to do a marathon day at MK so I stayed, Johnny stayed with me, and Melissa and Ron for whom today was the last day, stayed to milk every last minute.

Next we headed to Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor comedy club. The jokes were of course, old but good. I like that place.

Now my memory gets a little fuzzy, but I'm pretty sure Johnny and I split up from Melissa and Ron. I'm going to end the post here and see if Johnny remembers better.

Next post, I will finish Magic Kingdom!

MEK

01-24-2012, 09:30 AM

IheartDDuck

01-24-2012, 11:37 AM

I love going to MK early in the morning. It really is the best time to get some great pictures. I'm sorry about the crane obstructing your view, but at least you could Photoshop it out. :lmao:

Love breakfast at the Crystal Palace. The only thing that I don't love about it is how crowded and crazy it seems to be. At least that was my experience the last time.

TanzUnited99

01-24-2012, 12:26 PM

I love the PP pics at AK especially the magic shot! :thumbsup2

Wow at the MK bus line being empty - don't think we ever saw that though that's probably because we were never about that early! :laughing:

Main Street looks empty - my goal for my next trip is to get into MK early with a breakfast ADR.

I loved our breakfast at Crystal Palace - it sure is the best :lovestruc

Yay on getting 2 of the mountains done and dusted so early in the day and having a great day at MK!

teekathepony

01-25-2012, 07:01 AM

I love your pictures. they are absolutely stunning. It's been years since I have been in the MK before park opening. I think I really need to do that. What a great photo op.

What a great breakfast and such a fun morning!
Thank you! It was a fantastic photo op, I'll do it again every trip if I can!

I love going to MK early in the morning. It really is the best time to get some great pictures. I'm sorry about the crane obstructing your view, but at least you could Photoshop it out. :lmao:

Love breakfast at the Crystal Palace. The only thing that I don't love about it is how crowded and crazy it seems to be. At least that was my experience the last time.
That was my first time, I'm so glad I did it!
For some reason (maybe where we were seated?) it didn't seem crowded at all this time! Normally though I agree with you.

I love the PP pics at AK especially the magic shot! :thumbsup2

Wow at the MK bus line being empty - don't think we ever saw that though that's probably because we were never about that early! :laughing:

Main Street looks empty - my goal for my next trip is to get into MK early with a breakfast ADR.

I loved our breakfast at Crystal Palace - it sure is the best :lovestruc

Yay on getting 2 of the mountains done and dusted so early in the day and having a great day at MK!
Early entry is really really worth setting the alarm a little earlier! It was so cool to wander around a near empty Main St.!

teekathepony

01-30-2012, 03:39 PM

So I was a little fuzzy on last post's Magic Kingdom day but I talked it out with Johnny and figured out most of the rest of it.

First -- a quick backtrack. When we did the jungle cruise, we next did the Enchanted Tiki Room. This is another one I hadn't done since I was 5. Never saw it under new management (not complaining!) It was here that my in-laws went a separate way. I thought the tiki room was appropriately terrible and we moved on to the Haunted Mansion where we accidentally met up with the in-laws! How does that even happen in Disney?

Ok so, HM, then we all went to Tomorrowland, did Buzz and Monsters. Inc.

At this point, it was nearly time for our late lunch/early dinner at Tony's Town Square, so that's where I will start.

Chapter 16: Attenzione! Attenzione!

We had time for one last ride before our dinner so we all decided on Stitch. I hate that ride so much but figured I could handle it. I showed everyone how to stop the shoulder harness before it came too close so no one's shoulders got squashed. Once again I hated that ride, but at least I can say I did it.

We headed down Main St. and checked in at Tony's Town Square. My MIL was excited as she loves Lady and the Tramp. It took a little while to get seated, but we had snagged some benches and were watching the movie.

We had a nice seat and it was fairly quiet. I ordered Chicken Parmigiana and I honestly can't remember what anyone else got! Much pasta, that I know. It was quite good, I remember the breading on the chicken was nice. I got the tiramisu for dessert. Nothing compares to authentic Venetian tiramisu though, so I thought it was just fair. I did love the designs in cocoa on the plate.

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/311434_10150327268447989_508602988_8182411_7696883 43_n.jpg

On our way into the restaurant we had seen the times to meet Mickey -- only a 5 minute wait! So while the others paid for the meal, I ran to the locker to grab my camera. I came back and we were discussing the plan for the rest of the day. The in-laws were exhausted and headed back to the hotel room for the day. Us young'uns ran to meet Mickey Mouse!

The only other people in the building were off to see the Princesses:
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/315865_10150327268662989_508602988_8182413_1749697 937_n.jpg

But not us! We were out to see a mouse. We got a pleasant surprise, and met two!
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/402647_10150514277802989_508602988_9024670_8541238 57_n.jpg

After returning my camera to the locker, we decided to do some hard core shopping. We went into every Main St. shop and looked at every item on every shelf. We got some great things too. I got a wallet that I love and my mother's birthday gift too! We had everything sent back to our rooms.

Next we headed toward Fantasyland. We did it's a small world together:
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Then on to the Mad Tea Party!

At this point we decided to part ways again. Melissa and Ron headed to Space Mountain, and Johnny and I headed to Dumbo! I've never done it before. :scared1: So we waited in the ridiculously long, slow moving line, surrounded by screeching kids and when we finally got there, squeezed into a dumbo, got around once and the ride broke. Can you believe that!? So we were given a fastpass to use on any ride we wanted that day in MK. Ahh well, I wanted to see the fantasy land expansion!

We must have wandered around a little bit, because next in line we have these PP pics:
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/396094_10150514277922989_508602988_9024671_1166388 838_n.jpg
Bloody crane! :sad2:
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We decided to take our fastpasses and go to Buzz again. The standby line was short, and the fastpass line was a walk on! Once again Johnny kicked my patootie.

We came out of Buzz and looked around for something else to do that we hadn't done yet. Astro Orbiter! I've never done it before!

It was a long, long wait. I think everyone who couldn't ride Dumbo came to AO. But when we got up there I was surprised at how fast it was! I could barely get a look at the expansion. But we had fun.

It was getting close to 8:00pm by this point, and that was our arranged meeting time with M&R, by the locker. We ducked into Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe and had some chicken fingers and fries. We were cutting it close and I had figured that we would just make it on time, but hadn't accounted for the parade that was almost about to start! The streets were jam packed and we couldn't get through! By weaving through the shops, we managed to get to our meet only 10 minutes late.

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I retrieved my camera, returned my locker key and we once again (to avoid the parade watchers) hopped on the train.

We got off in Frontierland again.

"We can either camp in a good fireworks spot now and stay there until they start, or we can ride one more ride and then catch a spot wherever we can. You guys pick" I said to M&R, for whom this was their last night.

They looked at each other and then back to me,
"One more ride!" They said

We took a quick vote and decided unanimously on Splash Mountain.

