"IT'S A TRAP!" A January 2012 trip report ~ *Updated 5/28!!*

[Megablocks]

Hello DIS'ers and :welcome: to my January '12 trip report!

We got back not too long ago from an absolutely amazing trip. It was our first time going during an "off" season (right after Christmas and New Years), and while there were still some leftover crowds, it was nothing compared to the spring break crowds when we went in April, and the Presidents' day/week crowds in February. It was also our first trip as a family five since 2008. My brother decided not to come for our 2009 and 2010 trips, so we were really excited to have this trip be all five of us again.

Who: Me (Meghan), my brother Mike, my sister Kailyn, and our parents.

Kailyn on the left, me and Mike on the right

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Dad:

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Mom (is not a fan of pictures so there's not a lot of her):

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Also what we just refer to as "the glasses." We found them in an antique store when visiting family in Ohio a few years ago and they've been on several trips since then, even to Scotland for my parent's 30th anniversary (which my mom had no idea about until they were already there.) Who spends ten bucks on a pair of weird, ancient glasses just because we find them entertaining and think, "gee, these will make for some GREAT photo ops"? We do! :rotfl:

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When:

Wednesday, January 4, 2012 - Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Where:

Our Disney "home"!

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I hope you all will relive this trip with me, and thanks for reading!

[Mndisneygirl]

Well hello! Saw the link on MeMom's TR.

:yay:
Look at me, I'm never first for any TR!!! Looking forward to reading along!

[Tink9721]

Hi Meg!!!!! I'm here!!! :dance3:

Can't wait to read along popcorn::

[Poolrat]

Popping to read along!!!

[MeMom]

You know I am in for the ride. I want to see every single picture you took, of course!

Pops got a sheriff's badge. Cool. :goodvibes
What did your mom do to her wrist?

I am glad the whole family got to go. Drew rarely goes with us, but I enjoy riding a few thrill rides and doing some photo walks with him when he does go. He enjoyed our first Pop trip in 2005 the most, I think. After that, he just likes to go occasionally. Trent likes to go a little more often. Jill and I - well, you know about that situation. :laughing:

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Joining in!!! :goodvibes

[xoktenox]

Hey Meghan, I'm here! :goodvibes

That's great that your brother went with you all this time. I'd love to get my whole family down to the World! Excited to hear all about your trip :thumbsup2

[micandminforever]

Joining in on the fun. :surfweb: I think my grandfather had a pair of glasses like your fathers.

[Grumpy's Wife]

I'm glad the five of you are together again at Disney. I can't wait to read along.

[DWGal210]

Hi I'm here!!! :) Can't wait to hear all about it!! :)

[PyxiiDustt]

Joining in!! :) We were down for the same time as you guys (part of it anyway), so I'm curious to hear how your trip went!

[Megablocks]

Well hello! Saw the link on MeMom's TR.

:yay:
Look at me, I'm never first for any TR!!! Looking forward to reading along!

Hi and welcome! Thanks so much for joining in, glad to have you here!

Hi Meg!!!!! I'm here!!! :dance3:

Can't wait to read along popcorn::

Hey you! Glad you're here :hug:

I was having issues with editing my signature last night (HTML and I are not friends), and I texted you before I had edited my signature with the link. So I kept trying and failing to fix it, and all I could think was, "I should have messaged Christine the link on Facebook, because she's never going to find it in my signature." :laughing:

Popping to read along!!!

:welcome: So glad to have you here!

You know I am in for the ride. I want to see every single picture you took, of course!

Pops got a sheriff's badge. Cool. :goodvibes
What did your mom do to her wrist?

I am glad the whole family got to go. Drew rarely goes with us, but I enjoy riding a few thrill rides and doing some photo walks with him when he does go. He enjoyed our first Pop trip in 2005 the most, I think. After that, he just likes to go occasionally. Trent likes to go a little more often. Jill and I - well, you know about that situation. :laughing:

Thanks MeMom! My mom has some pictures that I can steal, too, and I'm waiting for my dad to upload any of his.

Mom has tennis elbow, which is really just from many years of her picking up small children. The tendons are either loose or have little tears in them, and wearing the brace when her elbow starts to bother her stabilizes her wrist, which means that the tendons aren't moving and shifting around. Pretty sure that's how it was explained to me. I should ask my nursing major cousin. :laughing:

Having the whole family was awesome. It worked out really well, too, because sometimes Kailyn wanted to go off with the guys, and sometimes she wanted to stay with me and mom. Dad and Mike enjoy it, but feel a week there is a little too long, so whenever we go next, I think that their leaving a few days earlier is a possibility. Kailyn is probably between Trent and you guys. Once a year is good with her, but I'm not sure she'd want to go a few times a year. My mom and I, on the other hand, are like you and Jill - we would go ALL the time if we could!

Joining in!!! :goodvibes

Yay!! So glad to have you here!

Hey Meghan, I'm here! :goodvibes

That's great that your brother went with you all this time. I'd love to get my whole family down to the World! Excited to hear all about your trip :thumbsup2

Hey Kristen, happy you're here! :goodvibes

It was awesome having all of us there. My mom and I could shop freely without worrying that we were boring my dad to tears because he had someone to take off with :laughing: I just saw your ticker; your trip is sooooooo close!

Joining in on the fun. :surfweb: I think my grandfather had a pair of glasses like your fathers.

:welcome: Glad to have you!

Oh, yeah, those glasses. No idea who they belonged to, but they've definitely paid for themselves over the past few years. :laughing:

I'm glad the five of you are together again at Disney. I can't wait to read along.

:welcome: Thanks for joining!

[Megablocks]

Hi I'm here!!! :) Can't wait to hear all about it!! :)

Hi Katie! Glad you're here!

Joining in!! :) We were down for the same time as you guys (part of it anyway), so I'm curious to hear how your trip went!

:welcome: I just saw your dates in your signature; it would be so weird if we were in any of the same parks on the same day! Thanks for joining!

[GaRain]

I was there at the same time! I plan to write my trip report sometime soon....
Not only did you get leftovers, you got Marathon weekend people!
Hope you didn't try to head to the MK on Saturday - AGH!!!:scared1:

[koolcatshelby]

Can't wait to hear about your trip! You and your family always seem to have so much fun together!:thumbsup2

[pooh'smate]

Joining in on the fun. I came over from MeMom's report.

[Tink9721]

Hey you! Glad you're here :hug:

I was having issues with editing my signature last night (HTML and I are not friends), and I texted you before I had edited my signature with the link. So I kept trying and failing to fix it, and all I could think was, "I should have messaged Christine the link on Facebook, because she's never going to find it in my signature." :laughing:

I'm glad I'm here too :hug: :yay:

:rotfl: By the time I saw your text it was in your signature. I was walking Daisy when you texted me. In the rain...I wish it had turned into snow while I was walking her!

I'm so excited that we both have trip reports this year :thumbsup2

[sunny_stace]

Joining in! Your family looks like a ton of fun!:goodvibes I love the glasses! Too funny!

[MelMel11]

Count me in!!!

[Megablocks]

I was there at the same time! I plan to write my trip report sometime soon....
Not only did you get leftovers, you got Marathon weekend people!
Hope you didn't try to head to the MK on Saturday - AGH!!!:scared1:

Hi and welcome! Thanks for joining :thumbsup2

You're going to think we're crazy...I was at the MK on Saturday. :faint: My brother and I got there early to meet a friend that moved from Boston to Orlando last year. By the time the rest of the family joined us, later in the morning, it had definitely picked up!

Can't wait to hear about your trip! You and your family always seem to have so much fun together!:thumbsup2

HEY! So glad to see you over here! How have you been??

Joining in on the fun. I came over from MeMom's report.

Yay! :woohoo: Glad to see you over here!

I'm glad I'm here too :hug: :yay:

:rotfl: By the time I saw your text it was in your signature. I was walking Daisy when you texted me. In the rain...I wish it had turned into snow while I was walking her!

I'm so excited that we both have trip reports this year :thumbsup2

We have just a little bit of snow left over...it was melting, then when Charles and I were leaving the mall, it was kinda raining, and I kept saying, "why is it raining? It should be snowing. This is Massachusetts in January." I am glad that we haven't had a winter like last year...but come on, I'd like at least a little more snow! I think it's gonna snow this weekend...so between snow and football (what IS even going on?), work is gonna be insane. :faint:

I'm excited too! Your trip is getting so close!

Joining in! Your family looks like a ton of fun!:goodvibes I love the glasses! Too funny!

:welcome: Glad to see you over here!

Count me in!!!

Thanks for joining! :goodvibes

[MeMom]

? It should be snowing. This is Massachusetts in January." I am glad that we haven't had a winter like last year...but come on, I'd like at least a little more snow! I think it's gonna snow this weekend...




My class looked in the 2012 almanac today, and it said that we will have a mild, wet winter. I am not thrilled with the wet, but I am delighted with the mild! :thumbsup2

[Megablocks]

Day 1, part 1 - Wednesday, January 11. Goodbye Boston, hello Orlando!

I had a bunch typed up then hit something wrong on my laptop and lost the entire thing…learned my lesson, type it in Word first!

We had a very uneventful travel day. Left for the airport around 5:45 AM for our 8:15 AM flight. By the time we had parked, checked in with JetBlue, and gone through security, it was not quite 7 AM, so we had about an hour to kill. Our gate was like a mile away from security, and there was a Starbucks not far past security, so Kailyn and I went alllllll the back to Starbucks, then back to the gate to wait. The flight was pretty uneventful; we left at 8:15 and all of us were pretty much occupied with watching TV the entire flight (thank you, JetBlue!) We landed in Orlando around 11 AM, and had our first ride and our first glasses picture of the trip. (Side note: some of these pictures are off my cell phone so I apologize if any of them look weird)

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The ME check-in was empty, so we checked in and were directed to our line. We only had to wait about ten minutes before we were directed to our bus, and Kailyn and I grabbed seats right near a TV so we could watch the video.

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We watched the video…and drove…and drove…

Then, we saw that magical sight…

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:banana:

CBR was the first stop, and Pop was the second. We got there around 12:30, and I was off that bus and walking that red carpet as fast as my little legs could carry me. As soon as we walked in, I was hit with that Pop Century smell. In between my sniffing, I said to Kailyn, "IT SMELLS LIKE POP CENTURY!" :cloud9:

I took this while we were checking in

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We had asked for a preferred location, but didn't ask for anywhere specific. We got our KTTW cards, all with charging privileges (remember this for later.) We were put in building 4, floor 2, in connecting rooms 4230 and 4231. The room that Mike's name was on, 4231, was ready, but the other one was not. We decided to just dump our stuff in the room that was ready, freshen up, and go down to the food court to get lunch and plot our next moves. We did just that and were soon on our way to Classic Hall. I actually took these pictures a couple days later but want to show you exactly where we were.

We were in the Play-Doh building, a first for us! We were in the orange building, closest to the elephant, but in the back. I loved seeing all the Play-Doh "molds" on the wall!

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From the other side of the pool. If I had turned to the right when taking this, you would have seen Classic Hall. So we were a very short way from the food court and the bus stops. It was our first time staying in this area of Pop and we really loved it.

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The Play-Doh can from behind

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Looking across from the second floor

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And this is what I saw every day when I left the room. Not a room with a view, but it was a GREAT location!

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We got to the food court, picked out our mugs, and got food. I got a pepperoni pizza, Mike got a burger, Dad got some two pound burrito (no lie, that thing was HUGE), and I can't remember exactly what Mom and Kailyn got.

Remember how I said our KTTW cards had charging privileges? We hit a little snag when my mom's didn't work. This may have been because her room wasn't ready, but before we could really try and figure out, another CM, Joann (she might have been a supervisor, I'm not sure), came over to see what was wrong. The very nice CM whose line we were currently holding up explained, and we explained that we had just checked in and that maybe that was why. Joann wrote down our room numbers, took all five of our KTTW cards, told us she'd take care of it, and headed down to the front desk. In the meantime, we paid with another card and went to eat. A few minutes later, Joann came back, handed us back our KTTW cards, and said that it was taken care of, that the charging privileges were all set on all of the cards, and the other room was ready! She was seriously amazing. She was SO nice and went out of her way to get it fixed for us and really made what could have been a frustrating situation not bad at all. My mom wrote down her name so that she could email Disney about her when we got home. Definitely some pixie dust on the first day! :goodvibes

Charging privileges crisis averted, we finished and headed back to the rooms to unpack. We had our game plan and we were READY to put our park hoppers to good use and hit some parks!

Up next...where to for the afternoon and evening? And "I'VE NEVER SEEN HER BEFORE!"

[Megablocks]

My class looked in the 2012 almanac today, and it said that we will have a mild, wet winter. I am not thrilled with the wet, but I am delighted with the mild! :thumbsup2

Ooh, I should totally check our almanac. We've had a really, really mild winter as far as winters here go. I think this past December might have been one of the warmest on record. This past weekend was absolutely frigid...somewhere in the low teens or below, even during the day, SUPER windy, and -5 wind chills. It would have been still freezing but somewhat tolerable if it hadn't been for that wind!

[DWGal210]

Nice castmembers make all the difference, don't they? It's frustrating to hit a snag, but she really handled that well. I'm glad your mom got her name! :)

And nice location!!! I do love POP and I'll stay there again one of these times. I really want to try and stay each place at least once but I'm a creature of habit, I guess! :rotfl:

[Poolrat]

Glad you had a somewhat uneventful trip down.
Great Job Joann !!!! It takes a great CM to complete the experience.


I have stayed in the playdoh building and it is a great location.

[Tink9721]

We have just a little bit of snow left over...it was melting, then when Charles and I were leaving the mall, it was kinda raining, and I kept saying, "why is it raining? It should be snowing. This is Massachusetts in January." I am glad that we haven't had a winter like last year...but come on, I'd like at least a little more snow! I think it's gonna snow this weekend...so between snow and football (what IS even going on?), work is gonna be insane. :faint:

I'm excited too! Your trip is getting so close!

We didn't have any snow left this morning :sad2: I want snow too! Preferably before I go back to school on Monday. I have to drive up/down a really steep hill on my way to/from school and I don't think my little Taurus would make it in the snow and ice. But if it's enough snow to make the roads bad they'll probably cancel classes anyway since my school has a lot of commuters.

I can't wait to be on that ME bus!!! As fun as it would be to do a road trip to Disney some day, I really think I'd miss the ME!

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

I love flying JetBlue now, those TV's are awesome! Glad to hear you arrived pretty quickly and easily!

I wonder if we did cross paths at some point without realizing it!

[manntra]

Here!! :wave2: Was following along with you and the glasses on FB :laughing:
LOVE Jet Blue!! Just booked my flight for May this morning. Such a quick flight with the tv/music and blue chips ;)
Funny how we associate smells with resorts, rides etc. I will be somewhere and think wow that smells like Test Track or AKV :goodvibes

Tracy

[noahdove]

I am in for the ride, so far so wonderful:)

[photographymom517]

I will GLADLY send some snow to both you and Christine!!!! :lmao:

I am soooo happy for the mild winter. I just hate snow & ice & driving in it. I'm thankful that I don't have to go out in it much, but when I do, I am a nervous wreck the entire time!!! We live on a back road and the past two times it has snowed, I haven't seen one single plow! Once we hit the main roads, it's usually not as bad, but it just depends on the amount of snow we've had.

I actually looked up pictures from last year -- I always take a tape measure outside & put it into the snow so I remember how much snow we got. Last year on January 9th we had 16" and by the 20th, we had over 25" -- so yes this is definitely a mild winter for sure!!!

I read the beginning of your report after you sent me the email -- but for some reason I didn't post. Most likely it was some odd hour & I fell asleep! I've been falling asleep with my laptop on & the one day I woke up with a keyboard print on my forehead! :confused3 :lmao:

I know where you're going next!!!! But don't worry, I won't tell! ;)

I can't wait to hear more about the trip!!!!

[sunny_stace]

It's always nice to make sure people who give good service are noted! I did that on the last trip as well, wrote down their names, where they were from and where they worked so I could email Disney when we got home! I find you only ever hear about negative service and positivity is just so much better!:goodvibes Sounds like the trip was off to a good start!

[Megablocks]

Nice castmembers make all the difference, don't they? It's frustrating to hit a snag, but she really handled that well. I'm glad your mom got her name! :)

And nice location!!! I do love POP and I'll stay there again one of these times. I really want to try and stay each place at least once but I'm a creature of habit, I guess! :rotfl:

She was so great. The CM whose line we were holding up was also really, really nice, but I forgot his name. He was talking to us and when he asked where we were from, he said he'd heard a lot of good things about Boston, which was nice...don't hear that too often! :laughing:

I am so attached to Pop that I can't really picture staying anywhere else. You know us creatures of habit! :rotfl:

Glad you had a somewhat uneventful trip down.
Great Job Joann !!!! It takes a great CM to complete the experience.


I have stayed in the playdoh building and it is a great location.

She was great! I'm pretty sure Disney takes those emails seriously so I'm really hoping she gets recognized.

We loved the Play-Doh building. We've stayed in the 80's, 90's, and more recently the 70's, so this was a new building for us. I loved being able to go down to the pool or the pool bar and just relax. :)

We didn't have any snow left this morning :sad2: I want snow too! Preferably before I go back to school on Monday. I have to drive up/down a really steep hill on my way to/from school and I don't think my little Taurus would make it in the snow and ice. But if it's enough snow to make the roads bad they'll probably cancel classes anyway since my school has a lot of commuters.

I can't wait to be on that ME bus!!! As fun as it would be to do a road trip to Disney some day, I really think I'd miss the ME!

I start Monday, too, and I'm back at my preschool internship that day, too. :( I miss the kids and the teachers I work with, but it has been soooo nice just dealing with work instead of work, school, and preschool. I am reallyyyyy hoping for some snow days, both from schol and the preschool...the preschool I'm at follows the closings of the high school they're located in, so if that city's public schools are closed, they are, too. Fingers crossed. :laughing:

I would totally miss that ME video! I think roadtripping to Disney would be fun, but just one way. Coming back would not be fun.

I love flying JetBlue now, those TV's are awesome! Glad to hear you arrived pretty quickly and easily!

I wonder if we did cross paths at some point without realizing it!

I was so occupied with watching Iron Chef or some similar cooking show that the time just flew by! LOVE JetBlue!

I do, too! When I was at DHS one day, we passed by the Phineas and Ferb M&G and I thought of you!

Here!! :wave2: Was following along with you and the glasses on FB :laughing:
LOVE Jet Blue!! Just booked my flight for May this morning. Such a quick flight with the tv/music and blue chips ;)
Funny how we associate smells with resorts, rides etc. I will be somewhere and think wow that smells like Test Track or AKV :goodvibes

Tracy

Hi Tracy! I knew you'd appreciate the glasses pictures on Facebook :laughing:

I forgot they had the little TV's and I was SO excited when we boarded and saw them! I had the blue chips too of course.

I was actually at the mall once with my friend (the ONLY non-DIS friend I have that "gets" Disney like I do), and we passed the Rainforest Cafe...the water or something about that place smells like somewhere in Disney to me, I'm not even sure what or where. I've always thought that and I finally said something to her...she got SO excited and was like "I think so, too! But I could never say anything to anyone because they'd think I'm crazy, but you think so, too! This is why we're friends!" :rotfl:

I am in for the ride, so far so wonderful:)

Yay, welcome! Thanks for reading :goodvibes

I will GLADLY send some snow to both you and Christine!!!! :lmao:

I am soooo happy for the mild winter. I just hate snow & ice & driving in it. I'm thankful that I don't have to go out in it much, but when I do, I am a nervous wreck the entire time!!! We live on a back road and the past two times it has snowed, I haven't seen one single plow! Once we hit the main roads, it's usually not as bad, but it just depends on the amount of snow we've had.

I actually looked up pictures from last year -- I always take a tape measure outside & put it into the snow so I remember how much snow we got. Last year on January 9th we had 16" and by the 20th, we had over 25" -- so yes this is definitely a mild winter for sure!!!

I read the beginning of your report after you sent me the email -- but for some reason I didn't post. Most likely it was some odd hour & I fell asleep! I've been falling asleep with my laptop on & the one day I woke up with a keyboard print on my forehead! :confused3 :lmao:

I know where you're going next!!!! But don't worry, I won't tell! ;)

I can't wait to hear more about the trip!!!!

Send some so I get some snow days off from school and preschool please! I really can't believe the non-existent amount of snow this winter, especially compared to last year, which was horrible!

We live on a one-way side street, but the way the street goes one-way, you can't reach it from the nearest main road. You have to go down a couple side streets to reach it. It seems like getting sanded/salted/plowed is an afterthought. There were a few days last year that I never would have made it to work had it not been for my dad and his monster Jeep. He doesn't even bother shoveling it out because he doesn't have to; he can just drive out and back in and not worry because no other car could make it in and out. :laughing:

You need to learn how to sleep, girl! :rotfl: I saw your baby ticker, too, I cannot believe you are so close. I'm so excited to "meet" the little one!

It's always nice to make sure people who give good service are noted! I did that on the last trip as well, wrote down their names, where they were from and where they worked so I could email Disney when we got home! I find you only ever hear about negative service and positivity is just so much better!:goodvibes Sounds like the trip was off to a good start!

You are so right! I work at a grocery store as a front-end supervisor and it is soooo nice when people take the time to tell me about someone who's done a good job. I'm pretty sure Disney especially takes those emails seriously so I really hope they are recognized. :goodvibes It was SUCH a great start to the trip!

[DisKate]

I'm here! Better late then never right???

[MeMom]

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I bet you can remember exactly what you were feeling like when you took these two pictures. Going under the arch makes me smile and have a little party on the inside. :woohoo: There is not much better feeling in the world than to be checking in to your resort with the entire trip ahead of you! :cool1:






She was great! I'm pretty sure Disney takes those emails seriously so I'm really hoping she gets recognized.


I am reallyyyyy hoping for some snow days, both from schol and the preschool...the preschool I'm at follows the closings of the high school they're located in, so if that city's public schools are closed, they are, too. Fingers crossed. :laughing:


I was actually at the mall once with my friend (the ONLY non-DIS friend I have that "gets" Disney like I do), and we passed the Rainforest Cafe...the water or something about that place smells like somewhere in Disney to me, I'm not even sure what or where. I've always thought that and I finally said something to her...she got SO excited and was like "I think so, too! But I could never say anything to anyone because they'd think I'm crazy, but you think so, too! This is why we're friends!" :rotfl:



I always send an email when we return from a trip, praising the good, and on occasion, telling about an incident that was not so good that I feel is noteworthy to keep Disney World holding itself to the standards it always has. I never do anything nitpicky, of course, because things happen that aren't perfect, but I am talking about things I truly thing management would want to know.

I hope you get a few snow days. We have used one. I don't think we'll get five more, but maybe we'll get lucky and get another 1-2.

Totally know what you mean on the Rainforest smell. I hope to be experiencing it again when Opry Mills opens back up, if it does. Now they are saying it might not. They've been so back and forth with that place, I don't really know.

[wuzzy6]

:cheer2:

I can't wait to hear/see more!!!

[Megablocks]

I'm here! Better late then never right???

Yay, my bestie :hug: I am sorry again I forgot to tell you about this!

I bet you can remember exactly what you were feeling like when you took these two pictures. Going under the arch makes me smile and have a little party on the inside. :woohoo: There is not much better feeling in the world than to be checking in to your resort with the entire trip ahead of you! :cool1:

I can remember! When I took the Everything Pop picture, I was standing at the check-in desk and just looking around at everything and being so excited to have the entire week ahead of us!

I always send an email when we return from a trip, praising the good, and on occasion, telling about an incident that was not so good that I feel is noteworthy to keep Disney World holding itself to the standards it always has. I never do anything nitpicky, of course, because things happen that aren't perfect, but I am talking about things I truly thing management would want to know.

Pretty sure that's exactly what my mom does, too. That's why we were double-checking Joann's nametag, to make sure that we got it right. There was another awesome CM that I'll get to in the next update too.

I hope you get a few snow days. We have used one. I don't think we'll get five more, but maybe we'll get lucky and get another 1-2.

Yeah...really hoping for a few. I have class Monday/Tuesday and I am at the preschool Monday-Thursday, so there's four out of five days to hope for!

Totally know what you mean on the Rainforest smell. I hope to be experiencing it again when Opry Mills opens back up, if it does. Now they are saying it might not. They've been so back and forth with that place, I don't really know.

I am so glad you understand that! I knew I could say it to that friend and that she'd probably understand. I was actually wondering about Opry Mills not too long ago. That's too bad they're so back and forth with it, I'm sure there's a lot of people that would like to see it come back.

:cheer2:

I can't wait to hear/see more!!!

Thanks for joining/reading!

[Tink9721]

I start Monday, too, and I'm back at my preschool internship that day, too. :( I miss the kids and the teachers I work with, but it has been soooo nice just dealing with work instead of work, school, and preschool. I am reallyyyyy hoping for some snow days, both from schol and the preschool...the preschool I'm at follows the closings of the high school they're located in, so if that city's public schools are closed, they are, too. Fingers crossed. :laughing:

I would totally miss that ME video! I think roadtripping to Disney would be fun, but just one way. Coming back would not be fun.

I want snow days!!! I don't care that I just had a month off, snow days are fun ;)

I'm so excited about the snow we got tonight! Daisy was excited too. I didn't fall over at all tonight, which I usually do when it snows because Daisy pulls me down the street and then I slip on the snow :rotfl:

[MeMom]

I was actually wondering about Opry Mills not too long ago. That's too bad they're so back and forth with it, I'm sure there's a lot of people that would like to see it come back.




Coincidentally, a big announcement was made yesterday. Dolly Parton is teaming up with Gaylord to create a new theme park in that area. They are starting with a water park/snow park, and then will be adding onto that (or that is the plan) in the future. I would be happy to have a form of Opryland back or something similar to Dollywood.

http://www.wkrn.com/story/16556228/gaylord-opryland-theme-park

[Megablocks]

I want snow days!!! I don't care that I just had a month off, snow days are fun ;)

I'm so excited about the snow we got tonight! Daisy was excited too. I didn't fall over at all tonight, which I usually do when it snows because Daisy pulls me down the street and then I slip on the snow :rotfl:

I really want snow days! There are four out of five days this can happen for me. I am so not ready to go back Monday. Text me and let me how the first day goes for you!

Going into work for 8 AM today was horrible because the roads were so crappy from that little bit of snow! Whatever we go, it's really nothing. I didn't even have to shovel my car out, I could just drive out. I think it might have been like 4-5" total. So really nothing, especially when you consider how much we had at this time last year. :faint:

Coincidentally, a big announcement was made yesterday. Dolly Parton is teaming up with Gaylord to create a new theme park in that area. They are starting with a water park/snow park, and then will be adding onto that (or that is the plan) in the future. I would be happy to have a form of Opryland back or something similar to Dollywood.

http://www.wkrn.com/story/16556228/gaylord-opryland-theme-park

That sounds SO cool! I'm glad you're going to be getting something there. I'd love to see that when it's done!

[Megablocks]

Day 1, part 2 - Wednesday, January 11 continued

I left off with us leaving the food court and going back to the rooms to unpack and discuss which park to hit first. Mike and my dad really wanted to go to AK. According to my notes, we hit AK a little after 2, so I am assuming that's when we actually got there.

I was SO excited to see that the Christmas tree was still up!

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So, we entered the park, walked up...who was RIGHT there?

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DEVINE! We have never, ever seen her before so it was AWESOME to see her. I believe I texted Katie DisKate and Hope photographymom517 with a picture and something like "talk about pixie dust, we have NEVER seen Devine!" We watched for a couple of minutes, then started heading towards EE. Me, dad, Mike, and Kailyn all were dying to ride it. The backwards in the dark part disorients my mom so she decided not to ride. The standby line was 45 minutes, so we all hopped in the single rider line instead and waited just 15 minutes. SCORE! The guy I was riding with couldn't seem to understand why this strange girl was riding with him and his two friends, so the CM let me in and sent the next single rider to ride with me...who happened to be Kailyn. :laughing: So all four of us ended up being on at the same time.

After EE, we hit Dinosaur, which had hardly any wait. We walked right into the big room and only had to wait a couple minutes before being ushered into the preshow area. After that, me, dad, Mike and Kailyn hit Primeval Whirl for Fastpasses, then we all headed over to the safari, which was like a 30 minute wait. This was our second amazing CM. Our driver, Ryan, was awesome and absolutely hilarious. I unfortunately can't remember a lot of what he said, but I was laughing the entire time. There was this one guy that kept on STANDING UP in the Jeep, while it was moving. Ryan kept on asking him to sit down and he clearly wasn't paying attention, because he had to repeat it a few times. When he finally sat down, everyone applauded. :laughing: Before we went over the bridge, he told us all to "cross your fingers and toes!" that we made it over. It shook when we drove over, and when we got to the other side, Ryan said, "someone wasn't crossing their fingers and toes! Was it you was standing up for ten minutes?" :lmao: He was AWESOME!

Some safari shots (all from my mom)

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More pixie dust...the lion was AWAKE!

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After the safari, it was time for our Primeval Whirl Fastpasses. Mom sat this one out because she doesn't do well on spinny rides, so she took pictures of us instead. I have no idea what I was doing...

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After Primeval Whirl, I got my beloved spicy cheese pretzel :love: and we headed back to Pop. When we got back there, we changed into more layers because it was getting CHILLY! Mike decided to stay at the room for the time being, but asked us to text us when we figured out where we were going for the night. So mom, dad, Kailyn, and I headed down to the food court and discussed what to do. I was absolutely dying to see if the castle lights were still on at MK, and to see Wishes, so we decided to go there for the night. I texted Mike to tell him, and he decided to come.

Continued in next post!

[Megablocks]

Continued from previous post

All of these pictures are my mom's. I was so excited I pretty much forgot about my camera in the bottom of my bag. :upsidedow

We arrived at MK and I was super excited to see the new setup!

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The tree was up!

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I definitely started tearing up when I saw the castle all lit up.

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I've never seen the castle lights, and they were AMAZING. I was so, so happy that they were on while we were there!

We headed to Tomorrowland to check for Space Mountain Fastpasses. They were for later, like 10:30, but we decided to get them anyway. After that, we went over to Haunted Mansion and went through the new queue, which was AWESOME! Even going through the queue and taking our time, we still got right on.

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After Haunted Mansion, we went to Frontierland to see if we could find a hoodie for Kailyn, since she was freezing. We did not find a hoodie, but we got to talk to an awesome CM. I forget what exactly happened, but she gave dad a sheriff's badge, which he was VERY proud of. He kept telling mom, "this means I'M in charge!" :rotfl: She also gave my mom one, but a silver one, which my mom kept on telling dad was better than the gold one.

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We split up after that. Dad and Mike went off somewhere, and me, mom and Kailyn went to Adventureland to find a hoodie for Kailyn. She ended up getting an awesome Jack Skellington one. After that, we headed to the Emporium to get my ears. THEN, we made our way to the side of the castle for The Magic, The Memories, and You, and then Wishes. Dad and Mike walked by before any of it started. They had ridden Splash and gotten soaked, so they were heading back to the room (I cannot blame them because it was COLD, even for us.)

I cried my eyes out during Wishes, of course. The Magic, The Memories, and You had me tearing up, but when Wishes started, I REALLY cried! It was just surreal hearing the music I've listened to for months on my iPod, and actually seeing the fireworks with it. It was absolutely magical. :cloud9:

After Wishes, we headed to ride PotC. We pretty much got right on that. Afterwards, despite how FRIGID it was, Kailyn decided she wanted a Dole Whip. My mom and I really, really wanted one, too, but we were too cold. Kailyn got one and we headed out, back to Pop. I'm pretty sure I passed out not long after we got back. It was seriously a perfect first day and I went to bed SO happy knowing that we still had another whole SIX DAYS left. :cloud9:

Up next: Epcot!