This was the most fun I've ever had in MK. Like children we ran through the completely empty queue. We got to the end and on the ride in no time. I love love love this ride in the dark. We decided to do a funny picture at the drop. Despite the complete darkness, Melissa, Johnny and I put our sunglasses back on. Ron, who had none, put his hat on sideways. We all did the double guns and wore silly looks on our faces. (Melissa and I did the Duckface!) We giggled the whole way through the ride and when it came to the top of the drop we saw the whole of Magic Kingdom lit up. The parade was twisting its way through and it felt like we hovered there forever. We put on our silly faces, flash and drop! We got a little wet, but not too bad. We ran to the picture pick up and were rolling around laughing, what an amazing picture. We all decided it was just too expensive to buy and no one thought to get a redneck pic! Oh well, it's sharp in my memory.

So by this time all the parade watchers had turned into fireworks spot campers and we couldn't find a decent place anywhere, so we watched them from Liberty Square. It was a totally different show from back there and I felt bad that Ron had never seen it before but we all enjoyed it just the same.

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After the fireworks, Ron and Melissa headed back to Pop. They had an early day ahead of them. We bid them goodbye and safe travels, and wandered around taking some pictures and visiting PP Photogs.

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LOVE that at the end of the day my shirt is a little loose... oops! :headache:
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After wandering around for quite some time we headed to the busses. It was quite empty but the bus line was long. It took us a while to get back, and when we did we were exhausted. We showered and fell into bed thinking blissfully of the next day -- relaxing at Discovery Cove!

bouncycat

01-30-2012, 07:35 PM

LOVE it!! Night time in the summer is the best time to do Splash!! We always end up on Thunder Mtn during wishes!! It's always fun!!

teekathepony

01-31-2012, 07:56 AM

LOVE it!! Night time in the summer is the best time to do Splash!! We always end up on Thunder Mtn during wishes!! It's always fun!!

If it weren't for it being Ron's first time at Disney, I would have liked to skip wishes to do BTM too, I love rides at night, but with friends it was a whole different (more fun!) ball game!

TanzUnited99

01-31-2012, 02:31 PM

Haha if you thought that of The Enchanted Tiki Room I'm glad it broke down on us!!

I never rode Stitch but have not heard anyone that has actually enjoyed being on that ride! :laughing:

I'm glad you enjoyed your meal at Tony's Town Square. Love the pic with Mickey and Minnie - I'm pretty sure that queue said 5 mins for the duration of our trip!

Yeah on 'one more ride' getting the vote and going on Splash Mountain! Sounds like a great day followed by a great evening! :goodvibes

MEK

01-31-2012, 07:22 PM

mousescrapper

01-31-2012, 09:57 PM

Love the last updates w/ all the fun you had at MK...you got some wonderful pictures and wow you did a ton for that full marathon day :thumbsup2

Sounds like you had a blast on the rides an meeting Mickey and Minnie too :goodvibes

You deserve that rest day coming up...and yes I agree riding rides at MK in the night is so fun and I love getting those evening pictures by the lit up castle :goodvibes

teekathepony

02-01-2012, 07:30 AM

What a great evening in the MK and you guys got so many cute pictures together. I love Splash (and Big thunder) at night too. They are so much more fun in the dark.

I also love your picture with Mickey and Minnie!
It was a great evening, we had a lot of fun. Somehow those rides seem a little more intense in the dark! Haha
I was so excited to meet them both at the same time. :lovestruc

Love the last updates w/ all the fun you had at MK...you got some wonderful pictures and wow you did a ton for that full marathon day :thumbsup2

Sounds like you had a blast on the rides an meeting Mickey and Minnie too :goodvibes

You deserve that rest day coming up...and yes I agree riding rides at MK in the night is so fun and I love getting those evening pictures by the lit up castle :goodvibes
We had a very full day! It was great though, a lot of fun. But yes we absolutely NEEDED DC the next day! LOL

teekathepony

02-01-2012, 08:44 AM

Thursday, September 29

Despite the long day yesterday, we all woke up early this morning. We got our bathing suits on, packed a change of clothes and we were off. We grabbed a cab in front of the lobby and asked him to take us to Discovery Cove!

We got there nice and early. We checked in no problem, got our ID tags and dolphin swim time (1:00 at the seahorse cabana!) We got our vests (NOT wet suits.) and got a locker and got changed. We piled our stuff into our lockers, Johnny and I got our cameras ready (he has the Fujifilm Z33WP -- the older water proof one, I have a waterproof case for my Fuji J12) and we went to the restaurant for breakfast. We had a nice big breakfast with fruit, eggs, bacon, sausage and cereal. Then when we were all done, we headed to the new Grand Reef.

We snagged some chairs and waded in.
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I don't know if they changed their policy or something, but the park was way more crowded this trip than it had been on my two previous. I felt like I couldn't relax in the lagoon as much because it was crowded and we kept getting bumped into. SO many people didn't even bother to watch where they were going, they'd kick their feet hard to move and didn't seem to care if they knocked others around while they did. :confused3 Johnny was having a blast though, so after about a half hour of swimming, I just retreated to my chair and relaxed in the sun. Looking back, the lonnnng week might have contributed to my mood. Maybe I really just needed to rest on the beach.

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This was my view. I'm going to have this picture printed 4x6 feet and hang it on my bedroom ceiling.

While I sun bathed, Johnny frolicked with the fishes.

It's so beautiful there, the fake coral reef is really gorgeous.
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They had just fed the fish (well, the herbivores at least!) and Johnny snagged a piece of lettuce. The fish liked him.
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I think one of the reasons the Grand Reef was surprising me with how crowded it was, is that it looks way bigger than the functional swimming area. This is due to the shark enclosure in the middle of it:
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Those rays are the softest, smoothest, silkiest things I've ever touched. Even better than the dolphins!

I was in my lounger watching the time and thinking I was hungry and some lunch would be nice, when a figure blocked my sun. I looked up and Johnny was bending over me, dripping on me. "I'm hungry." he said. I mean really, our brains are practically connected. I hate to sound sappy and gushy, but I'm pretty happy to be married to a guy with whom I'm so entirely compatible.

We found his parents and headed back toward the restaurant feeling incredibly warm and happy and relaxed. We tried several different foods from the buffet and I can't remember them all, but the mac 'n' cheese was good and so was the rice. We took our time and when we were done we emptied ourselves of jewelry, cameras, etc. and headed to the seahorse cabana for our dolphin swim!

We were divided into groups and assigned a trainer and we marched to the dolphin lagoon where our flippered friends awaited us. We were "Pod D" and our dolphin was Lester.

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Lester is a 40 year old veteran. Pretty impressive when the average lifespan of a bottle nose dolphin is 20 years! Lester is the largest they have, and the dominant male in the park. He's a granddaddy too. But he sure was sweet and he knew the drill. We touched him, learned a bit about dolphins, listened to some of the noises he makes and then we gave him some commands, including an impressive jump. Then in family groups we swam far out in the deep water and one by one were pulled back to shore by Lester. The dolphin experience was about an hour and it's so very very worth it.

My S-FIL did not do the dolphin swim, so he sat on the beach and took a few pictures. Johnny and I didn't buy any of the professional ones since we had bought the disc last year, but his mother got a few.

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When we were just about finished we got a little surprise. The trainer sent Lester away and called over their newest recruit! A year old dolphin just starting his training. She had the baby do a few little things with us to practice the interaction part. He was so precious! And he was Lester's grandson too. I don't have any pictures of him, but he sure was something.