[noahdove]

You have me teary eyed sitting here. The pictures are awesome. Thank you for doing this review...I can't wait to get back iin 196 days, but who is counting? :)

[IheartDDuck]

I'm joining in!

How amazing of that CM at POP to take care of all of that for you. That's what makes Disney so special to me.

That's too funny about the guy wondering why you were going to be riding with him on EE. Um, not that big of a deal, but at least you got to ride with your sister.

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

That's awesome how many cool pixie dust moments you had that day!!! I would have been all annoyed about that guy standing up in the Safari, I'm glad that the CM busted him for it!

Yay that the castle dream lights were still on!!! Gorgeous pictures!!

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Late to the party, but subbing! It's really cool to read about PoP and how you were just there...we'll be headed to Pop in 5 days!!! :goodvibes

[DWGal210]

What a great night!!! The castle lights ARE magical!! :)

[CAStevens218]

I just found your trip report and I'm in! We were there around the same time as you, from January 6-14! We also stayed right near you, at Pop in room 4256!

I agree that seeing the castle lights was very exciting! I was soo happy they were still up!

Sorry it was chilly for the beginning of your trip...atleast the weather turned perfect later on!!!!!

[Tink9721]

I really want snow days! There are four out of five days this can happen for me. I am so not ready to go back Monday. Text me and let me how the first day goes for you!

Going into work for 8 AM today was horrible because the roads were so crappy from that little bit of snow! Whatever we go, it's really nothing. I didn't even have to shovel my car out, I could just drive out. I think it might have been like 4-5" total. So really nothing, especially when you consider how much we had at this time last year. :faint:

We got about 8 inches, on top of the 2-3 we got on Thursday so it's pretty deep here. We wouldn't have gone anywhere yesterday but we had to take some food to my grandma. I started shoveling the driveway behind my mom's car, but she said she'd probably be able to drive out. She has a Ford Escape, which has four wheel drive so she didn't have a problem getting out. My Taurus will be a different story. I can't just leave it there and wait until the snow melts since I actually need the car tomorrow. Why couldn't it snow LAST week? :rotfl: But my neighbor with the plow is back so I'm hoping he might plow me out :rolleyes1

The snow is sooo pretty though! I might have to make another snowman ::yes:: My little one survived, but he got a little extra snow blown on him and I can't see his face anymore. I'll fixed it later :laughing:

I loooove the safari! We've had an idiot who won't sit down before too :rolleyes:

Awww I remember when we rode Primeval Whirl! I'll have to wait until we're there at the same time again or I'm there with someone who can ride it because it's probably not a fun single rider ride :laughing: I've done it before and I don't think they put anyone on my side of the car but it would be REALLY awkward if they did :eek:

The good thing about Splash Mountain in the winter, especially at night, is that no one besides crazy people from the North, like us, will go on it so there's never a long line :lmao:

[Luvmepluto]

Just found your TR! I have never seen Devine.......yet, most people I know have.:sad2: I can't wait to hear more. It has been a long time since I have been to Florida in Jan....how was the weather for the most part?

[MeMom]

We got about 8 inches, on top of the 2-3 we got on Thursday so it's pretty deep here.




That would keep us out of school for about two weeks! :cold:

All of my northern friends - you are in my prayers for safe travels as you come and go in the ice and snow.

[sunny_stace]

Sounds like you and your family certainly got a heavy dose of pixie dust on this trip!:thumbsup2 That's awesome! I'm glad you got great CM's and got to see Devine! I love the Magic, Memories and you show too. It's so innovative and heartwarming. I'm glad you enjoyed Wishes and seeing the castle lit up. It's amazing how some things can be so inspiring and leave you so emotional. I'm that way too. Even with thousands of people around it makes you feel special!:goodvibes

[Megablocks]

You have me teary eyed sitting here. The pictures are awesome. Thank you for doing this review...I can't wait to get back iin 196 days, but who is counting? :)

So glad you like the pictures. And I love doing the report, it is so nice to relive it! Where are you planning on staying for your trip?

I'm joining in!

How amazing of that CM at POP to take care of all of that for you. That's what makes Disney so special to me.

That's too funny about the guy wondering why you were going to be riding with him on EE. Um, not that big of a deal, but at least you got to ride with your sister.

Yay! Glad to have you!

That CM was soooo great. It was especially appreciated because we had been up since 4:30 that morning.

That guy...yeah, I'm not sure why he was questioning my riding with him. It was definitely funny that my sister and I got to ride together...it worked out perfectly, too, because otherwise she would have been on the next train!

That's awesome how many cool pixie dust moments you had that day!!! I would have been all annoyed about that guy standing up in the Safari, I'm glad that the CM busted him for it!

Yay that the castle dream lights were still on!!! Gorgeous pictures!!

That guy was not the only one standing up!! There were a few people doing that. We'd stop briefly, and people would stand. We'd be moving, and people would stand. One girl was standing up and the CM kept telling her to please sit down, then he said, "no, on your tush. I know you're not that tall." :lmao:

I was SO excited about the lights, and about all the decorations still being up everywhere! I knew I'd get to see the Osborne Lights, but I had no idea all the Christmas stuff would be up everywhere. :goodvibes

Late to the party, but subbing! It's really cool to read about PoP and how you were just there...we'll be headed to Pop in 5 days!!! :goodvibes

:welcome: Glad to have you! And you haven't missed much...that was just our arrival day. Still plenty more to come!

That is so exciting you will be there soon, have you stayed there before? It's very much our Disney home...we love it there!

What a great night!!! The castle lights ARE magical!! :)

They were AMAZING! And made Wishes even more magical...I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it, but I cried both times I saw it!

[Megablocks]

I just found your trip report and I'm in! We were there around the same time as you, from January 6-14! We also stayed right near you, at Pop in room 4256!

I agree that seeing the castle lights was very exciting! I was soo happy they were still up!

Sorry it was chilly for the beginning of your trip...atleast the weather turned perfect later on!!!!!

:welcome: Glad you're here! And that's so weird, we were like Pop neighbors!

I had no idea if the castle lights would still be on. I knew I'd get to see the Osborne lights, and was just hoping for the castle lights. I had no idea practically ALL the Christmas stuff would still be up, it was super exciting to finally see it in person!

The weather was amazing, wasn't it?! I was so happy to have such perfect weather! Did it stay nice for you?

We got about 8 inches, on top of the 2-3 we got on Thursday so it's pretty deep here. We wouldn't have gone anywhere yesterday but we had to take some food to my grandma. I started shoveling the driveway behind my mom's car, but she said she'd probably be able to drive out. She has a Ford Escape, which has four wheel drive so she didn't have a problem getting out. My Taurus will be a different story. I can't just leave it there and wait until the snow melts since I actually need the car tomorrow. Why couldn't it snow LAST week? :rotfl: But my neighbor with the plow is back so I'm hoping he might plow me out :rolleyes1

The snow is sooo pretty though! I might have to make another snowman ::yes:: My little one survived, but he got a little extra snow blown on him and I can't see his face anymore. I'll fixed it later :laughing:

I loooove the safari! We've had an idiot who won't sit down before too :rolleyes:

Awww I remember when we rode Primeval Whirl! I'll have to wait until we're there at the same time again or I'm there with someone who can ride it because it's probably not a fun single rider ride :laughing: I've done it before and I don't think they put anyone on my side of the car but it would be REALLY awkward if they did :eek:

The good thing about Splash Mountain in the winter, especially at night, is that no one besides crazy people from the North, like us, will go on it so there's never a long line :lmao:

I really can't tell how much we got, but it definitely sounds like you guys got more than we did. I have a Hyundai Santa Fe, which is an SUV, but it doesn't have 4WD. Still does well in the snow, but driving to work for 8 AM was terrible!

I'm not sure if you saw my response to someone else, but that guy was not the only one standing up. There were a few people doing that. It gets so bumpy that I don't even like being on the edge sometimes, I cannot imagine standing up during it!

Riding Primeval Whirl with you was soooo much fun! I think it was with you that I finally realized I'd been pronouncing "primeval" wrong the entire time...I kept saying "Primerval Whirl." Which is funny, since I allegedly have a strong Boston accent and do not usually say my R's, let alone add them in to words! :rotfl:

I am pretty sure they said Splash was a walk-on...big surprise, right? We wanted to ride it sooooo badly but it was really too cold, even for us. I could not believe that Kailyn actually got a Dole Whip...my mom and I wanted one but we weren't brave enough!

Just found your TR! I have never seen Devine.......yet, most people I know have.:sad2: I can't wait to hear more. It has been a long time since I have been to Florida in Jan....how was the weather for the most part?

Thanks for joining in!

This was the very first time we ever saw Devine in many, many trips to AK, so trust me, we were in the same boat as you! I hope you get to see her sometime. I am pretty sure that she might be listed in the park guide...I know my "Lines" app had times she would be out, but we just saw her by luck.

The weather was absolutely perfect for the most part. The day we arrived and our first full day were the coldest; I'm pretty sure we just missed a frost. I think the day we arrived, it was in the low fifties, and the day after, it was high fifties or low sixties during the day. After that, it got steadily warmer, and I was perfectly comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt during the day, and just needed a hoodie at night. It was really perfect!

That would keep us out of school for about two weeks! :cold:

All of my northern friends - you are in my prayers for safe travels as you come and go in the ice and snow.

Thanks MeMom! :hug:

Christine definitely got more than we did. We got probably four or five inches, so really nothing big for around here. I was telling Charles that what we got would definitely cancel school for you guys!

Sounds like you and your family certainly got a heavy dose of pixie dust on this trip!:thumbsup2 That's awesome! I'm glad you got great CM's and got to see Devine! I love the Magic, Memories and you show too. It's so innovative and heartwarming. I'm glad you enjoyed Wishes and seeing the castle lit up. It's amazing how some things can be so inspiring and leave you so emotional. I'm that way too. Even with thousands of people around it makes you feel special!:goodvibes

We really did, it was such a great way to start the trip!

Last night, I was trying to tell my friend (the ONLY non-DIS friend I have that "gets" Disney like I do) about The Magic, The Memories, and You, and it was so hard! I was like "well, they project pictures onto the castle." Then I was trying to describe how some of the projections they do make the castle look like it's moving in parts. Really, I did a terrible job! :laughing: How the heck do you explain it to someone who's never seen it?! I finally told her to just YouTube it because it is awesome. I cried during Illuminations, too..."We Go On" especially gets me!

[jenjolt]

I'm definitely in!!! Glad I found this!! I can't wait to read all about your trip!! Heading back to catch up now!

[Teresa Pitman]

Looking forward to reading more!!

Teresa

[burly]

I am reading too.

Great start.:thumbsup2


KIM

[manntra]

:rotfl2: at the sheriff's badges!! :thumbsup2
You definitely got some pixie dust at AK with Divine and sharing EE with your family instead of the guy who thought you shouldn't be there. :laughing: I have had that happen on the single rider line at TT...they go to get in the car and don't leave you a seat. :rotfl: Oh well...the CM always makes them move ;)
LOVE Wishes and it always makes me teary....I think many of us can agree :goodvibes

Tracy

[dara00]

enjoying your report - your family is so cute!

[Megablocks]

I'm definitely in!!! Glad I found this!! I can't wait to read all about your trip!! Heading back to catch up now!

Yayyyyy Jen! Glad you're here!

Looking forward to reading more!!

Teresa

:welcome: Glad to have you, thanks for joining!

I am reading too.

Great start.:thumbsup2


KIM

Hi! I've seen you on MeMom's and Jill's reports. Thank you for joining!

:rotfl2: at the sheriff's badges!! :thumbsup2
You definitely got some pixie dust at AK with Divine and sharing EE with your family instead of the guy who thought you shouldn't be there. :laughing: I have had that happen on the single rider line at TT...they go to get in the car and don't leave you a seat. :rotfl: Oh well...the CM always makes them move ;)
LOVE Wishes and it always makes me teary....I think many of us can agree :goodvibes

Tracy

Everything at AK went perfectly! Sharing EE with Kailyn instead was hilarious...I heard the CM calling for the next single rider and when Kailyn and I saw each other, we both started cracking up. It was awesome how it worked out!

Wishes makes me cry EVERY time. It's definitely my favorite and it was the perfect way to end the arrival day :cloud9:

enjoying your report - your family is so cute!

Thank you so much! And thanks for joining!

[DisneyDad79]

You have another follower! Can't wait to see more! :goodvibes

[Megablocks]

You have another follower! Can't wait to see more! :goodvibes

Yay, I love new readers! :welcome: and thanks for joining!

[Megablocks]

Just wanted to apologize for the lack of updates...I started back to school and my internship last Monday and it's been crazier than I thought it would be! Before I knew it, I hadn't updated for over a week and I'm behind on the DIS. I hate it when life gets in the way of DIS time!

I also tried to update last night, but I hit some wrong combination of keys on my laptop, and suddenly everything on the screen was HUGE! I could not for the life of me figure out how to back out of it, so I managed to copy/paste what I had into Word, and save it before just restarting the computer. I was updating instead of doing homework so I think it was a sign. ;)

Day 2, part 1: Thursday, January 12

Since we had a really early morning the day before, we decided to sleep in and just get going whenever, since our only concrete plan was Chef Mickey's for dinner at 5:10. When I was getting ready, Mike woke up and asked if I'd gone to the food court yet. I hadn't, so we went down together. I believe we both got breakfast pizzas. I'm not sure what is on this besides scrambled eggs, bacon, and cheese, but it is so good! It is kind of a lot for me, so I split one with mom a couple times.

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I can't remember exactly when everyone else got up and we were on our way out, but I'd guess around 10 or 11.

Good morning, my favorite park!

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Can you tell it was sunny?

We were going to ride SSE but the line was wrapping around both sides, so we decided to skip it and maybe ride on the way out. We headed to Test Track, instead, to check the wait and get FastPasses. We bypassed the standby line because it was something crazy, like an hour or more. Our FP time was 3:40-4:40, which was perfect! We decided we could hit TT on the way out with our FP's and then try to squeeze in a ride on SSE. After we got the FP's, we decided to split up. The guys went to get in the single rider line of TT, and me, mom, and Kailyn went over to Figment. I know it's cheesy, but I really love that ride. After that, we headed to Club Cool. I had tried Beverly years ago, but decided to try it again, since I forgot what it tasted like. UGH! It's so bitter! After that, me, mom and Kailyn found a bench right outside, near the WS entrance (closest to Canada), and waited for the guys. It was a gorgeous day!

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Does it look empty? Yeah, that's because everyone was in line for TT or Soarin'.

I was SO excited about all the Christmas stuff still being up!

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By this point, we'd been waiting kind of a while for the guys and were itching to get up and explore WS. So we headed in, on the Canada side. Kailyn and I stopped for a picture first.

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Pretty much right when we stepped into WS, dad or Mike called or texted one of us, so we told them where we were and just hung out near the fence to wait. I took a picture when I saw them coming and didn't realize till I was looking at them later that dad had "posed."

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We decided to just take our time walking around WS. We stopped for pictures, then Dad had a craving for tea, so he, Kailyn and the glasses enjoyed a spot of tea in WS.

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We continued on to Japan. We got to see the drummers, and of course, stopped in the GIANT store. My mom and I in particular really love this store. After that, we knew that Germany was coming up, and my mom and I had been dying to check out the new caramel shop. Dad and Kailyn are not fans of caramel so they waited outside while Mike, mom and I went in. Mike didn't end up getting anything because there was such a huge selection, but mom and I did! She got some caramel/marshmallow swirl and I got the dark chocolate caramel with sea salt. I only have a picture of mine.

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It was amazing! Definitely did not disappoint!

When we came to China, I wanted to try this frozen peach drink that I'd heard of. It was called a "peach snap" and from what I could tell, it was basically a frozen peach schnapps drink. I love pretty much anything peach, so I had to try it. Dad is not a fan of peach, but tried some anyway and really liked it. It was reallyyyyyy good but I couldn't finish it all because for some reason, it kept irritating the cough I had been battling with for about two weeks before we left. Dad helped me drink it, though.

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We wanted to try to ride Malestrom, but when we got there, people were coming the other way, and one guy let us know as he passed by that it was closed! As soon as he said that, we realized that the doors were closed and there was no wait time posted. Tricky trolls, I guess. So we didn't get to ride it just yet. :( At this point, we were close to being able to use our TT Fastpasses, so we went to Mexico, rode Gran Fiesta Tour, and then headed over to TT, walking right up to the briefing room doors! LOVE Fastpass! The standby was still something ridiculous, like an hour or more. After that, we had time to ride SSE since the line was no longer weaving around both sides. I rode with Mike and let him pick everything since he hadn't gone on it since the refurb. I'm trying to figure out how to embed the video I took of it...I posted it on YouTube but my channel is private and I'm still trying to figure this stuff out. Once I figure that out I'll post it!

By the time we were done with SSE, it was time to head to our Chef Mickey's ADR. We planned to go to Chef Mickey's and then DHS to see the Osborne Lights! It was going to be our first time seeing the lights, and I was SO excited. I really wasn't sure I'd ever get to see them. I took some pictures on the way out.

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I couldn't stop admiring all the Christmas decorations!

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I was photobombed by a CM! He actually asked after, "did you get me?" :lmao:

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We headed out of Epcot to the monorail. We had to go to the TTC and then hop on a monorail to MK and get off at the Contemporary. Sometimes navigating the monorails feels to me like navigating the trains in Boston...except it's much nicer and much cleaner than here. :rolleyes1

Next: Chef Mickey's and first time seeing the Osborne Lights! :banana:

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

That's so funny that the CM photobombed your pic! Your caramel looks awesome! We stopped there, but that wasn't what we ended up getting! (Although I was definitely tempted!)

Can't wait to hear what you thought of the Lights!

[MeMom]

It was a gorgeous day!


And isn't that so nice in the middle of winter??? :)




I was SO excited about all the Christmas stuff still being up!

I'm glad so many things were still decorated while you were there.


I got the dark chocolate caramel with sea salt. I only have a picture of mine.

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It was amazing! Definitely did not disappoint!

Looks good. I will have to try it sometime. :thumbsup2



When we came to China, I wanted to try this frozen peach drink that I'd heard of. It was called a "peach snap" and from what I could tell, it was basically a frozen peach schnapps drink.

Someone else was just showing this drink on a report. It might have been Poolrat Pat.







By the time we were done with SSE, it was time to head to our Chef Mickey's ADR. We planned to go to Chef Mickey's and then DHS to see the Osborne Lights! It was going to be our first time seeing the lights, and I was SO excited. I really wasn't sure I'd ever get to see them.

I texted you while you were at Chef Mickey's, and I was jealous (yet happy for you ::yes::) when you said you were there. I am super glad you got to see those lights. They were brighter than ever this year!

[sunny_stace]

The photobombing CM is hysterical! :rotfl:

Looks like a gorgeous morning at Epcot! That photo of the sun beams coming over Spaceship Earth is stunning!

[Mndisneygirl]

Now I feel bad. I was the first one here, I forgot to subscribe and now I have 5 pages to catch up on!! I'm going to go click "Subscribe" right now!!!

ETA:
Okay, I'm subbed and all caught up! How great that you got so much pixie dust right away! I am surprised that so many Christmas things were still up! Very cool!

Your Dad - :lmao:Those glasses crack me up! He sure looks like a fun guy!
I now feel the need for some salted dark chocolate caramel. Thanks. Now where will I find some here?

[IheartDDuck]

Hahaha, that CM photobombing your picture is hilarious!

The day looked really beautiful, such clear skies. Your dad and his glasses just crack me up. They're totally awesome.

[Tink9721]

Your dad is hilarious :rotfl2:

Sometimes navigating the monorails feels to me like navigating the trains in Boston...except it's much nicer and much cleaner than here. :rolleyes1

:lmao: The good thing about our aquarium DIS meets...I never had to take the green line :worship: I have to take it to get to Fenway, but the past few times we've driven instead. It's easier than navigating the T, but the traffic is unpredictable. Which is why you were waiting for us at Remy's forever...and because we got lost :rolleyes1 :rotfl: I'm not sure what we'll do on my birthday. It probably depends on whether or not I skip class that day. I'm hoping to at least skip my second class, but my professor takes off points after three missed classes :headache: Of course the professor for my MORNING class on Mondays doesn't take off points for missed classes, but that's not gonna help me at all if I still have to go to my second class :laughing: I'm gonna try really hard not to miss my monday afternoon class more than once or twice between now and then. Leaving campus at 4:00-ish for a 7:00 game on a Monday doesn't seem like a good idea to me since by the time we'd hit Boston it would be rush hour :eek: I'd rather just skip the whole day and go hang out in Boston, maybe eat at Remy's, and then get to the game early and walk around. No stress on my birthday :rotfl:

And isn't that so nice in the middle of winter??? :)

I actually remember texting Meg one day while she was there, telling her that it was 60 degrees and sunny here in the middle of January :rotfl:

[ZehnJahren]

Saw a post you made on another TR and saw that you had a January trip too! I just got back from AKL less than two weeks ago and am writing my TR as well - thought I'd join up to hear how your trip was and see how many people end up wearing those glasses.

That's unfortunate it was so chilly; hope the whole trip wasn't that way!

I like how you actually took a picture with the sign that says "picture spot". That just cracks me up!

[photographymom517]

Loved the update!!!

We've actually had fairly decent weather here for January/February -- but tonight is super cold! It was so nice to see beautiful Florida weather in your pictures on a cold night like tonight!!! :thumbsup2

I loved getting your texts while you were on your trip!!! I really needed a Disney fix & was so happy to follow along!!!

I would've stopped to take pics of all the Christmas decor too!!! I'm glad it was still up for you to see! I can't wait to see it someday in person!

Your dads glasses still make me laugh hysterically every time I see them!!! :lmao:

Have you had any snow days yet?? Just curious because my DH & I were just looking through my pictures on Shutterfly. I have albums for 2010 and 2011 Winters & boy did we have A TON of snow! This year we don't have any -- I'm not complaining because I don't want it here! (But I totally understand why you & Christine want snow so you don't have school!!!)

I really need to try one of those Peach drinks next time we're at Epcot. It sounds really good! And that caramel -- YUM!!!!!!!! I have NO idea how I missed that on our trip this year! (I guess it was technically last year now that its 2012!)

Love all of your Epcot pictures!!! And your mom got awesome shots on the safari!!!! :thumbsup2

[Megablocks]

That's so funny that the CM photobombed your pic! Your caramel looks awesome! We stopped there, but that wasn't what we ended up getting! (Although I was definitely tempted!)

Can't wait to hear what you thought of the Lights!

There was soooo much stuff in that shop, I definitely wouldn't have known what to get if I hadn't seen a picture of that already! It was a nice snack to tide me over till Chef Mickey's ;)

I can't wait to post about the Osborne Lights...they were amazing!

And isn't that so nice in the middle of winter??? :)

I'm glad so many things were still decorated while you were there.


Looks good. I will have to try it sometime. :thumbsup2


Someone else was just showing this drink on a report. It might have been Poolrat Pat.


I texted you while you were at Chef Mickey's, and I was jealous (yet happy for you ::yes::) when you said you were there. I am super glad you got to see those lights. They were brighter than ever this year!

When it got warmer after those first couple days, I was actually regretting not bringing my capris. It was soooo nice!

There were so many decorations, and even the music was still playing! It was so cool to see it all for myself finally!

I remember you texting me. I think it was right when we were going to our table. :) And seriously, I cannot say enough how excited I was about seeing the lights. One thing to cross off my Disney bucket list!

The photobombing CM is hysterical! :rotfl:

Looks like a gorgeous morning at Epcot! That photo of the sun beams coming over Spaceship Earth is stunning!

After he asked if I got him and I said yes, he was like, "I'm sorry if I ruined your picture." :laughing: I couldn't stop laughing, I said he made it even better!

It was soooo nice that day! It was still a little cool but I was okay without my hoodie at some point. After that, the weather was perfect - like seventies during the day and cooler in the mornings and at night. Still balmy for us Bostonians! :rotfl:

Now I feel bad. I was the first one here, I forgot to subscribe and now I have 5 pages to catch up on!! I'm going to go click "Subscribe" right now!!!

ETA:
Okay, I'm subbed and all caught up! How great that you got so much pixie dust right away! I am surprised that so many Christmas things were still up! Very cool!

Your Dad - :lmao:Those glasses crack me up! He sure looks like a fun guy!
I now feel the need for some salted dark chocolate caramel. Thanks. Now where will I find some here?

Awww, I've done that often. Glad you're caught up! :goodvibes

I was really surprised at all the Christmas stuff still up! The only thing I knew for sure that we'd see were the Osborne Lights. I never expected so many decorations to still be up!

My dad's like a big kid, he's really a lot of fun and very funny. Christine Tink9721 got to spend time with us during our February '10 trip in AK so she can vouch for the fact that he really is as crazy as I say he is! :laughing:

I've seriously been craving that caramel too! We need a shop in DIStown! :rotfl:

Hahaha, that CM photobombing your picture is hilarious!

The day looked really beautiful, such clear skies. Your dad and his glasses just crack me up. They're totally awesome.

I love that picture! It was so unexpected! :laughing:

Those glasses were like ten or twelve bucks, they have more than paid for themselves. They even went to Scotland with my parents. I cannot imagine how thrilled my mother was when she found out. :rolleyes1

[Megablocks]

Your dad is hilarious :rotfl2:



:lmao: The good thing about our aquarium DIS meets...I never had to take the green line :worship: I have to take it to get to Fenway, but the past few times we've driven instead. It's easier than navigating the T, but the traffic is unpredictable. Which is why you were waiting for us at Remy's forever...and because we got lost :rolleyes1 :rotfl: I'm not sure what we'll do on my birthday. It probably depends on whether or not I skip class that day. I'm hoping to at least skip my second class, but my professor takes off points after three missed classes :headache: Of course the professor for my MORNING class on Mondays doesn't take off points for missed classes, but that's not gonna help me at all if I still have to go to my second class :laughing: I'm gonna try really hard not to miss my monday afternoon class more than once or twice between now and then. Leaving campus at 4:00-ish for a 7:00 game on a Monday doesn't seem like a good idea to me since by the time we'd hit Boston it would be rush hour :eek: I'd rather just skip the whole day and go hang out in Boston, maybe eat at Remy's, and then get to the game early and walk around. No stress on my birthday :rotfl:



I actually remember texting Meg one day while she was there, telling her that it was 60 degrees and sunny here in the middle of January :rotfl:

I am so glad you've spent time with us and can vouch for the fact that my dad really is as crazy as I say he is. :laughing:

I will forever detest the green line. I can figure it out, I just choose not to. I'm glad that the orange line goes through my city and that most of the places I go to in Boston are right there. The red line also goes through the city right near me and I can easily walk to one of the stops. Did I tell you that there's a proposal for a green line extension that would be RIGHT near my house? I am soooo against it but it would sure make meeting up easier. ;) Definitely let me know when you're gonna be in Boston for your birthday, I'd love to see you!

Saw a post you made on another TR and saw that you had a January trip too! I just got back from AKL less than two weeks ago and am writing my TR as well - thought I'd join up to hear how your trip was and see how many people end up wearing those glasses.

That's unfortunate it was so chilly; hope the whole trip wasn't that way!

I like how you actually took a picture with the sign that says "picture spot". That just cracks me up!

:welcome: Glad to have you!

The weather was actually perfect. The day we arrived was pretty cold, even for us, and the next day was nicer. By the third day, it had warmed up a LOT and stayed perfect, like in the seventies. It was so nice to have that in January!

Yeah...we're a family of photo ops. :laughing: We love those "picture spot" signs! And the picture of my dad with the peach drink? That was his idea. I believe he was also holding a parasol. That was his idea too. :rotfl:

Loved the update!!!

We've actually had fairly decent weather here for January/February -- but tonight is super cold! It was so nice to see beautiful Florida weather in your pictures on a cold night like tonight!!! :thumbsup2

I loved getting your texts while you were on your trip!!! I really needed a Disney fix & was so happy to follow along!!!

I would've stopped to take pics of all the Christmas decor too!!! I'm glad it was still up for you to see! I can't wait to see it someday in person!

Your dads glasses still make me laugh hysterically every time I see them!!! :lmao:

Have you had any snow days yet?? Just curious because my DH & I were just looking through my pictures on Shutterfly. I have albums for 2010 and 2011 Winters & boy did we have A TON of snow! This year we don't have any -- I'm not complaining because I don't want it here! (But I totally understand why you & Christine want snow so you don't have school!!!)

I really need to try one of those Peach drinks next time we're at Epcot. It sounds really good! And that caramel -- YUM!!!!!!!! I have NO idea how I missed that on our trip this year! (I guess it was technically last year now that its 2012!)

Love all of your Epcot pictures!!! And your mom got awesome shots on the safari!!!! :thumbsup2

Hey Hope! How are you doing with your newest addition?! :hug:

We've had such a mild winter! I actually went through my FB pics...this was my front yard around this time last year

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The snow in the corner (where it looks like the stop sign is coming up) was almost as tall as me...I'm like 5'5". That was when we hit the point of having so much snow that we literally had no place to put it! We've had maybe eight inches total this year. So really nothing at all. No snow days either! Last year, schools were actually considering taking away one vacation, or having early/extended days, or even school on the weekends just to make up for all the stuff that was missed last year because there were so many cancelations due to snow. This winter and last winter are total opposites...I'll take it!

That peach drink was sooooo good! So was the caramel! My dad and Kailyn aren't fans of caramel but my mom and I were reallyyyyy excited to check out the shop. We did make our way back one more time. ;)

[Tink9721]

My dad's like a big kid, he's really a lot of fun and very funny. Christine Tink9721 got to spend time with us during our February '10 trip in AK so she can vouch for the fact that he really is as crazy as I say he is! :laughing:

Yup :rotfl:

I am so glad you've spent time with us and can vouch for the fact that my dad really is as crazy as I say he is. :laughing:

I will forever detest the green line. I can figure it out, I just choose not to. I'm glad that the orange line goes through my city and that most of the places I go to in Boston are right there. The red line also goes through the city right near me and I can easily walk to one of the stops. Did I tell you that there's a proposal for a green line extension that would be RIGHT near my house? I am soooo against it but it would sure make meeting up easier. ;) Definitely let me know when you're gonna be in Boston for your birthday, I'd love to see you!