(continued in next post)

teekathepony

02-01-2012, 09:09 AM

...

After our dolphin swim Johnny and I decided to try out the warm fresh water lagoon and the lazy river. We got some pool noodles and floated away, just going with the current. At one point you have to go under a waterfall, and you come out in the aviary.

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(Didn't want to get any in my eyes for fear that my contacts would get sticky!)

We decided that since we were in the aviary anyway, we may as well go upstairs and feed the birds. We abandoned our noodles and did just that.

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This little guy came to me and wouldn't leave. He stayed with me for almost an hour!
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The staff kept laughing at him because he just stayed with me. People kept coming up and trying to entice him to leave me and go with them and still he wouldn't.

Then Johnny got a buddy too.
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After a while my buddy finally left. This guy came to see what Johnny had:
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And decided my cup looked better:
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We left the aviary and got back in the lazy river. We meandered around that a few times and then Johnny wanted to go back to the Grand Reef. Somewhere in all of this we stopped for a snack. It's pretty fun to go up to the counter and order a drink and not have to pay for it, or just take a bag of cookies or chips without leaving money.

So we snorkeled with the fish a little more and then it was time to go. We got showered and dressed, did some shopping on our way out, (I got an awesome sweater for $15, pretty nice!) and got a cab back to Pop Century.

We unloaded our new treasures and went straight for the Epcot bus line. We got to Epcot and went for France where we checked in at Les Chefs de France. We waited at least 45 minutes for our table, despite having a reservation and checking in 15 minutes early. A few "party of 4" who checked in after us got to go in before us too. We were getting upset so Johnny asked the CM if she had perhaps forgotten us. Just as he did, another CM came and announced our names. Finally.

We all ordered the Prix Fixe 3 Courses Menu. For my appetizer I got the Soupe a l'oignon gratinee (French onion soup!) It was delicious and strong and I didn't finish much of it.
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At this moment in time, our camera batteries died. So no more pictures for tonight!

My main dish was the Demi poulet fermier roti, pommes rissolees et tomate grillee (half roasted chicken) which was also very good, but I didn't eat much. I was pretty tired and wasn't in the mood to eat. For dessert I had the Profiteroles au chocolat and the waitress made me say profiteroles out loud after she said it first. She was impressed by my accent -- my Acadian grandparents would have been proud! The profiteroles were just ok, not bad but not incredibly tastey.

While Johnny and my in-laws settled the bill, I ran to find a spot for Illuminations. Our favourite spot in Canada was full, but I found a place just next to it. Tiny little me tried to save space for 4, but they came after not too long. We were there at about 8:15 so we had a bit of a wait. We took turns wandering around, but everyone was really tired and we mostly stayed where we were. My S-FIL made friends with a young boy from Argentina who spoke very little English. They played a modified soccer game while we waited and we had a blast (and attracted a small crowd, lol).

Finally the fireworks started and I got chills, so excited to really be there again. Of course it was an amazing show, and my in-laws gushed about it the whole way back to the hotel. I agreed. It's magnificent!

We took a little while getting a bus back to Pop and when we got there we went straight to our rooms and crashed hard. Johnny and S-FIL had an early wake up for their Driving Experience the next day!

bouncycat

02-01-2012, 05:49 PM

PrincessAmongPrinces

02-01-2012, 07:46 PM

Wow! Discovery Cove looks absolutely amazing :thumbsup2

Can't wait to hear about the driving experience!

IheartDDuck

02-01-2012, 08:44 PM

Wow, Discovery Cove looks so cool. It's been on my "I kinda wanna" list, but now that I've seen your pictures of it, I really want to go.

teekathepony

02-02-2012, 07:25 AM

LOVE the Discovery cove pictures!! That's some place I haven't been to as of yet. Not sure how accessable they are, and I'm not too keen on cold water. The body freezes up, and then HURTS! so, we haven't tried that yet. Looks like fun tho!! LOVE the palm tree view, I'm gonna miss that about Florida!! Any word when ya'll are coming back down this way? I think we're moving sometime in June.
I think they're quite accessible, I know they provide special chairs that will roll in the sand. The water's not cold! (But then again I swim in the North Atlantic. :lmao:) But in all honesty, the warm lagoon is really really warm.
We probably won't be back to Fl until 2015 :sad1: I missed that you guys are moving! Where are you moving to?

Wow! Discovery Cove looks absolutely amazing :thumbsup2

Can't wait to hear about the driving experience!
It really is, it's so beautiful and relaxing! The driving experience was pretty cool, that's next post (whenever I get to it! lol)

Wow, Discovery Cove looks so cool. It's been on my "I kinda wanna" list, but now that I've seen your pictures of it, I really want to go.
In 2007 when I went with my folks, my mom really wanted to go. That was my first time there and it was just so amazing that I've been back two more times! It's just a nice relaxing day.

TanzUnited99

02-02-2012, 04:15 PM

teekathepony

02-03-2012, 07:42 AM

Great review of Discovery Cove! Having never been I love seeing pics and hearing about different experiences :goodvibes

A shame that it was over crowded but your relaxing view looks awesome! :thumbsup2 Def something to hang on the ceiling wall.

Love the pics of the birds as well. Your experience of Les Chefs de France sounds similar to that of mine.

DC was great, but admittedly it was better the first two times I went. But perhaps I was just having an off day at the same time they were having a busy day.
I know your Les Chefs review looked like I could have just copied and pasted it into mine! :lmao:

MEK

02-04-2012, 07:27 PM

teekathepony

02-06-2012, 09:48 AM

You have certainly peaked my interest in Discovery Cove. It looks like a wonderful way to spend the day. How relaxing and you look like you are having a ton of fun with the dolphin swim. It's good to know that one person in your party can do the dolphin swim and the other doesn't have to. I know my DH would never swim with the Dolphins, mostly because he does not know how to swim. :laughing:

In the middle of a Disney vacation, it's a fantastic way to recharge. And yes, you can have everyone in your party doing different things, no one has to do the dolphin swim and it's actually much cheaper without it! My father can not swim, literally just sinks, but on our 2007 trip DC was very accommodating for him because he wanted to swim with the dolphins -- they have them trained to do a shallow water swim, where he just walked over to the side and the dolphin pulled him basically around the lagoon, never going into water over his head.

mousescrapper

02-06-2012, 10:09 AM

teekathepony

02-06-2012, 10:17 AM

Good day everyone and welcome to the second last day of my Disney trip. When I finish this TR, I'm starting my next PTR. I've already decided. (Is three and a half years too early to start?? :rotfl:)

Friday, September 30, 2011

The alarm clock was set early for this morning as Johnny had to get up and be at the Walt Disney World Speedway for 7:30am. He and S-FIL got a cab to the track and MIL and I stayed back at the hotel, each cleaning up our rooms and just lounging. I was going to meet them at the track a little later when Johnny estimated he would be actually driving so I could get some pictures of him. Well I got a text from Johnny saying "We're driving at 8:30" and nearly panicked! I knew I had only barely enough time to get to the track! I called MIL and she needed to have breakfast first so she ate while I tapped my food. She finally finished and we ran for the Epcot bus -- shorter line!