Your dad reminds me of my dad :laughing: When I went on a field trip to NYC in 6th grade he was a chaperone and started a conga line with a couple of my friends :lmao: He and my cousin also did pull-ups on the hand rails on the T :rotfl2:

I wish I lived closer to a T stop! They have a couple of the commuter rails near me(there's actually one in Providence) but that's so much more complicated than the subway since you have to be there at a certain time. I was just looking at the website and there's a 1:30 train, and the next one isn't until 4:10. So if you don't get there on time you're in trouble :laughing: That would be a really bad idea for a Sox game since there's no way to know what time the game's gonna end. There could be rain delays, extra innings, or, like my experience in July, a fight :rotfl:

I would love to meet up on my birthday again! And I promise I won't get lost and make you wait forever ;) We found our way to Remy's/Fenway without any problems in July so we'll be fine :lmao:

[MeMom]

I've seriously been craving that caramel too! We need a shop in DIStown! :rotfl:



And probably a gym right next door. :laughing:

Sounds like everyone is having a mild winter. I know we are down here, and I am so thankful for it! ::yes:: We've had a lot of rain, but the temps are staying higher than normal. As long as I don't start the day off in a frozen state, it seems like I face the day with a better attitude.
And the heating bill is so much better. :thumbsup2
And it is making it somewhat easier not to be craving that spring break Disney trip that I have to forego. :cool2:

[Megablocks]

Yup :rotfl:

Your dad reminds me of my dad :laughing: When I went on a field trip to NYC in 6th grade he was a chaperone and started a conga line with a couple of my friends :lmao: He and my cousin also did pull-ups on the hand rails on the T :rotfl2:

I wish I lived closer to a T stop! They have a couple of the commuter rails near me(there's actually one in Providence) but that's so much more complicated than the subway since you have to be there at a certain time. I was just looking at the website and there's a 1:30 train, and the next one isn't until 4:10. So if you don't get there on time you're in trouble :laughing: That would be a really bad idea for a Sox game since there's no way to know what time the game's gonna end. There could be rain delays, extra innings, or, like my experience in July, a fight :rotfl:

I would love to meet up on my birthday again! And I promise I won't get lost and make you wait forever ;) We found our way to Remy's/Fenway without any problems in July so we'll be fine :lmao:

Sox games are loooooooong! At least with the hockey games you know unless something really bad happens, or it's tied or scoreless by the end, it's not gonna take super long. There's also fights constantly with the players...that's just part of it. Unless there's blood on the ice and they have to scrape it off, there's really no delays for fighting. :laughing:

I am so excited that we might get to meet up next weekend, too! I'm so glad I just took off the entire weekend on a whim!

And probably a gym right next door. :laughing:

Sounds like everyone is having a mild winter. I know we are down here, and I am so thankful for it! ::yes:: We've had a lot of rain, but the temps are staying higher than normal. As long as I don't start the day off in a frozen state, it seems like I face the day with a better attitude.
And the heating bill is so much better. :thumbsup2
And it is making it somewhat easier not to be craving that spring break Disney trip that I have to forego. :cool2:

Yeah, at least in Disney, you can justify all the eating because you do so much walking (that's what I tell myself.) A gym next door to a caramel shop would be perfect! :laughing:

We've had more rain than we've had snow, which is really weird. And a couple of sixty degree days! I missed one when we were in Disney, but we had one last week.

I don't think I got to tell you this, but we're going back to Disney next year! I am soooo excited! My dad doesn't want to stay a whole week, and if Mike comes, he probably won't, either, but my mom and I, and probably Kailyn, will stay a week. It'll be in January or February. No dates yet, but I'm so excited to know we're going back!

[xoktenox]

Just got caught up! Oh Epcot, how I love and miss thee!! :lovestruc

Isn't the caramel store in Germany AMAZING?! Just the smell made me wanna melt!!

:rotfl: getting photobombed by the CM...Disney CMs make Disney the best place!

[Megablocks]

Just got caught up! Oh Epcot, how I love and miss thee!! :lovestruc

Isn't the caramel store in Germany AMAZING?! Just the smell made me wanna melt!!

:rotfl: getting photobombed by the CM...Disney CMs make Disney the best place!

I miss Epcot so much! And the caramel shop WAS amazing...my mom and I had been talking about going there for SO long. I was kinda surprised Mike didn't get anything but I think he said there was too much to choose from :laughing:

He was hilarious!! We seriously had so many awesome CMs this trip!

[Megablocks]

Day 2 continued - Thursday, January 5

I left off with leaving Epcot to head to the Contemporary for our Chef Mickey's ADR. We LOVE Chef Mickey's and it's a tradition for us to come here. We've been on every single trip since our first trip in 1994. This is from our first time at Chef Mickey's, before all the characters were in chef gear. And yes, Tigger used to be there! Does anyone remember when Chip and Dale were, too?

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Our ADR was for 5:10 and we arrived just before it opened. They picked a family to open the restaurant, and it was so cute! It was really weird getting there right when it opened, because it was rather quiet. By the time we left, it had definitely picked up, but I really liked being one of the first families there. We were given our buzzer and barely had to wait before it went off! I can't remember our waiter's name, but he was SO nice and really on top of everything.

This was my first plate:

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Parmesan mashed potatoes, some kind of pasta salad, some kind of other salad I didn't care for, and roast beef. I can't remember what I got after that, but I know I went for more mashed potatoes and roast beef. I could fill up on just the potatoes.

I can't remember what order the characters came in, but they were awesome and we had some really great interactions. Dad wanted a picture with Minnie by himself

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I'm 5'5", so I'm not some kind of an amazon, but Minnie is teeny-tiny! Hence my leaning over...

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Mike surprised me by getting in pictures with the characters! He skipped Minnie :laughing:

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I think Donald was by far the cutest. Dad, Mike, and I sat on the outside, and mom and Kailyn were in the booth. Donald came up behind me. I had NO idea what was going on but I could not stop laughing

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Somehow Pluto never made it to our table, which was kinda disappointing for Kailyn since he's her favorite, but we got to meet him later in the trip.

This was my dessert plate. I think Kailyn and Mike opted for ice cream with all the fixins they wanted. :)

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I'm a lefty and my entire family is right-handed, so no one ever wants to sit next to me when we're eating. Dad happened to be sitting to my left, so we decided to take an exaggerated picture of "why no one ever wants to sit next to Meg at restaurants." It never fails, every time we go out, someone (either one of my parents, Mike, Kailyn, or my boyfriend) ends up on my left and as soon as we start eating, or as soon as I move my drink to my left, I hear, "oh, crap, I'm with the lefty." :rotfl:

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Once we were completely stuffed, we left and headed for DHS. Mom, Kailyn, and I were dying to see the Osborne Lights. It was when we were leaving the Contemporary that I realized I could never stay at a deluxe...because they are freaking huge resorts! I am the most directionally challenged person you could ever hope to meet, so staying at a resort any larger than Pop would just equal disaster. So, finding the bus stops was a little bit of a challenge for us, but when we did find it, we had been sitting for maybe five minutes when the first bus pulled up...and it was a DHS bus!

The DHS tree was really cute. I loved how all the trees were themed based on the park they were in.

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Continued in next post

[Megablocks]

Continued from previous post

I was excited for the lights, but I also really loved seeing all the different park's different Christmas decorations.

We made our way over to the Streets of America, and I got my first glimpse of the lights when I saw the top of some spinning thing covered in lights. I practically screamed, "I SEE THEM!" and started walking a little faster. When I finally saw them all, I was absolutely AMAZED and just started tearing up. Like the castle lights, video and pictures just don't do the Osborne Lights justice...they were amazing. I have video but I cannot figure out how to add it on here. :headache: I swear if I ever do, I am gonna do a post with just video.

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I see a hidden Mickey! I had a lot of fun looking for these. Also, this display was really cool; it looked like the fire was moving!

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I was also fascinated by the trees, because depending on how the lights moved, you could see another hidden Mickey!

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I loved the horse and sleigh. And how the barrels were even themed!

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Oh, the big round thing on the top? That's the spinny thing I mentioned seeing before we were even on the Streets of America.

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Honestly, all the pictures don't do the lights justice. I was SO happy to finally see them in person. Dad and Mike stayed for a couple minutes, then went to ride rides. Mom, Kailyn and I spent a while just walking around, then sat down on a curb and just watched.

I think it was around 8 at this point, and the park was closing at 9. Mom, Kailyn and I decided to start heading out. First, though, Kailyn and I wanted to ride ToT! Mom does not really like the drops, but she was okay with waiting for us to ride. By the time we got there, it was like 8:20-8:30, so the park was closing in another 30-40 minutes. ToT had a 40 minute wait posted, but Kailyn and I jumped in line anyway, figuring it wouldn't be too a long a wait since they were closing, anyway. We were right! We only waited like 20 minutes! :banana: I absolutely love the entire ToT queue, I just stand and look around at everything.

I'm pretty sure that after the library, we were in line with this group of guys in maybe their 20's, and one of them was HILARIOUS! He reminded Kailyn and I of what Dad must have been like thirty years ago. He kept on grabbing things on the walls and pulling them, and his friends were just ignoring him or asking him what he was doing now. He spotted a spigot and was just staring at it, then asked one of his friends, "do you think if I stood on the railing, I could reach that?" His friend said, "I think I draw the line at a spigot." :lmao: At that point, Kailyn and I just started laughing, and one of the guys was like "crazy, isn't it? We need to watch him." They were so entertaining!

When we finally got on, Kailyn and I were in the last row. We dropped SO many times! I didn't keep count (I probably would have lost count, anyway) but it was a lot of drops. Kailyn had a death grip on my hand the entire time and couldn't stop screaming. I was laughing and screaming and my legs were shaking when I got off (I was also still laughing.) Hands down one of my favorite rides in WDW. :lovestruc

By the time we got off, DHS was closed, so we headed for the bus. When we got back to Pop, we stopped in the food court for snacks before heading back to the rooms. Mom and I decided that we really wanted to do an early morning at MK the next day. The guys weren't interested, and Kailyn was unsure - she said to wake her up when we were up and she'd decide then. We've never seen the opening ceremony, or really done rope drop, period, so I was thrilled that we'd get to.

Next: Magic Kingdom morning!

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

\

I'm a lefty and my entire family is right-handed, so no one ever wants to sit next to me when we're eating. Dad happened to be sitting to my left, so we decided to take an exaggerated picture of "why no one ever wants to sit next to Meg at restaurants." It never fails, every time we go out, someone (either one of my parents, Mike, Kailyn, or my boyfriend) ends up on my left and as soon as we start eating, or as soon as I move my drink to my left, I hear, "oh, crap, I'm with the lefty." :rotfl:

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My mom is the lefty of our group, and we always have to rearrange our seating! :rotfl: That's a fantastic picture of your dad's unfortunate seat!

I'm so glad you loved the lights!!! Aren't they just incredible??? I love your pictures of them! We literally had missed them by ONE DAY this past trip, I was super-annoyed about that! :laughing:

[xoktenox]

Yummm, Chef Mickey's looks delicious! And I totally know what you mean about short Minnie...when we ate at 1900 Park Fare once, I took a picture with Cinderella and I was a good 3 inches taller than her and I'm only 5'5" too!

Osbourne Lights :cloud9: GORGEOUS!

Oh and since I know you've been wondering, I've forgiven your Dad for his Bruins shirt :rotfl::lmao::thumbsup2

[IheartDDuck]

Hahaha, the lefty picture is so funny. My brother is the only lefty in our family and every time we have to sit next to him, it's the same thing. "Oh great!"

Those guys in line for ToT sound too funny. However, they sound EXACTLY like my brothers a few years back.

[MeMom]

Once we were completely stuffed...

So easy to do with all that good food. The roast is always so good in WDW. I have had superb roast experiences at Crystal Palace, Boma, and Chef Mickey's. :thumbsup2 :laughing:

Drew is our lefty. We have to strategically place him at the outside of the table/booth when he eats with us. ;)






Honestly, all the pictures don't do the lights justice. I was SO happy to finally see them in person.


Mom and I decided that we really wanted to do an early morning at MK the next day. We've never seen the opening ceremony, or really done rope drop, period, so I was thrilled that we'd get to.


We were all excited for you and some others to finally get to see the lights this year. They were better than ever!

I look forward to your Magic Kingdom opening pictures. It's such a cute way to start a magical day. :wizard:

[dara00]

does everyone have a lefty? my dad's a lefty, and so is my 4 yr old!

I remember Chip and Dale being at Chef Mickey's when I was there in 98. But when I was a kid and went with my parents to the buffet at the contemporary it wasn't a character meal at all!

[sunny_stace]

Oh parmesan mashed potatos and the Osbourne lights....sounds like an awesome evening! :)

[Tink9721]

Sox games are loooooooong! At least with the hockey games you know unless something really bad happens, or it's tied or scoreless by the end, it's not gonna take super long. There's also fights constantly with the players...that's just part of it. Unless there's blood on the ice and they have to scrape it off, there's really no delays for fighting. :laughing:

I am so excited that we might get to meet up next weekend, too! I'm so glad I just took off the entire weekend on a whim!

Sox games are long, but I loooove them! I never even notice how long they are, especially when I'm there. And the fighting is definitely not as normal in baseball :lmao:

I'm so excited for our DIS meet!!!!

It was when we were leaving the Contemporary that I realized I could never stay at a deluxe...because they are freaking huge resorts! I am the most directionally challenged person you could ever hope to meet, so staying at a resort any larger than Pop would just equal disaster.

:rotfl: I've had the same problem with deluxe resorts. WL isn't bad though. I think it's because the whole thing is one building, unlike most of the deluxe resorts. Finding your room can be a little tricky the first day, but everything else is pretty straight forward. Which reminds me, we had a CM checking us in once who decided to mess with us and when he gave us our room number and we asked how to get to our room he said something like "Walk out the back door, alllll the way around the building, come back in the front door, then go to the elevator right over there and go down the hallway." :lmao:

And now, I have to go back to studying :headache: :laughing: I'm skipping my morning class today so I have extra time to study. I studied for like 5 hours yesterday, and combined with 4 hours of class time my brain was about ready to burst and I got a really bad stress-induced headache and got nothing done after 8:00. So I went to bed early, got like 9 hours of sleep, and now I'm going back to my psych book :sad2:

[marDgreen88]

Hi! I just found your TR link and read it all. I'm really enjoying it! Your family seems like a lot of fun. OH and I can totally relate to the lefty thing. I'm one too, so we have a system worked out in my family too. :laughing:

Can't wait to read more!

[Megablocks]

My mom is the lefty of our group, and we always have to rearrange our seating! :rotfl: That's a fantastic picture of your dad's unfortunate seat!

I'm so glad you loved the lights!!! Aren't they just incredible??? I love your pictures of them! We literally had missed them by ONE DAY this past trip, I was super-annoyed about that! :laughing:

Someone usually forgets and ends up sitting on my left....I think it's hilarious when they do! :laughing:

The lights were sooooo amazing!! This was my first time seeing them and I was just in awe. That stinks you missed them by one freakin' day :headache:

Yummm, Chef Mickey's looks delicious! And I totally know what you mean about short Minnie...when we ate at 1900 Park Fare once, I took a picture with Cinderella and I was a good 3 inches taller than her and I'm only 5'5" too!

Osbourne Lights :cloud9: GORGEOUS!

Oh and since I know you've been wondering, I've forgiven your Dad for his Bruins shirt :rotfl::lmao::thumbsup2

I'm so glad you understand! I'm not an amazon but I felt like one! :rotfl:

:lmao: So glad you forgive my dad...try to look past my brother's Boston sports-related shirts and hats too, okay? :rotfl:

Hahaha, the lefty picture is so funny. My brother is the only lefty in our family and every time we have to sit next to him, it's the same thing. "Oh great!"

Those guys in line for ToT sound too funny. However, they sound EXACTLY like my brothers a few years back.

Yeah, every time someone ends up stuck next to me and realizes their mistake, I hear, "oh, good, I'm with the lefty." :laughing:

Those guys were SO much like my dad. I have no doubt that he would have said something commending them had he been with us!

So easy to do with all that good food. The roast is always so good in WDW. I have had superb roast experiences at Crystal Palace, Boma, and Chef Mickey's. :thumbsup2 :laughing:

Drew is our lefty. We have to strategically place him at the outside of the table/booth when he eats with us. ;)





We were all excited for you and some others to finally get to see the lights this year. They were better than ever!

I look forward to your Magic Kingdom opening pictures. It's such a cute way to start a magical day. :wizard:

I definitely filled up on the pot roast at Boma too!

I feel bad sometimes at the preschool because when I'm copying down words for the kids to write, I have to move around so they can see me making the letters as I'm saying and writing them. :laughing: I know two of my cousins on my mom's side are lefties and I have no idea about my dad's side because his side of the family is huge. My grandmother's younger brother on my mom's side, my great-uncle, was a lefty, but since left-handedness was...frowned upon, I guess, he was taught in school to use his right hand, so he is actually a righty. Crazy, huh?