Got to Epcot, there was a massive line for bag check. A huge group in green t-shirts, probably 100+ kids and adults were ahead of us! We only needed to get to the monorail! We managed to get to the fastest bag line, got through and literally ran up the ramp for the monorail. The whole time Johnny was texting me and saying "you're going to miss my drive!" Just as we made it to the top of the ramp, the monorail pulled away. We waited nervously for the next one to take us to the TTC, all the while thinking we should have gone to MK instead! Finally another monorail came, we got to the TTC and ran for the phone, calling the shuttle to take us to the track. MIL was insistent that they come now -- we were going to miss our family driving! They came fast and got us there JUST on time, S-FIL was just climbing into the car and Johnny was next. He had convinced the instructors to let him go last. Well, we were out of breath and pulling cameras out of bags, but we had made it.

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As S-FIL started his 8 laps, Johnny climbed into his car and started to get adjusted.

S-FIL:
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Johnny:
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They had a little awards ceremony after the drivers were all done and everyone got their lap times and certificates.
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Meanwhile my MIL thought it looked like fun, and decided to try the passenger ride along.
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She said it was the thrill of a life time.

Johnny has yet to stop talking about this experience. He loved it so much and wants to do it again, next time he wants to go right to Daytona!
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We shopped for some souvenirs a bit and Johnny got a plaque with some pictures of him in the car. I also got two little plush race cars for the dogs!

We left the track, got a shuttle back to the TTC, monorail to Epcot, bus to Pop.

Once back, we headed to our rooms to get changed for the pool. Before we swam though we went to Everything Pop and got some lunch. I had a chicken burrito that was so delicious, Johnny got his favourite pizza. We went back to the computer pool and swam a little. I fell asleep in a lounge chair. I was so tired that I went back to the room for a nap, Johnny came too. We mostly relaxed and did nothing until about 6, when we showered and dressed and headed to DTD.

Once there we did some shopping. I had great luck finding some doggie souvies at Fun Finds
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/313814_10150327527267989_508602988_8183835_2030095 599_n.jpg

Couldn't get a really good shot of the lego statues! Oh well, next time I'll bring my camera. And maybe a tripod.
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/301999_10150327527497989_508602988_8183838_1466708 865_n.jpg

We had a late reservation at Paradiso 37. We were seated on the patio outside and at first I didn't want to -- I wanted air conditioning darn it! But I am so glad we stayed there. The evening was perfect, warm with a breeze. There was a singer on stage in front of us. The music was great, the weather was perfect and then came the food!

I wanted a fancy drink, since this one wasn't on the dining plan anyway and we were paying oop. I despise the taste of alcohol, so I got a virgin strawberry daiquiri:
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/319568_10150327527787989_508602988_8183841_9981548 92_n.jpg
It was super yummy!
Johnny, also a hater of alcohol, got a virgin pina colada.
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/297598_10150327527947989_508602988_8183843_9462987 85_n.jpg
He found it a little too strong.

We decided to split the Paradiso Nachos, but they were a little small, we should really have ordered one each, but so many huge portions at Disney made us try it this way. I had to convince Johnny saying "We can always order more, but once we order too much it's wasted!" He agreed, but then when he was still hungry he wouldn't order more! Stubborn.

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/318342_10150327528532989_508602988_8183849_1744391 745_n.jpg

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/317206_10150327528802989_508602988_8183852_1270226 224_n.jpg

We had a really, really awesome time here and despite it not being a DDP restaurant, I'd go back in a heartbeat. Especially on a warm, breezy evening!

After finishing up there we wandered a little more and did some more shopping. All the way up through the West Side.
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/296912_10150327529057989_508602988_8183855_9650976 77_n.jpg

When we were too tired to walk any longer we headed to the bust stop and back to Pop where we went straight to bed, thinking about the next day which would be our last.

teekathepony

02-06-2012, 10:24 AM

Wow very exciting day and some nice RnR too :goodvibes

I have never seen pictures of the bird aviary before..that is so cool how they would perch on your hand/fingers like that...my DH would have loved that

Sorry about the wait at France and that you weren't too hungry...but so glad you enjoyed Illuminations...and how sweet the story of your inlays w/ the little boy

J

Ninja post! Haha you must have posted as I was writing my update.

The aviary is really interesting, especially if you get there early when the birds are hungry. Sometimes you get three or four birds all sitting on you at once! One time I had them on my arms, shoulders and one on my head. Didn't last long enough for a picture though! LOL

IheartDDuck

02-06-2012, 09:14 PM

teekathepony

02-07-2012, 07:10 AM

No, three and a half years is not too early to start a PTR. :laughing:

Love the experience that they had at Richard Petty. I bought it for my dad a while back. He just did the ride along though, because at the time I didn't really have the money to buy him the super experience.

Yay, I'm so glad you don't think three and a half years is too early! HAhaha I told Johnny I was starting my PTR soon. He said "for what!?" I said "For Disney 2015!" He looked at me for a minute and laughed and said "2015. Right." We both know we're going to get there sooner if at all we can.

Apparently the ride along is a lot more fun in some ways because you get to go even faster! Johnny wants to try it some time too.

teekathepony

02-09-2012, 08:07 AM

Just a quick life update for today.

Johnny and I sat down last night with pens and paper and price lists and did some honest to goodness Disney planning. It felt so good, despite being 3 years and 8 months away. However we did have a little breakthrough -- We are going in 2015. We had planned on November. January is cheaper, and we could go for my birthday! princess: And best of all? Instead of 3 years 8 months, we would be going in 2 years 11 months! :yay: That's a lot easier to wait! So it's a consideration on the table. We had wanted November for the Christmas festivities, but I guess we'll see.
I already started writing some PTR posts in Word. I have them saved for when I actually start the PTR... :rolleyes1

mousescrapper

02-09-2012, 08:26 AM

ChefDisneyLu

02-09-2012, 12:16 PM

Great TR and pictures! Thank you so much for sharing!

My wedding anniversery is Oct. 16th also!

Lisa

teekathepony

02-09-2012, 04:08 PM

The driving experience sounded really great! So glad you were able to make it to the track in time to see them drive! What fun :thumbsup2

A relaxing day at the pool plus a nap how nice and when you wake up you are still at Disney and going out for fun!

Last day coming up, how sad but a new trip on the horizon :cool1:
The driving experience was awesome, well, for Johnny! haha, I enjoyed watching him too.

Great TR and pictures! Thank you so much for sharing!

My wedding anniversery is Oct. 16th also!

Lisa

Well hello! Very cool to share an anniversary with someone!

teekathepony

02-10-2012, 07:23 AM

Well here we are. It’s the last day at Disney. Most people have a lovely last day and never want to leave. Well, I'm a homebody who doesn't like to be away too long and by the end of a vacation I'm usually itching to go home. This particular last day didn't help.

Saturday, October 1 2011

Johnny and I were up and ready by 8 that morning. Before we left I got a few things ready to pack. We knew we would be spending the whole day in the parks and had a very early morning the next day, but we wanted to get to Epcot as soon as possible so we decided not to do all our packing and to finish it that night. Great idea huh? :sad2:

We got some breakfast at Everything Pop and headed to Epcot.
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/302146_10150330367497989_508602988_8200820_3648874 12_n.jpg

As we expected, Epcot was very busy. It was the second day of the Food and Wine Festival and a Saturday.
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/297742_10150330367032989_503292864_n.jpg

We got some Photopass pics:
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/405690_10150514278542989_508602988_9024677_1541245 821_n.jpg

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/407000_10150514278762989_508602988_9024679_4379743 05_n.jpg

I ran to get us some Soarin’ fastpasses while the others headed for Innoventions. I got a 1:00 – 2:00 return time (and the park had only just opened!) I met the rest at Innoventions where we did The House of Innoventions:
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/318322_10150330367792989_508602988_8200825_1798803 152_n.jpg

Then they all designed a roller coaster on The Sum Of All Thrills.
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/314650_10150330367652989_508602988_8200823_2048609 343_n.jpg

I can’t do this ride; I’m too claustrophobic for those little pods. So I watched as they flipped around and upside down. It’s too bad they’re so tight; I think they look like fun.

Since we had done most of Future World on our first day, we decided to focus on the World Showcase today. We headed toward Mexico:
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/315658_10150330368732989_508602988_8200835_1122072 774_n.jpg
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/395178_10150514279242989_508602988_9024683_2055050 095_n.jpg

... and rode the Three Caballeros.
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/299348_10150330368252989_508602988_8200831_2380046 31_n.jpg
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We looked around at everything inside; it’s so beautiful in there! We went to San Angel to inquire about changing our dinner reservation time. It was set for 7:15, but we wanted to eat earlier so we could get to Magic Kingdom for the 40th fireworks. The CM told us to come back later, about the time when we wanted to eat and they would get us in then, and that the reservation system was hardly rigid and as long as our name was there for that day we were good. I raised an eyebrow at Johnny and shrugged, but we figured we would try that.

Next we went to Norway and rode Maelstrom.
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/296968_10150330369207989_508602988_8200845_4352566 52_n.jpg
We looked around the shops a lot, taking our time.
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/299650_10150330369917989_508602988_8200856_4394806 17_n.jpg

We were hungry at this point, and knew we would eventually have to head back toward the Land for our Soarin' fp's, so we decided to eat at Sunshine Seasons again.
Stopped to check this out on the way there:
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/308474_10150330370097989_508602988_8200858_7814403 92_n.jpg

I got the sweet and sour chicken with noodles this time, and the chocolate mousse cake. Johnny got a Caesar salad and the strawberry shortcake. I should have had the ss! I loved the mousse, but man, that ss is just so delicious.

We ate slowly, sat for a while and relaxed. Then it was about 1:15 and we were within our Soarin’ fp time! So off we went to Soarin. We loved it again (though I was frustrated with the film quality again.)

So far so good right? Well, I'll leave you with this happy morning but be warned -- it all goes downhill from here!

IheartDDuck

02-10-2012, 07:12 PM

Oh no, your last day is less than ideal!? I hate that. I'm glad that your morning started off well. I love the desserts from Sunshine Seasons. I am wanting that strawberry shortcake right now.

MEK

02-11-2012, 07:01 AM

In the middle of a Disney vacation, it's a fantastic way to recharge. And yes, you can have everyone in your party doing different things, no one has to do the dolphin swim and it's actually much cheaper without it! My father can not swim, literally just sinks, but on our 2007 trip DC was very accommodating for him because he wanted to swim with the dolphins -- they have them trained to do a shallow water swim, where he just walked over to the side and the dolphin pulled him basically around the lagoon, never going into water over his head.

That's great information! I wonder if I could get my DH to do that.

The driving experience looks like a blast. Honestly, I had no idea the track was actually at WDW. For some reason I always thought people went over to Daytona to do that. Cool that your MIL tried the ride along. I think I would probably be screaming in the drivers ear the whole time. :rotfl: Great pics!

Woo Hoo :cool1: for a PTR, no matter how far away the trip is! :thumbsup2

Your Epcot day is starting off great. Is goes downhill? Oh No!

teekathepony

02-12-2012, 09:35 AM

Oh no, your last day is less than ideal!? I hate that. I'm glad that your morning started off well. I love the desserts from Sunshine Seasons. I am wanting that strawberry shortcake right now.
/sigh. Yeah less than ideal in a lot of ways, but thankfully there were good things too. Those are the things you remember right? lol

That's great information! I wonder if I could get my DH to do that.

The driving experience looks like a blast. Honestly, I had no idea the track was actually at WDW. For some reason I always thought people went over to Daytona to do that. Cool that your MIL tried the ride along. I think I would probably be screaming in the drivers ear the whole time. :rotfl: Great pics!

Woo Hoo :cool1: for a PTR, no matter how far away the trip is! :thumbsup2

Your Epcot day is starting off great. Is goes downhill? Oh No!
Yeah the track is actually visible from the TTC! The NASCAR drivers sometimes practice there too.
Yup, straight downhill, kicking and screaming, plummeting to... well yes it got worse. :rotfl:

teekathepony

02-14-2012, 10:11 AM

I just wanted to stop in to wish everyone a Happy Valentines Day!

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3_2FCxXqZPQ/TIzo8tZby4I/AAAAAAAAQYQ/xr9gJqzEC3Y/s1600/disney-mickey-mouse-valentine-card.jpg

Whether you have a valentine or not, I hope you enjoy today and take time to love your family, your friends, and most importantly yourself as well.

teekathepony

02-16-2012, 09:43 AM

We had just finished lunch and a ride on Soarin'. We were feeling full and happy. At this point we decided it was time to really jump into the swing of the Food & Wine Festival. I wanted to try lots of different things! We started in Canada, my home and native land.

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/302567_10150330370352989_508602988_8200862_8659547 23_n.jpg

We took our time meandering through the beautiful gardens and taking pictures.
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/310588_10150330370717989_508602988_8200867_1813768 704_n.jpg
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We watched the Circle Vision show and perhaps got a little misty-eyed when they showed Nova Scotia, thinking that in just 24 hours we would be headed back there. We checked out the Canadian F&WF booth but it was very busy and Johnny didn’t want to wait in the line… well, ok… but I thought that was why we were here in this park on this day? We watched Off Kilter play a little bit.
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/315993_10150330372842989_508602988_8200899_5470578 71_n.jpg

I love their music, should have gotten their CD.

Got a fastpass picture:
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/397166_10150514278872989_508602988_9024680_1509546 973_n.jpg

Then we moved on to the UK.
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/301252_10150330373467989_508602988_8200912_1197369 126_n.jpg

I won’t go into each and every country’s pavilion, but I will sum it up by saying we went in and around each and every one, looking at everything. Here's the photographic proof:
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/316326_10150330374532989_508602988_8200928_3022082 94_n.jpg
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Johnny however, was getting cranky and would not stop for any F&WF booths! He had no problem waiting for my S-FIL, who waited in many of the lines to get a beer, but he wouldn’t wait with me to sample the food. I was not a happy chick that day, in fact my mood was quickly going South. Finally outside of the Germany F&WF booth I confronted him about it. When calmly explaining that he was obviously tired and ready to go home as he was being cranky didn't work, I essentially telling him to go on ahea and leave me alone and that I was going to do this Festival myself since he wouldn’t participate. After all, that was the whole reason for coming to Epcot this day! He wouldn’t leave, and apologized but really, I was so frustrated at this point having not tried a single thing that I had a really hard time with the whole forgive and forget thing. And I readily admit to being tired and cranky too, but at least I was trying.