The lights were awesome. And the MK opening was AMAZING!! It was so cute and so magical...I was tearing up the entire time!

[Megablocks]

does everyone have a lefty? my dad's a lefty, and so is my 4 yr old!

I remember Chip and Dale being at Chef Mickey's when I was there in 98. But when I was a kid and went with my parents to the buffet at the contemporary it wasn't a character meal at all!

It does sound like everyone has a lefty! Neither of my parents are left-handed...I'm the only one in my immediate family!

So glad you remember that, too! I can't remember exactly when we stopped seeing them there. :confused3 And wasn't Chef Mickey's at like DTD or something years ago? I remember there being a thread with all old WDW pictures and I think I remember seeing a picture of it somewhere else entirely...hmmm...

Oh parmesan mashed potatos and the Osbourne lights....sounds like an awesome evening! :)

It was such a perfect evening. Definitely a great end to our first full day!

Sox games are long, but I loooove them! I never even notice how long they are, especially when I'm there. And the fighting is definitely not as normal in baseball :lmao:

I'm so excited for our DIS meet!!!!

:rotfl: I've had the same problem with deluxe resorts. WL isn't bad though. I think it's because the whole thing is one building, unlike most of the deluxe resorts. Finding your room can be a little tricky the first day, but everything else is pretty straight forward. Which reminds me, we had a CM checking us in once who decided to mess with us and when he gave us our room number and we asked how to get to our room he said something like "Walk out the back door, alllll the way around the building, come back in the front door, then go to the elevator right over there and go down the hallway." :lmao:

And now, I have to go back to studying :headache: :laughing: I'm skipping my morning class today so I have extra time to study. I studied for like 5 hours yesterday, and combined with 4 hours of class time my brain was about ready to burst and I got a really bad stress-induced headache and got nothing done after 8:00. So I went to bed early, got like 9 hours of sleep, and now I'm going back to my psych book :sad2:

I have zero sense of direction. Like none. Even in a building like WL, if everything looks similar, I'd have a problem because I tend to go by landmarks. My best friend is going on a roadtrip and when she was looking at directions, she said that her first thought was, "oh, even Meghan could follow this." :lmao: Not in a mean way, but just very matter of fact...she has witnessed firsthand my terrible lack of direction. She has a really good sense of direction so it works out well. :laughing:

I am super excited for Saturday!! Just two days! :banana:

Hi! I just found your TR link and read it all. I'm really enjoying it! Your family seems like a lot of fun. OH and I can totally relate to the lefty thing. I'm one too, so we have a system worked out in my family too. :laughing:

Can't wait to read more!

:welcome: Thanks for joining, glad you're here! Also glad you can relate to the lefty thing...we're actually going to have to strategically sit ourselves when we go to dinner tonight for my sister's birthday. :laughing:

[Megablocks]

So before I update I just wanted to share a couple pieces of news. First, I want to wish a :bday: to Kailyn...my little sister is 19 today! :banana: :cake: party:

Second, this Saturday I am having a DIS meet in Boston with Christine Tink9721. We'll be going to the New England Aquarium so I will for sure be posting some pictures from that.

Third, WE ARE GOING BACK TO DISNEY NEXT YEAR! :woohoo: Nothing in set in stone, we haven't booked anything or figured out exact dates, but it's going to happen! We really loved going in early January so our dates might similar next year. Dad doesn't really want to spend the full week there, and I don't think Mike does, either, but they're okay with coming home a few days earlier and the rest of us staying. It probably won't be finalized for a bit, but I am very excited that we get to go back next year!

Day three - Friday, January 6

So, my mom and I had decided that we really wanted to make a few rope drops this trip. More specifically, rope drops at MK and Epcot (our two favorite parks.) On previous trips, it really didn't happen because if Kailyn wanted to come with us and Dad wasn't feeling it, he'd be left alone. This time, since Mike was with us, it really wasn't a problem. Kailyn wasn't sure the night before if she wanted to come or not so she asked Mom and I to just wake her up when we got up and she'd decide then. We woke her and she said she wanted to come. So we all got ready (love having two rooms!) and headed down to the food court.

I also just wanted to mention how much I really loved the room refurb at Pop. There was a curtain that came across the area where the sink was, so I was able to keep the lights off while Mike was sleeping and just turn on the lights behind the curtain so I could get ready without worrying about waking him. My mom and Kailyn also took advantage of that in their room...it worked out really well a lot of mornings!

We headed down to the food court to fill our mugs and get something small for breakfast. None of us can eat a big meal first thing in the morning, and even the idea of sharing a breakfast pizza was too much. I got a fruit and yogurt parfait, Kailyn got a chocolate muffin, and my mom got either fruit or the same parfait I did. We sat outside to eat and then headed to the bus. I'm not sure exactly how long we waited, but MK was opening at 9 and we arrived around 8:30 and walked right up to the front! I was so, so excited because I had never seen the opening show before.

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I feel like the pictures might make it look more crowded than it really was. It honestly was not bad at all and I was pleasantly surprised.

I loved this window...

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IT'S THE MAYOR! The excitement was really building at this point

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By this point, I was positively giddy...I kept on tearing up and waving to everyone

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The Magic Kingdom is now open!

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I was kind of walking and taking pictures blindly at this point. I hadn't seen MK and the decorations in daylight yet so I was really really excited haha

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Now that we were out of the way of so many people, we actually stopped to take pictures. There's really nothing like MK first thing in the morning. :cloud9:

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As we got closer to the castle, I saw some people taking pictures, and one of them looked a LOT like one of Kailyn's friends from high school. I said, "hey, that looks Leah." Kailyn looked to where I was pointing and said, "THAT IS LEAH!" So they had a reunion on Main Street...it was SO strange and so funny! I didn't get a picture, but Leah's mom did. We chatted for a few minutes and then went our separate ways. We wanted to get Fantasyland done before it got really crowded, so we headed that way.

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Please note the gorgeous blue sky...it was a PERFECT day! It had definitely warmed up!

Next update: Magic Kingdom morning

[manntra]

I AM noting that perfect blue sky!! :cloud9:
How cool that your Kailynn saw one of her friends on Main St!! Oh and Happy Birthday to her!!! party:
I am not a rope drop kind of girl :laughing: Have done it and will depending on who I have with me...if it NEEDS to be done :rotfl2:
Hope you had a fun girls morning at the MK!! :goodvibes

Tracy

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Happy birthday to Kailyn!!! :yay::yay::yay:

Yay for MK rope drop!!! I love the ceremony there, it's so cute and fun! Your castle pics are great!

[marDgreen88]

Happy Birthday to your sister!

I can't eat a lot early in the morning either! I have to wait at least an hour or so... it's odd!

The opening show is SO precious! I agree, early morning at the Magic Kingdom is just wonderful. That's so funny that she saw one of her friends! IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL. :laughing:

[sunny_stace]

I absolutely love the rope drop show at MK! I went to it 3 times on my last trip! Seeing it the day of the 40th anniversary I bawled like a baby!:laughing: It is tough getting up so early though....

Isn't it the strangest thing when you run into someone unexpected when you're away from home. A couple of years back I ran into an old co-worker at Epcot! It really is a small world! :)

I can't wait to hear more about your day at MK! A big happy birthday to your sister (19 is a big one here in Ontario;)). Have fun at your Dis-meet!:thumbsup2

[Tink9721]

I have zero sense of direction. Like none. Even in a building like WL, if everything looks similar, I'd have a problem because I tend to go by landmarks. My best friend is going on a roadtrip and when she was looking at directions, she said that her first thought was, "oh, even Meghan could follow this." :lmao: Not in a mean way, but just very matter of fact...she has witnessed firsthand my terrible lack of direction. She has a really good sense of direction so it works out well. :laughing:

I am super excited for Saturday!! Just two days! :banana:

I have a pretty good sense of direction...so how come on my birthday, you made it to Remy's without a problem, and I got hopelessly lost for an hour? :confused: :lmao:

Just one day now! :yay:

Second, this Saturday I am having a DIS meet in Boston with Christine Tink9721. We'll be going to the New England Aquarium so I will for sure be posting some pictures from that.

:dance3: :cool1: :banana:

Those castle pictures are getting me so excited!!! I definitely want to make a rope drop this year. We came so, so close in 2010. We got there just as the train was leaving the station :mad: MK opens at 9:00 on our full MK day. We can definitely make that. We'll take the boat; the bus can be faster but every time we try to be at MK at a certain time, the bus takes forever to get there and makes a ton of stops :laughing:

[xoktenox]

Wasn't the curtain for the bathroom area at Pop great? It worked well in the morning when I was up getting ready while Chris was still sleeping!

Awww, I'm glad you got to see the MK opening show! It's so precious, I love it too!! I definitely tear up as well :goodvibes

I love your pictures of the castle...I can never see too many!

[MeMom]

I was so, so excited because I had never seen the opening show before.

By this point, I was positively giddy...I kept on tearing up and waving to everyone




Yay for seeing the morning show! :woohoo:

Giddy pretty much describes us, too. We want to bust out with 'Good Morning! Good Morning!'...but we don't. ;)

[Megablocks]

I AM noting that perfect blue sky!! :cloud9:
How cool that your Kailynn saw one of her friends on Main St!! Oh and Happy Birthday to her!!! party:
I am not a rope drop kind of girl :laughing: Have done it and will depending on who I have with me...if it NEEDS to be done :rotfl2:
Hope you had a fun girls morning at the MK!! :goodvibes

Tracy

Aww thank you! I still need to show her all the birthday wishes!

See, Disney is pretty much the only place I'll happily get up early to do something! I am so not a morning person...I'm pretty hostile pre-caffeine :rotfl:

Happy birthday to Kailyn!!! :yay::yay::yay:

Yay for MK rope drop!!! I love the ceremony there, it's so cute and fun! Your castle pics are great!

Thanks! :goodvibes

It was SO cute, I was so excited to see it! And thank you...I couldn't stop taking pictures!

I absolutely love the rope drop show at MK! I went to it 3 times on my last trip! Seeing it the day of the 40th anniversary I bawled like a baby!:laughing: It is tough getting up so early though....

Isn't it the strangest thing when you run into someone unexpected when you're away from home. A couple of years back I ran into an old co-worker at Epcot! It really is a small world! :)

I can't wait to hear more about your day at MK! A big happy birthday to your sister (19 is a big one here in Ontario;)). Have fun at your Dis-meet!:thumbsup2

I actually saw it two days in a row...the second day was with Mike. He was less enthused than I am because a., he's a guy, and b., he really doesn't get excited over anything unless it's related to sports. As far as I could tell, though, he liked it, too. :laughing:

Years ago, I forget exactly which trip, we ran into neighbors/family friends of ours in Epcot! Even now, we sometimes say, "remember when we ran into them here?"

Thanks for the birthday wishes for Kailyn - I had no idea 19 was big in Ontario!

I have a pretty good sense of direction...so how come on my birthday, you made it to Remy's without a problem, and I got hopelessly lost for an hour? :confused: :lmao:

Just one day now! :yay:

Those castle pictures are getting me so excited!!! I definitely want to make a rope drop this year. We came so, so close in 2010. We got there just as the train was leaving the station :mad: MK opens at 9:00 on our full MK day. We can definitely make that. We'll take the boat; the bus can be faster but every time we try to be at MK at a certain time, the bus takes forever to get there and makes a ton of stops :laughing:

Did I tell you that the only reason I made it to Remy's last year was because I was with Charles? I actually kind of think I wanted to go one way, and he was like, "no, Meg, it's this way." This is why I need to be with someone at all times! :rotfl2:

You neeeeeeeeed to make a rope drop at MK!! You're staying on MK property, it must be done!

Wasn't the curtain for the bathroom area at Pop great? It worked well in the morning when I was up getting ready while Chris was still sleeping!

Awww, I'm glad you got to see the MK opening show! It's so precious, I love it too!! I definitely tear up as well :goodvibes

I love your pictures of the castle...I can never see too many!

I lovedddd having that curtain there! Mike did too because it meant I never woke him up :laughing:

Glad you like the castle pictures...I was really snap happy, it was my first time on the trip finally seeing MK in daylight! I can't wait to back!

Yay for seeing the morning show! :woohoo:

Giddy pretty much describes us, too. We want to bust out with 'Good Morning! Good Morning!'...but we don't. ;)

I can't remember if I texted you that morning. I remember I wanted to because I wanted to give you a Disney "fix"!

I was seriously bouncing around because I was so excited. It was so cute!

[Megablocks]

Day three continued - Friday, January 6

So Kailyn, mom and I finally made a rope drop at MK. We decided to head for Fantasyland before it got really crowded. I really really love Fantasyland but we don't often get to do it so I was really excited.

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I love how on the walls, they have quotes from Walt...while Mom and Kailyn went to use the bathroom, I took pictures of a couple

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I can't remember exactly what order we did rides in (my notes get less detailed as time goes on :laughing:) but I know we rode Peter Pan (because we love it but refuse to wait super long for it), Snow White, and Pooh. Kailyn was not a fan of Snow White or Pooh. She thought Snow White was scary and she really disliked Pooh...I think the part with the heffalumps was what freaked her out. :rotfl: However, all of us loved the interactive queue!

Rabbit has always been one of my favorites...I'm not sure why. I just loved him when I was a kid and I still do :goodvibes

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Dad HATES anything sticky so we decided when we saw him that we had to tell him we drew in honey. We did and he got really freaked out...we're so bad. :rotfl:

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The one stinkin' picture I got of the Fantasyland expansion. I really kind of wanted to stand on a bench or a wall or something and take pictures but I am very much a rule follower and I was too scared!

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After Fantasyland (that was all we did, apparently) we headed to Frontierland to check the wait times over there. It was still really uncrowded. BTMRR had a 20 minute wait, and Fastpasses for 10:40 (it was probably a little after 10 at this point), so we got Fastpasses, hopped in line to ride, and headed to Splash Mountain afterwards. I had not been on this since April 2008! We walked almost up to the loading area...we waited maybe like ten minutes.

This was on the walk to Frontierland

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It was VERY strange to see Splash Mountain with water, and running! It was closed for refurbs on both our 2009 and 2010 trips, and we didn't go in 2011, so seeing it up and running again was awesome!

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After Splash Mountain, we headed back to BTMRR with our Fastpasses. After that, we were definitely hungry. We had only had little breakfasts, so we went over to CHH for lunch. There was this very nice CM greeting people outside, and when he saw us, he said, "princesses...your majesty!" He was SO nice and very enthusiastic!

I can't remember what Kailyn got, but mom and I got the Anchors Aweigh sandwich. We honestly would not have known about CHH if not for the KTTK tour we did in 2010. I'm not sure what it is about that sandwich, but I absolutely love it! I wish I could make all my sandwiches on that bread!

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I love that even the potato chip bags are themed

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After our early lunch, we headed over to HM, since we were right there. It was a 15 minute wait or less. After HM, we headed over to ride Pirates, then headed out. You can never have enough pictures of the castle, obviously.

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Before we actually exited, we stopped in Main Street Bakery. Kailyn got a brownie, and mom and I each got an eclair. Then, we found out what rope drop and exiting the park early means...

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We made it back to the room around 1:15. I don't think the guys were there at that point, I am pretty sure they were at DHS. Kailyn fell asleep, and I watched Stacy, ate my eclair, and updated my notes. Since Kailyn was asleep and we didn't have any immediate plans, I decided to head down to the pool bar and just relax and then walk around and take pictures.

Continued in next post

[Megablocks]

Continued from previous post

I really, really wanted to try something I had read about on the DIS but never tried for myself...a pina colava. To be honest, I really wasn't sure what was in it, just that it looked pretty and everyone said it was really good. :laughing: It did not disappoint...it was delicious!

I sent this to Facebook and a couple of friends

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Not long after I settled in with my drink, dad walked by, on his way to the room after hitting the food court. This was how he found me:

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The view to my right

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Straight ahead

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To my left

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I think it was right about now that I was really regretting not bringing my bathing suit, or a pair of capris. It was definitely warm!

After I finished my drink, I decided to just walk around Pop, because I knew that no one would be in a huge rush to go anywhere. Pop Century is very much my Disney "home" and I was so happy to be back. :cloud9:

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Just a picture of palm trees. Don't see those up here! :rotfl:

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I really, really wanted to see the progress on the AoA suites. The last time I was at Pop, they weren't even a concept, so the buildings were still abandoned and creepy. Seeing this was a HUGE change!

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Once I was done trying to get pictures across the lake, I just walked around and soaked it all in

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I had to get a picture of this, even though it looks weird...I love the attention to detail! The little opening being there, and the copyright stuff? LOVE.

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Definitely had these disks haha

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Once I was done wandering, I headed back to the room. Everyone was back there so we talked about what to do. We decided to head to Epcot and then maybe DHS for the nighttime EMH.

Next update: Epcot!

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

The honey wall story with your dad made me laugh, I think the wall would freak out DBF too - he HATES touching his food. Like, he even eats wings with a fork and knife! :confused3

That Pina CoLava looks great! I love the Disney detailing too, how funny that they added the little copyright info to Mr. Potato Head!! :thumbsup2

[MeMom]

I thought this was going to be a normal Friday, but I got to sit by the Hippy Dippy Pool and take a walk around in that beautiful sunshine at Pop Century before I leave for school! :cool1: This day just got so much better already! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love Pop pictures! :hippie:

Oh yeah, glad you got to experience an empty Fantasyland. :thumbsup2

[manntra]

Looks like you had a fun morning at the MK :yay: Yeah....I am not a morning person either....I have been told I can be quite violent :rotfl2: But I am a totally different person at WDW waking up every day with a smile on my face :goodvibes
Too funny about the honey and freaking your Dad out! I have heard so many good stories about that sandwich that I need to put that on my list. I am not a fan of crunchy things in my tuna so I might have to ask for a sample ahead of time :laughing:
That's my kind of afternoon...relaxing at the pool with a cocktail!

Tracy

[Tink9721]

I read your last update a few days ago and haven't had a chance to comment yet :rotfl: I'm FINALLY done with the crazy studying, so I can DIS! And I can do the single digit dance :banana: :thumbsup2

We never made it to Pooh last year so I still haven't seen the new queue! I can't wait to see it!

I noticed the themed chip bags last year :lmao:

I can't wait to walk around WL and take pictures :cloud9: Did you see any Disney bunnies at Pop? We usually see them at WL but last year we didn't see any. We also see ducks in the pool :laughing: 2010 was the year I saw a ton of wildlife. Other than the WL animals, I saw two armadillos and a deer. I had never seen an armadillo in my life. I saw one on the ground when I was on the monorail. Don't ask me how I saw that from way up there; I have no idea :rotfl: I saw the other one when I was on the train at MK. I also saw the deer on the train. It was walking around near the fake deer, looking at them like "Why aren't you guys moving?" :lmao:

[Megablocks]

The honey wall story with your dad made me laugh, I think the wall would freak out DBF too - he HATES touching his food. Like, he even eats wings with a fork and knife! :confused3

That Pina CoLava looks great! I love the Disney detailing too, how funny that they added the little copyright info to Mr. Potato Head!! :thumbsup2

Any weird qualms I have over touching my food are RIGHT from my dad - he needs to have the little wet-naps at the ready if he's eating anything he has to pick up with his hands :laughing:

The pina colava was soooo good! I should have gotten a picture of the Big Wheel, too...there's some crazy weight limit on that there that I am SURE the Imagineers actually sat down to figure out based on the bike's size!

I thought this was going to be a normal Friday, but I got to sit by the Hippy Dippy Pool and take a walk around in that beautiful sunshine at Pop Century before I leave for school! :cool1: This day just got so much better already! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love Pop pictures! :hippie:

Oh yeah, glad you got to experience an empty Fantasyland. :thumbsup2

Glad I was able to repay the favor! :goodvibes

The empty Fantasyland was soooo nice, I was really glad to see it for myself finally!

Looks like you had a fun morning at the MK :yay: Yeah....I am not a morning person either....I have been told I can be quite violent :rotfl2: But I am a totally different person at WDW waking up every day with a smile on my face :goodvibes
Too funny about the honey and freaking your Dad out! I have heard so many good stories about that sandwich that I need to put that on my list. I am not a fan of crunchy things in my tuna so I might have to ask for a sample ahead of time :laughing:
That's my kind of afternoon...relaxing at the pool with a cocktail!

Tracy

I'm so picky about certain foods - tuna sandwiches are one of them. Like, I hate celery, so if DBF's mother makes tuna salad even with really small, finely chopped pieces celery in it, I cannot eat it because I KNOW it's there and I CAN taste it. :laughing: The one at CHH is different, I really could not detect any crunchiness. The bread is also amazing!

Honestly, when I was down at the pool with the drink, I thought of you! All I could think was, "Tracy would appreciate this" :rotfl:

I read your last update a few days ago and haven't had a chance to comment yet :rotfl: I'm FINALLY done with the crazy studying, so I can DIS! And I can do the single digit dance :banana: :thumbsup2

We never made it to Pooh last year so I still haven't seen the new queue! I can't wait to see it!

I noticed the themed chip bags last year :lmao:

I can't wait to walk around WL and take pictures :cloud9: Did you see any Disney bunnies at Pop? We usually see them at WL but last year we didn't see any. We also see ducks in the pool :laughing: 2010 was the year I saw a ton of wildlife. Other than the WL animals, I saw two armadillos and a deer. I had never seen an armadillo in my life. I saw one on the ground when I was on the monorail. Don't ask me how I saw that from way up there; I have no idea :rotfl: I saw the other one when I was on the train at MK. I also saw the deer on the train. It was walking around near the fake deer, looking at them like "Why aren't you guys moving?" :lmao:

And now you're leaving THIS week!

I can't remember if I saw any Disney bunnies. I might have. I know I saw some in the parks and I might have seen a couple around Pop...I can't remember. Gosh it's been too long since the trip. :laughing:

[Megablocks]

Sorry for the lack of updates, guys...things have been crazy and I did not realize, again, that I went so long in between updates. So here is the rest of day three!

Day three continued - Friday, January 6

When I last left you, long ago, we had decided to head to Epcot and then maybe DHS for the evening EMH. We left for Epcot around 3:40 and barely had to wait for a bus, so we arrived around 4:00. When we were going through the bag check, the security guard checking my bag started to sing. My park bag is a small backpack that I got when I went to see RENT with my BFF a few years ago, so when the security guard saw it, he started singing, "525,600 diapers...that's how many diapers, I'll see in a day!" :lmao:

We rode SSE with no wait, and then the guys wanted to check out Test Track for Fastpasses and then Mission: Space. In the meantime, me, mom, and Kailyn went to Club Cool. One of the guys called us, so we headed over to Mission: Space. Kailyn really wanted to try M:S, but mom and I decided to sit out. I tried it years ago, before there were two sides, and I was SO nauseous. I can handle any roller coaster but I cannot handle simulators. Mom and I were concerned about how Kailyn would do, since she seems to have sort of a sensitive stomach on rides. So we sat and waited for everyone to ride. They decided on the orange side.

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Hidden Mickey? This was right next to me

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We finally saw them coming out and I think the first thing we did was ask Kailyn if she did okay. She very nonchalantly said, "oh, yeah, I'm fine. It wasn't that bad." :faint: Mike and Kailyn were okay but Dad was a little woozy. We decided to head over to the countries, and started in Canada this time. I think the only stop we really made was at the caramel shop. I got the milk chocolate caramel with sea salt this time, and mom got some oatmeal apple caramel cookie. I did not get a picture, but it was HUGE!

I think it was around this time that a friend texted Mike and said he would meet us at Magic Kingdom the next morning. He moved down to Orlando last year and has a couple roommates who work at Disney, so he was going to come meet us the next morning. That would make for TWO MK rope drops for me!

We decided to ride Maelstrom, since we didn't get to the day before. I think it was only like a 20 minute wait.

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After that, we decided to split up. Dad, Mike, and Kailyn wanted to go to DHS for the nighttime EMH, and mom and I decided to stay at Epcot and catch Illuminations.

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We were starting to get hungry, since we hadn't really had a meal for a while, so we stopped in the American pavilion to eat. I got chicken fingers with fries, and mom got some kind of veggie sandwich, I think. She also picked at her cookie from the caramel shop for dessert. I didn't get a picture of the food, but I got a picture of some of the flags, since I am a nerd. :laughing:

Massachusetts:

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Going crazy over this one...Pennsylvania?

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I think the top one is North Carolina, and the bottom one might be Rhode Island. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong on any of these:

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And, of course, the beautiful tree outside.

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After we ate, we still had some time to kill, so we took the long way back around to Mexico (I decided I wanted a margarita while I watched.) My pictures are out of order and my notes are actually not as good as I thought they were while I was taking them :laughing: so I'm throwing these in right here and hoping this IS close to what we did. I decided I really wanted a shirt that Kailyn got on her trip last April with friends - it says "keep calm and carry on." We stopped in the shop in the Britain pavilion, and heard music. Mom told me she'd meet me out there, so I grabbed the shirt and paid. It turned out it was the British Revolution, who we'd never heard before. They were really, really good. They played some Billy Idol, I think "White Wedding," some other stuff I didn't really recognize (my mom did), and also some Queen. They were really, really good and we wanted to try to catch them on another one of our Epcot days. It didn't happen but they're definitely going to be something we look out for when we're there next.

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After that, we went to Mexico so I could get my margarita, and we wandered around to find a spot for Illuminations. I can't remember exactly where we decided to watch from, but it was a path that had a railing we could lean against.

As SOON as I took a sip of my margarita, I started coughing. Uncontrollably. I had been fighting this really annoying dry cough for a few weeks, but it had been pretty okay till now. I literally could not stop and the harder I tried to, the worse it got. I felt so bad for everyone around me! Finally, FINALLY, I stopped, had some of my mom's water, and proceeded to very carefully drink my margarita.

I don't have any pictures, because I was only half-planning on writing a TR and just wanted to enjoy the show. It was amazing, as always, and I cried. "We Go On" ESPECIALLY gets me. Every time. And, where we were standing? Some of the fireworks were shot off RIGHT in front of us! It made me jump a mile but it was awesome!

After Illuminations, we found a bench to sit on and just waited for the crowds to filter out before we headed out. I apparently took these at some point. :upsidedow I loved that the Christmas tree was right there.

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Next update: ANOTHER Magic Kingdom morning...on marathon weekend...would it be ridiculous?

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

:laughing: I love the security guy's RENT song!!

I'm glad that Kailyn didn't have a problem on Mission: Space!

Ahhh I love Illuminations!! Your pictures of Spaceship Earth that night are beautiful!

[MeMom]

Beautiful pictures of Spaceship Earth, palm trees, and the Christmas tree!

I am so excited that I can see your pictures here at school. :woohoo: I saw your batch of the ones from Pop the other day when checking in at a break, and it made me smile very 'bigly'. :teeth:

[sunny_stace]

Ahhh Rent! I love that show! Good job on the security guy! :) I love evenings at Epcot! When all of the lights come up it's just so pretty!

[Tink9721]

And now you're leaving THIS week!

I can't remember if I saw any Disney bunnies. I might have. I know I saw some in the parks and I might have seen a couple around Pop...I can't remember. Gosh it's been too long since the trip. :laughing:

Yes I am!!!!! I can't believe it! I'll be there in less than 48 hours! :hyper:

I wanna see Disney bunnies! They're SO cute!

I think the top one is North Carolina, and the bottom one might be Rhode Island. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong on any of these:

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Yup that's my wonderful little ocean state! :thumbsup2

It turned out it was the British Revolution, who we'd never heard before. They were really, really good. They played some Billy Idol, I think "White Wedding," some other stuff I didn't really recognize (my mom did), and also some Queen. They were really, really good and we wanted to try to catch them on another one of our Epcot days. It didn't happen but they're definitely going to be something we look out for when we're there next.

I think they're new. I'm pretty sure they replaced the Beatles cover band that was there before, unfortunately :( I loved them! My dad's a huge Beatles fan and I had so much fun calling/texting him to say I was in the UK watching the Beatles :laughing:

[Megablocks]

Beautiful pictures of Spaceship Earth, palm trees, and the Christmas tree!

I am so excited that I can see your pictures here at school. :woohoo: I saw your batch of the ones from Pop the other day when checking in at a break, and it made me smile very 'bigly'. :teeth:

Thank you! I was so happy with how they came out!

Glad you can see the pictures at school and you can get a little bit of a "fix" while you're there :)

:laughing: I love the security guy's RENT song!!

I'm glad that Kailyn didn't have a problem on Mission: Space!

Ahhh I love Illuminations!! Your pictures of Spaceship Earth that night are beautiful!

I was cracking up when he started singing...he was awesome!

I was so relived that she was okay on that. I found out the next day that it's not just M:S I can't handle, it's simulator rides, period!

Thank you! I was happy with the way the pictures came out. :) I forgot how much I love Illuminations. "We Go On" came up on shuffle on my iPod when I was going to work and I can't even tell you how many times I kept on restarting it :rotfl:

Yes I am!!!!! I can't believe it! I'll be there in less than 48 hours! :hyper:

I wanna see Disney bunnies! They're SO cute!



Yup that's my wonderful little ocean state! :thumbsup2



I think they're new. I'm pretty sure they replaced the Beatles cover band that was there before, unfortunately :( I loved them! My dad's a huge Beatles fan and I had so much fun calling/texting him to say I was in the UK watching the Beatles :laughing:

You are there NOW!

I think I was trying to get pictures of specific flags because you, Katie, and Hope also all live in one of the original thirteen colonies and I had to get them for my DIS friends. :laughing:

I think they did replace the Beatles cover band. I know this could get me kicked off the earth but I am not huuuuge on the Beatles so I never really made it a point to see them. I LOVED these guys, though!

[Megablocks]

I don't have time to do a real update but realized I passed the point of where I got the title and wanted to explain it. It does have a little bit of a spoiler to do with the new Star Wars ride, so for anyone who does not want to spoil it, don't read it! I'm posting it in white so whoever wants to read it can just highlight it.

So, on the new Star Wars ride, there are apparently a few different storylines. I only rode it once this trip because I found out the hard way that it's not M:S I can't handle, it's ANY simulator ride. Anyway, there's several different storylines, so you never really know which one you'll get. They also pick out someone on your ride as a "rebel spy." The first time dad and Mike rode it, Mike was the rebel spy!! So that was an ongoing joke the rest of the trip.

The title comes from when dad, Mike, and Kailyn rode it when mom and I stayed at Epcot and dad, Mike, and Kailyn went to DHS. They got a storyline with Admiral Ackbar, and I think it was after they picked out the rebel spy that Admiral Ackbar says "IT'S A TRAP!" They all found it hilarious so that was said ALL the rest of the trip...stuck on a ride? "IT'S A TRAP!" Kailyn would say it in her best Admiral Ackbar voice and put her hand under her chin to mimic his tentacles. When I say it was said several times a day for the rest of the trip, I mean it...we STILL say it!

So, there is our title explanation. Have a great weekend, guys!

[Poolrat]

Love the security guard breaking out into song. That is how my week has been sort of... But that Disney giddiness I have is putting everyone in a good mood.


Beautiful pictures of the ball and the tree. I cannot wait to see Illuminations again. I love "we go on" :love: so romantic.. ahhhhh

[Megablocks]

Love the security guard breaking out into song. That is how my week has been sort of... But that Disney giddiness I have is putting everyone in a good mood.