He agreed to go to Germany with me to get the apple strudel and we enjoyed it. (Good thing, it was the only thing we got out of the F&WF!)
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/316746_10150330377457989_508602988_8200977_1667938 343_n.jpg
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/304279_10150330377647989_508602988_8200979_8690938 26_n.jpg
The line, seriously, was not that long. Might have taken us 15 minutes.
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/300337_10150330377807989_508602988_8200983_9785646 78_n.jpg
I also got a great t-shirt that is the most comfortable thing I’ve ever in my life put on.
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/301456_10150330375897989_508602988_8200951_3186875 93_n.jpg

So we finished out the World Showcase at Mexico.
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/299520_10150330378267989_508602988_8200990_1550677 644_n.jpg

At this point it was about 5:30 and we wanted to see if we could get in to eat, like the CM earlier that day had told us. So we went in and asked, but the Cm who was there now told us we could not get in this early and wouldn’t be able to change it until at least 6:45. That was way too late! We knew that eating that late we would never get to MK for fireworks. So we decided to skip this meal entirely. It was unfortunate because I had been looking forward to it. Honestly at this point I was feeling that my last day was actually making me want to go home even faster. I was ready for the vacation to end. I know most people are sad to leave, but I’m usually ready. I like short vacations of no more than 10 days, and then I need to be back home.
Well, we decided to make the best of the evening. The in-laws were tired and just plain finished so they went back to Pop to pack. Johnny and I monorailed it to Magic Kingdom, hoping to partake in some festivities. We talked a great deal while waiting for the monorail and decided that we would eat something soon to avoid becoming even more cranky, and that we would just try to let things roll off us. I was happy to be a team again, I can get through any negative experience if Johnny's on my side.

Next chapter will be my last! Just the two of us taking on a seriously crowded Magic Kingdom. What else could go wrong?

TanzUnited99

02-18-2012, 10:33 AM

norybell

02-18-2012, 03:17 PM

I just read your whole TR, start to finish, just in time for it to be ending! :rotfl:

Sounds like you had a pretty amazing trip, even if the first part of the last day didn't go quite as you'd planned. I hope it picked up, once you got to the MK!

MEK

02-18-2012, 03:53 PM

I missed this update somehow. :confused3

I love the movie in Canada and I always get choked up even though I don't live there. The last time I watched that movie I told myself I definitely have to get up to Nova Scotia. I have always wanted to go there. It's been on my bucket list for years. Something about the Bay of Fundy tides intrigues. I can remember watching a movie about it in grade school and be fascinated by then.

That picture of the little settee (or couch because I'm not sure how to spell it) is so pretty. Sorry Johnny wasn't feeling the F&W festival all that much. I will admit that by the end of a long trip its easy to feel "done". The crowds, the heat, the lines - they all start to get to you. But you had such a fab vacation and did so many cool things. What great memories.

Glad you decided to make the most of your last evening and sorry you could not get your ADR changed. That's frustrating.

teekathepony

02-18-2012, 06:19 PM

Hey I'm back and catching up on the boards :goodvibes

Thanks for making me laugh hun with your comment about starting your TR 3 and a half years out!!! :rotfl: Nothing wrong with that at all.

I'm glad you all enjoyed the Richard Petty Driving experience - sounds like fun!

Oh no on your last day not going as planned :eek: They are always bittersweet though and can affect people in different ways :hug:

:goodvibes Hi again! Glad to have you back!
I have to plan a Disney vacation, it's just in my blood now! So whether it's a year from now, two years, or four years, I just need to be researching and making plans. It keeps me sane. :upsidedow

I just read your whole TR, start to finish, just in time for it to be ending! :rotfl:

Sounds like you had a pretty amazing trip, even if the first part of the last day didn't go quite as you'd planned. I hope it picked up, once you got to the MK!
Welcome!! When you think about it, the end is a good time to jump on a TR! Hahaha, that way you don't have to wait for the next installment! :lmao:
It was an amazing trip for sure, I had honestly forgotten that we had even had a bad day at all until I re-read my notes!

I missed this update somehow. :confused3

I love the movie in Canada and I always get choked up even though I don't live there. The last time I watched that movie I told myself I definitely have to get up to Nova Scotia. I have always wanted to go there. It's been on my bucket list for years. Something about the Bay of Fundy tides intrigues. I can remember watching a movie about it in grade school and be fascinated by then.

That picture of the little settee (or couch because I'm not sure how to spell it) is so pretty. Sorry Johnny wasn't feeling the F&W festival all that much. I will admit that by the end of a long trip its easy to feel "done". The crowds, the heat, the lines - they all start to get to you. But you had such a fab vacation and did so many cool things. What great memories.

Glad you decided to make the most of your last evening and sorry you could not get your ADR changed. That's frustrating.
I'm biased of course, but Nova Scotia is a pretty awesome little place. My island has been rated the #2 island destination in the world by National Geographic! And was the #1 most romantic Canadian getaway too. :love: Ok, I'm all finished bragging. :rolleyes1
You know, that's all it was in the end, just being "done" with this whole vacation thing. We had an amazing trip though, it has been very easy to forget the little bad things. They seemed SO much worse at the time.
The most frustrating part of not being able to change our ADR was having been told earlier that it wouldn't be a problem! :headache:

mousescrapper

02-18-2012, 06:41 PM

Caught up again, sorry F&W didn't work out all that well for you guys. :headache: hope something works out at MK

teekathepony

02-19-2012, 07:29 AM

Caught up again, sorry F&W didn't work out all that well for you guys. :headache: hope something works out at MK

Some day I need to get back to the F&W F at the beginning of my trip and try again! :rotfl:
It got a little better toward the end of the night though ;)

Queenofallthings

02-20-2012, 03:45 PM

Just spent the last couple of hours reading your TR!:thumbsup2 Great job!!

teekathepony

02-20-2012, 06:03 PM

Just spent the last couple of hours reading your TR!:thumbsup2 Great job!!

:welcome: Fellow Canadian!! Good to have you along here!

teekathepony

02-22-2012, 08:31 AM

Well, no sense in prolonging it any more. I'm going to finish off our last day at Disney.

We had just gotten the monorail from Epcot to Magic Kingdom. We got some Photopass pictures taken with the 40th anniversary sign:

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/402103_10150514279602989_508602988_9024685_2079590 033_n.jpg

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/297222_10150330378412989_508602988_8200994_8400697 31_n.jpg

Our first stop in the park was to guest services to see about getting a special 40th Anniversary pin. Of course by this time there were none left, but we were told that there had been none since about 2pm. I thought that was fairly poor planning, considering the crowds I'm sure they knew they would get. At this point I must digress for a short story before I get back to this update.

Last trip, in November 2010 for our honeymoon, we were given a couple of “Happily Ever After” pins. Cute. Many CMs told us “Oh you should get the ‘Just Married’ pins too!” so we tried everywhere, every day. And I do mean everywhere. We were constantly told “We don’t have those anymore because it’s not fair to those couples who cannot get married.” Well, I guess that does seem fair, except that we saw SO MANY other couples with them throughout our whole two week trip! We asked a few when they had got them (wondering if it was the week before we arrived or they had taken them from home or something) and most of them said “this morning at guest services!” We were very unhappy; it seemed like every other newlywed couple was getting them but us. If you’re going to change your policy, do it universally, not just to select people. We were sad that we never did get to wear Just Married pins on our honeymoon.

Back to this trip.

We had once again this trip seen many couples with “Just Married” pins. It was very frustrating, having been told last year that they were not giving them out any more. When we couldn’t get a 40th pin, we decided just for the heck of it (and because we had left our 'Happy Anniversary' pins at Pop Century) to ask for a Just Married pin. “Here you go!” said the CM and handed two over. It was a very bitter moment for us, I’m not going to lie.
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So we walked around with our “Just Married” pins on for the rest of the night. A small lie but we were determined to get some use out of them.

We decided to wander around for a bit. We went the scenic route through the castle and it was Johnny's first time ever being inside.
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/300524_10150330378632989_508602988_8200997_1239067 226_n.jpg

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/317550_10150330378752989_508602988_8200999_9633538 08_n.jpg

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/314085_10150330378862989_508602988_8201001_1304816 378_n.jpg

We meandered a bit and found ourselves near Tomorrowland, so we decided to ride Buzz again.
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/314919_10150330378937989_508602988_8201002_3535564 56_n.jpg

We were getting hungry so we stopped at Pinocchio's Village Haus. Both of us ordered the simplest thing -- pizza. Pepperoni for Johnny, cheese for me. We got to the counter and laid our receipts down, but for some reason they served everyone but us. It wasn't as if we had ordered something specially made, but every pizza that came out was handed to someone else. A man next to us was having the same problem. Again, it was just so very time to go home, but we wanted to see those fireworks. After waiting for about 15 minutes while everyone around us got served pizza after pizza, the other man asked a CM why we weren’t getting ours. She checked our slips and said “Oh it’s ready now.” Oh. How convenient. :rolleyes: We got our meal, got a seat and ate.

You can probably imagine that we were both a little (lot) frustrated at this point. We were tired and homesick. We missed our pets and our bed and I just wanted to cook a meal on my stove for us to eat at our table. We had only hours left in the park, and we were going to try to make the best of it.

At 7:00 we set up in a nice spot in the hub by the partners statue. I sat next to a tripod with a nice looking camera on top. We took turns saving this spot and wandering, but soon it got too crowded to wander so we just stayed put. I started talking to the owner of the Pentax camera and found out that he’s a plumber by trade. Of course I had to get him talking to Johnny, also a plumber. It was a great conversation and we still keep in touch with him to this day on Facebook.

We watched the castle start to light up and turn colours. Johnny took some pictures since I just wanted to relax and enjoy.
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/406490_10150581366807989_508602988_9211248_1848556 820_n.jpg

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/424133_10150581366917989_508602988_9211250_6940626 79_n.jpg

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/425908_10150581367697989_508602988_9211257_1854436 644_n.jpg

The parade was about to start and there was not a bit of room to move. We couldn’t see too much of the parade from our perch but that was ok, when the fireworks started we were going to have an amazing view.
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/401410_10150581367532989_508602988_9211256_1887760 349_n.jpg

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/429432_10150581367432989_508602988_9211255_1224970 173_n.jpg

A terrible shot, but it shows you how close to the statue we were:
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/406570_10150581367207989_508602988_9211253_1228747 572_n.jpg

After the parade I had to get to a washroom. The Magic Memories & You show was at 8:30 and the fireworks at 9:00. It took me half an hour to get from the hub to the washroom and back. The crowd control was extremely poor. When I headed back toward the hub they routed me through Tomorrowland! Then when I got back to the hub, the CMs wouldn’t let me in! I had to stop (despite them all yelling “DON’T STOP! KEEP MOVING!” and explain that my husband was inside that crowd! They let me in and I had to push through. I got to Johnny about halfway through the MM&Y show. I know I’m not the only one who thought that was poorly handled – soooo many people around me were shouting about needing to get somewhere and I can’t count how many times I heard “But I have to get to a restroom!”

Well, when I got back to Johnny I squeezed in and stayed there until the fireworks.

It was Wishes but with a slightly altered finale, and it was a pretty good show. I admit that this show made me smile, after such a long and frustrating day. Turns out the finale was pretty spectacular and actually worth the wait. I'm very happy to say that I was there at the Magic Kingdom for the 40th anniversary celebration.

I didn't take any pictures, but here's one from my new Disney friend to hold you over, since this is a dry post, picture-wise:
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/299648_10150308046381723_726676722_8479642_1553859 71_n.jpg

We tried to stay where we were to wait out the crowds but no one was moving! It seemed everyone was waiting for the second showing of MM&Y. So we just politely pushed our way to Tomorrowland. It was empty in there and we rode Buzz Lightyear yet again. From there we went around the back of the castle to the Haunted Mansion.

While in the area we were walking along when suddenly we heard a little metallic clink noise. I looked down and there, staring up at me was a little Disney magic -- a 40th Anniversary Pin.

I could hardly believe it. I picked it up and dusted it off and made an honest effort to see who may have lost it, but there was literally no one around! It wasn't even scratched. I looked up at Johnny and smiled and realized that despite our little mishaps this day, we were still in Disney and that was enough. Our own magic might have worn off by this point but Disney's didn't!

On our way out we got caught up by the second parade. This time though the crowd control was fantastic. CMs were everywhere directing foot traffic and patrolling where people were standing. It went very smooth. I assume they must have had some complaints! I even heard lots of other people voicing my thoughts out loud.

We decided to head back to Pop Century. We said goodbye to Magic Kingdom for the final time and got a bus. We had to pack and by the time we got to bed it was 1:30am. Our alarms were set for 3:30am. It was going to be a fun travel day.

Next post: a quick review of our travel day and then onto the summaries!

teekathepony

02-24-2012, 08:16 AM

In the interest of wrapping things up here, I'm going to quickly summarize our last day (the travel day).

Our flight was leaving at 8am, and since it's international we had to be outside of Pop for our Magical Express at 5am. Johnny and I hadn't packed though, so we were up at 3:30! Funnnn stuff. We packed and got down to the ME stop. Got our bus and got to the airport no problems. We got checked in and on our flights -- Orlando to Toronto, Toronto to Halifax, and then Halifax to Sydney. Got to Sydney around 6:30 pm. Remember a few posts ago how I said I love my little island? Well I do, except when it comes to flying anywhere worthwhile. It takes forever.

Once in Sydney of course we found out that our luggage did not follow us home and it took us two hours to register for lost bags. When we finally got out of there we had a 40 minute drive and then finally we were home. We threw our carry-ons aside and hugged and kissed our dogs, dug out the few souvenirs we did have to show my parents who came over to see us (and bring the dogs, they were babysitters too). We complained about our bags and then got showered and collapsed into bed. Poor Johnny had to get up at 6:30am to work the next day.

So that concludes our Disney trip! I'm going to take some time to collect answers from Johnny and then I will be back with our favourites, things we wish we'd done and things we'd do differently.

MEK

02-24-2012, 09:51 AM

teekathepony

02-24-2012, 06:28 PM

I had to see your TR come to a close, but what a major dose of pixie dust to find that 40th anniversary pin, as if it has just fallen out of the sky! :wizard: Now that is some real Disney magic.

I'm glad you also were able to get your "Just Married" pins. I have heard of political correctness, but taking them away for that reason seems a little over the top. It makes me wonder if they ever did take them off the shelf, since you kept seeing them everywhere. :confused3

What a LONG travel day. Three flights to get home. You must have both been exhausted. I really need to look at a map to see exactly where your island is located.

That picture of the fireworks from you Disney friends is absolutely gorgeous. I could only hope to ever get a picture like that.

Looking forward to your final thoughts!

I feel bad that someone somewhere lost their 40th anniversary pin, but seriously, it was meant to be right? Hahaha
Yeah I thought that getting rid of the Just Married pins was perhaps a little far. As long as they also had the Happily Ever After. :confused3 Oh well, they seem to have gone back on that.

This is my island. It's not technically that far from Orlando if we could go straight down the coast, but it's the crazy flight route we have to take that makes it a long day:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/img-1.jpg

MEK

02-24-2012, 10:12 PM

This is my island. It's not technically that far from Orlando if we could go straight down the coast, but it's the crazy flight route we have to take that makes it a long day:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/teekathepony/img-1.jpg

Thanks for posting the map. I am a map geek! I love to see where places are located. So my estimate is Orlando is probably about 2000 miles from you if you went straight south.

I have to admit, you have rekindled my interest in visiting Nova Scotia. I definitely need to move it to the top of my bucket list!

TanzUnited99

02-25-2012, 06:11 AM

Oh no on it being your last day! :sad2:

Woohoo on getting the just married pins even though it was a bit late! ;)

Love the castle pics and have really enjoyed reading your TR! Thanks for sharing Wendy and look forward to the wrap up :goodvibes

Queenofallthings

02-25-2012, 07:30 AM

Sure does make you wonder about the Just Married pins doesn't it:confused3

Travel day home is such a long day and for you guys even longer! I look forward to your wrap up!;)

mousescrapper

02-25-2012, 10:16 AM

I too am sad to see this TR coming to an end, I have enjoyed and learned a lot of about you and your family...looking forward to hearing you wrap up thoughts.

Tough luck on the crowd issue for that last night, but so glad you found it well worth it in the end for the Wishes show :goodvibes

And hey I think it is totally fine you gave that pin a new happy home, please post a picture :thumbsup2

Thanks for posting. Map of where you are located...what a flight home, sounds exhausting...

teekathepony

02-25-2012, 11:05 AM

Thanks for posting the map. I am a map geek! I love to see where places are located. So my estimate is Orlando is probably about 2000 miles from you if you went straight south.

I have to admit, you have rekindled my interest in visiting Nova Scotia. I definitely need to move it to the top of my bucket list!
I work in a camera store and we get a lot of tourists coming in to print pictures etc. They all tell me that Nova Scotia (and Cape Breton in particular) is such a lovely place with very friendly people. So that's just what I hear, but again I'm biased ;) haha/

Oh no on it being your last day! :sad2:

Woohoo on getting the just married pins even though it was a bit late! ;)

Love the castle pics and have really enjoyed reading your TR! Thanks for sharing Wendy and look forward to the wrap up :goodvibes
I'm just glad we did get the Just Married pins in the end haha. We have them now and I added them to our honeymoon scrapbook. 20 years from now, we won't even remember the problems. :goodvibes

Sure does make you wonder about the Just Married pins doesn't it:confused3

Travel day home is such a long day and for you guys even longer! I look forward to your wrap up!;)
You know we thought about emailing the company about the pins because I'm the type of person who just likes to have her opinion heard, but on the other hand I don't much like to dwell in negativity so I'm just going to forget about it, lol.
It's a long travel day, sometimes even longer than that! There are two flights into Sydney, our 6pm one and a midnight one. :scared1: Hahaha

I too am sad to see this TR coming to an end, I have enjoyed and learned a lot of about you and your family...looking forward to hearing you wrap up thoughts.

Tough luck on the crowd issue for that last night, but so glad you found it well worth it in the end for the Wishes show :goodvibes

And hey I think it is totally fine you gave that pin a new happy home, please post a picture :thumbsup2

Thanks for posting. Map of where you are located...what a flight home, sounds exhausting...
I will have to get a picture of the pin, the original one was destroyed in our baggage issues but Disney sent me a new one :love: They're so good.
It's a long, tiring day of travel for sure. Once we drove to Maine and flew from there, it was a little easier for flying, but 13 hours of driving wasn't fun either hahah

teekathepony

02-28-2012, 07:25 AM

Hello my friends, and welcome to the wrap up.

We spent 10 days in Walt Disney World. It was our first time traveling with other people, including my DH's mother and step-father, and my cousin and her boyfriend. It was definitely our most stressful trip to date, in several ways. But did we have a good time?

YES.

Of course we did, it's Disney!

First Times experienced this trip:
- traveling with others.
- going to the Boardwalk
- in the 80s at Pop Century
- riding Tower of Terror
- The Magic of Disney Animation
- Meeting Mickey somewhere other than a restaurant.
- Many restaurants, including 50`s PT, Yak & Yeti (cs), Les Chefs de France, Paradiso 37.
- Medieval Times!
- In a park before it opens (MK & DHS)
- (for Johnny) Richard Petty Driving Experience

As you can see, we had an enlightening trip and did not just stick to our same old routine. I'm very happy to say that we had an amazing time. Yes, we had a couple of hiccups but I'm already forgetting about them, and the awesome is shining through.

Wendy's favourites:

Park:
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/312595_10150330370182989_508602988_8200860_1703775 517_n.jpg
Epcot! Something about this park, I just love.

Ride:
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/308295_10150326044942989_508602988_8176772_8497790 16_n.jpg
This coaster is just the right amount of fast and fun for me without going over.

Meal:
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/307097_10150336953857989_508602988_8237130_1170381 293_n.jpg
50's PT. The food was delicious, but our waiter made it really worth it.

Experience:
No picture, but my favourite moment was riding Splash Mtn. at night with Melissa and Ron and making faces at the camera and seeing the parade from the top of the mountain.

I want to thank you all for tagging along on my journey, and invite you to my new PTR, "The Darlings’ Disney Drought.; A 2015 (or whenever we cave!) PTR." (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2885401) Yes it might be incredibly early to start a PTR, but I need it to keep me sane! :rotfl:

And so without further ado, I bid you farewell with my thanks.