Beautiful pictures of the ball and the tree. I cannot wait to see Illuminations again. I love "we go on" :love: so romantic.. ahhhhh

I ended up watching the finale on YouTube a bunch of times! I love it so much :lovestruc I unfortunately took all the Disney music off my iPod when we got back. I think I still have a Disney playlist but I'm not sure. My BFF figured out how to change the language on my iPod and I haven't figured out which is "playlist" yet! :rotfl:

[Megablocks]

Day 4 - Saturday, January 7th

Apologies in advance because this is going to be kind of all over the place. I DID take notes, but I'm realizing not very good notes. :laughing:

SO. This was the day that Mike and I were planning to meet our friend Rogue at MK. He moved to the Orlando area at like the end of 2010/beginning of 2011, and has roommates who are WDW CM's, so he wanted to meet us at MK. We were going to meet after opening (9 AM), so this was the SECOND time I was getting to see the MK rope drop!

This was also the weekend of the WDW marathon. I had let Mike know the night before that this meant the buses would be kind of crazy, so we'd have to leave in decent time (I'm not really a morning person and he is even less of a morning person than I am.) But, I guess that WDW pixie dust hit him, too, because he was up around when I was. I took this on my phone when we were walking towards Classic Hall...I miss it so much!

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The bus came around 8:15. I think it's usually about a 20 minute drive to MK from Pop to MK, but we arrived at MK around 8:40, so it wasn't too bad. There were some crazy detours, so I, of course, was super interested in seeing parts of Disney I'd never seen before.

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I kept on saying to Mike how excited I was that I'd get to see the opening again, and kept telling him how magical it was. He just smiled and nodded every time I said something. This pretty much sums up how I felt, and probably how he felt about me right then. :rotfl:

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I cried at the opening, of course, and when it was announced that the Magic Kingdom was now open, it was SO HARD to stand there and wait while people were pouring in. Mike was texting with Rogue and I kept asking, "where is he?" "Where is he now?" "Is he almost here?" Finally, I said, "I'm really really sorry, but I have to see the castle right now. Do you mind if I go in?" Mike, of course, said he didn't care, which was ALL I needed to hear.

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Right after I took that, I saw the MAYOR OF MAIN STREET WALKING AROUND! He was talking to people and taking pictures. My first reaction was, "THE MAYOR OF MAIN STREET? HE'S A CELEBRITY!" My second was, "why did I leave Mike? I need a picture with the mayor, right now." Now, in real life I am not what you'd consider a "people person"...I'm shy and kind of reserved and standoffish until I get to know people, and I most definitely do not speak to random people and ask them if they would please take a picture for me. BUT, I did for this!

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(Notice I was wearing my "keep calm and carry on" shirt that I got the night before...got a lot of comments on it!)

I cannot even remember what was said, but I was SO EXCITED about meeting the mayor. I thanked both him and the nice woman who took my picture, then went back to my post to wait for the guys. I texted Mike with "I'm to the right of the tree right next to the confectionary and I GOT A PICTURE WITH THE MAYOR OF MAIN STREET!!!! I am NOT sorry for leaving you to go in!!!"

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Not long after that, I saw the guys coming in. We decided to head to Tomorrowland to ride Space Mountain. We ended up walking on, riding, then walking on AGAIN! When we were heading there, I had another awesome interaction with a cast member. This guy was out in the middle of Tomorrowland, kind of next to Stitch's Great Escape, and he said, "gentlemen, my lady! Keep calm and carry on!" He took my hand and escorted me as we walked and said, "are you two with the princess? Because there be pirates near..." I can't remember all of what was said, but it was SO cute and I was so giddy over it! Anyone who refers to me as a princess gets an A in my book! :rotfl:

Now here is where the notes get really crappy. I know Rogue's roommate was working in Frontierland, and he had said he'd hook us up. Our friend went to go meet him, and came back and said, "you guys won't believe this." He had a STACK of Fastpasses, including some "rider switch" passes that were good at ANY Fastpass ride in the MK for several days! I can't remember exactly what the Fastpasses were for, but we made good use of them. That morning, we walked on Space Mountain twice, rode Pirates, saw the pirate tutorial, rode BTMRR, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain twice, and the People Mover twice. My parents and Kailyn ended up coming a bit later, closer to noon, when it was getting quite crowded, but they were able to make use of some of the Fastpasses, too.

As I said, we saw the pirate tutorial. It was going on right when we excited PotC, so I asked if we could stop and watch. I didn't really get any pictures of the actual tutorial...I was too interested in getting pictures of the good captain. pirate:

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I don't have any pictures of this, but we had an early lunch at Peco's Bill Cafe, around 10:45. I had never been, but I really liked that you could order a burger and top it however you wanted at the fixin's bar. Mike and I each got a burger, and Rogue got the taco salad, which I was immediately jealous of...it looked soooo good!

When Mom, Dad and Kailyn got to the park, we decided to all ride the TTA. We rode with all the girls in one, and all the guys in another. Dad was yelling to me from the other car, "Meg, look at this! Get a picture of this!"

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After that, me, Mike, and Rogue decided to go on Space Ranger Spin. Rogue got almost 100,000 on Buzz, and Mike hit something that got him ALL these points! He got 999,999, which I had NEVER seen in person before. I got 19,100. :upsidedow

We met back up with my parents and Kailyn, and decided what to do. It was getting really crowded at this point, Mike was quickly losing steam, and Rogue had plans to meet another friend from Boston who happened to be in Disney at Animal Kingdom, so we all split up. Mike went back to the room, Rogue went to AK, and the rest of us headed to Frontierland. Dad didn't care to ride Splash, so mom, Kailyn and I all rode with one of the several rider switch passes. After that, Kailyn and Dad headed to HM, and mom and I decided to head back to Pop. We got back around 3 and hit the food court. I got a pepperoni pizza, Mom got a veggie calzone, and we decided to share a dessert. We decided on the apple blossom a la mode. It had a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, with caramel drizzled on the ice cream. It was absolutely delicious, but it was a LOT! I could never have finished one on my own.

Next update: nighttime at DHS!

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Oh, there's definitely no way I could have waited at the front gate of the MK without going in either!!! How cool that you got a picture with the Mayor! :thumbsup2

Sounds like you guys got a lot done in MK! Were there a lot of detours because of the Marathon? I know when we got to Epcot that day a bunch of the walkways were half-closed.

[MeMom]

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Look at you, hanging out with the big shots! Great picture! :thumbsup2 Glad you were right there at the right time.

A stack of Fastpasses?
Nice! :woohoo:

[Mndisneygirl]

What a great MK morning!
The mayor, walk on rides, FPS? Sweet.
It looked like your dad on the TTA was doing the thing on the sign to keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle. I always tease my kids and do that and say "now don't do this"

Question about your Keep Calm shirt. We were just in London and I bought a magnet with that phrase too. I had Wigd check the UK pavillion, but she didn't see any Mind the Gap stuff. Have you noticed it there in the past?

[Megablocks]

Oh, there's definitely no way I could have waited at the front gate of the MK without going in either!!! How cool that you got a picture with the Mayor! :thumbsup2

Sounds like you guys got a lot done in MK! Were there a lot of detours because of the Marathon? I know when we got to Epcot that day a bunch of the walkways were half-closed.

I think I lasted like five minutes after they announced MK being open...maybe not even that long! I felt kinda bad because I realized once I was inside, I had told Mike to tell Rogue we'd be easy to find because of my ears...but I was so happy to get a picture with the Mayor that I didn't even care :laughing:

Oh, yeah, the drive from Pop to MK was riddled with detours. It didn't take toooooo much longer to get there...closer to half an hour than the usual twenty minutes. Of course, I was staring out the window because I was seeing a part of Disney I'd never seen before!

Look at you, hanging out with the big shots! Great picture! :thumbsup2 Glad you were right there at the right time.

A stack of Fastpasses?
Nice! :woohoo:

Thank you! I was so happy to get that picture! Definitely motivation to be there for rope drop again. :thumbsup2

His roommate was so good to hook us up. We didn't get to use all the rider switch passes, so I ended up giving them to Katie when we met up a few days later, since they were still good for a few days.

What a great MK morning!
The mayor, walk on rides, FPS? Sweet.
It looked like your dad on the TTA was doing the thing on the sign to keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle. I always tease my kids and do that and say "now don't do this"

Question about your Keep Calm shirt. We were just in London and I bought a magnet with that phrase too. I had Wigd check the UK pavillion, but she didn't see any Mind the Gap stuff. Have you noticed it there in the past?

It was an awesome morning!

Yeah, I realized that is exactly what he's doing. He likes us taking pictures of him disobeying :laughing:

Hmmm...I can't remember seeing anything like that there before. There is a Museum of Fine Arts store in the Faneuiel Hall/Quincy Market area of Boston, and when I was there last month, I saw some "keep calm" stuff. I can't remember if I saw any "mind the gap" stuff, but I may end up in that area next weekend, so if you want, I can check for you!

[Tink9721]

Hi Meg! :yay: I haven't had DIS time all week. I've missed it!

You're doing much better with your TR than I am...I still haven't started. I've had sooo much school work since I got home, and my mom's been on a business trip all week so I've had a lot of extra stuff to do. I'm planning on doing absolutely nothing tomorrow, so I'll probably get my first update done then :laughing:

I was so glad I made rope drop this year!!! I loved it!

[Megablocks]

Hi Meg! :yay: I haven't had DIS time all week. I've missed it!

You're doing much better with your TR than I am...I still haven't started. I've had sooo much school work since I got home, and my mom's been on a business trip all week so I've had a lot of extra stuff to do. I'm planning on doing absolutely nothing tomorrow, so I'll probably get my first update done then :laughing:

I was so glad I made rope drop this year!!! I loved it!

Hey!! I technically shouldn't be DISing, I should be doing other stuff, so you are a much better person than I!

Oh, I am not doing that well...bear in mind my trip was right after New Years, and it's now almost the first week of April. :laughing: I still have like four and a half days to get through. Slow going, but it's going!

I was so glad you did, too!! MK rope drop is now on the must do list, I loved it!

[Poolrat]

THE MAYOR- How Lucky.


The stack of FPs was NICE too.

I would not have been able to wait at the entrance either. :lmao:

[Megablocks]

THE MAYOR- How Lucky.


The stack of FPs was NICE too.

I would not have been able to wait at the entrance either. :lmao:

I've never seen him in person! I felt like I met a celebrity! :lmao:

That stack of FPs was soooo unexpected and appreciated, it was awesome.

I am so glad that my friends here understand my impatience. :laughing:

[Tink9721]

Hey!! I technically shouldn't be DISing, I should be doing other stuff, so you are a much better person than I!

Oh, I am not doing that well...bear in mind my trip was right after New Years, and it's now almost the first week of April. :laughing: I still have like four and a half days to get through. Slow going, but it's going!

I was so glad you did, too!! MK rope drop is now on the must do list, I loved it!

I do a lot of DISing when I should be doing other stuff...like in the library in between classes :rolleyes1 I always say I'm gonna be productive during my library time but I always end up on the DIS :confused3 :laughing:

That's not that bad. Last year my Feb report wasn't finished until October :rolleyes:

I was very excited to ride Dumbo in Storybook Circus this year :thumbsup2 Rope drop was definitely my only chance to do it. I asked my mom if she wanted to ride but she didn't, so she just stood off to the side and proudly watched her almost-19 year old daughter ride in circles on a flying elephant :upsidedow :rotfl:

[Megablocks]

I do a lot of DISing when I should be doing other stuff...like in the library in between classes :rolleyes1 I always say I'm gonna be productive during my library time but I always end up on the DIS :confused3 :laughing:

That's not that bad. Last year my Feb report wasn't finished until October :rolleyes:

I was very excited to ride Dumbo in Storybook Circus this year :thumbsup2 Rope drop was definitely my only chance to do it. I asked my mom if she wanted to ride but she didn't, so she just stood off to the side and proudly watched her almost-19 year old daughter ride in circles on a flying elephant :upsidedow :rotfl:

I went to school right after I left the preschool on Tuesday so I could spend some time in the library doing my curriculum forms. It was SO HARD because I get really bored and sidetracked when I can't multitask doing something on my laptop! Usually I'm bothering my best friend on Skype chat or DIS'ing, but just having those papers in front of me and nothing else was driving me crazy. :confused3

I didn't get to ride Dumbo...I wanted to but it was kinda long by the time we got there when I went with my mom and Kailyn. And I didn't want to beg the guys to please go on Dumbo with me. :rotfl2:

[Megablocks]

Day 4 continued - Saturday, January 7

I apologize again for the lack of updates...I'm finishing up my practicum course and there is so much to do!

When I last left off, we had all gone back to Pop Century to relax. I napped, or tried to. I was kind of dozing off and on, and I think Kailyn came in at some point to ask me what I wanted to do. Mike took off to go to DHS to meet Rogue again, and the rest of us followed a little after 5. We got there at 5:30. I texted Mike to tell him we were there, and he said they were in line for RnRC. Dad, Kailyn and I headed over to ToT to ride, because I'm pretty sure it was a fairly short wait - maybe like twenty minutes. After that, we all headed over to GMR. We, of course, got the gangster. If I hadn't seen pictures of the cowboy side and had some vague memory of the cowboy side, I would think it was a myth...we always have the gangster side! When we were exiting, I texted Mike to tell him we were off GMR, and he said he was heading to the exit with Rogue. I'm not sure where they had been, but when we were walking, we spotted each other. I walked with them to the exit to say goodbye to Rogue, and Mike headed back to the room. My parents and Kailyn saw that Mulch, Sweat, and Shears were performing, so I went back to meet them over there. Is their playing on the actual stage a new thing, or was that because Streets of America were taken over by the Osborne Lights?

After Mulch, Sweat, and Shears, we headed over to Star Tours. Dad, Mike and Kailyn were OBSESSED with this ride. I was kind of concerned because the previous Star Tours had made me feel kind of off, and M:S is something I really can't handle. They told me it wasn't that bad, so I decided to try it. :3dglasses

I unfortunately found out about two minutes into riding this that while I can handle roller coasters, I absolutely cannot handle simulators. I started feeling queasy after about two minutes. I am not a huge Star Wars fan (that's my boyfriend), but I thought the ride was awesome. Kailyn, Dad, and Mike rode it several times and it was different for them each time. So, it's a really cool ride, but I unfortunately can't ride it. :( Oh well, lesson learned!

After we got off the ride, we decided to head over to see the Osborne Lights again, since this was the last night they were there. Dad and Kailyn didn't stay for too long before they headed back to the room, but my mom and I stayed. I desperately wanted to see them dance again, AND THEY DID! They danced to one of my absolute favorite Trans-Siberian Orchestra songs, "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24." I've seen them perform live for the past few years and that song always makes me cry when I hear it live. Look! I can even show you guys the video! I'm going to make a separate post with just my videos that I told you about but never posted!

http://youtu.be/8oC_NhINA9g

I was using my iPhone for this and trying to get everything, while also trying to watch it myself, instead of on the little phone screen, so it's kinda shaky and weird...but it was AMAZING.

And these are the pictures I took. I'm sorry this update was so text-heavy and picture light, but I really didn't take any pictures tonight for some reason!

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I love this!

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Mom and I decided to leave, and headed out a little after 8:00. We went to the food court, and I went to the room to grab my ID and some cash, then headed down to the pool bar and sat at the pool with a margarita. I think the tequila to lime ratio was something like 10:1. It was SO strong! I stayed there for a while sipping it really slowly, and just enjoying being there. I went to bed early because we were going to have yet ANOTHER early morning!

Next: Epcot morning with the family!

[micandminforever]

The Osborne light pictures were beautiful. Thanks for posting.:goodvibes

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Great Osborne lights pictures! I've only seen MS&S in passing, but I think that the stage is a usual part of their act.

[MeMom]

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So pretty! I hope we can see them again in 2013.

Sitting out by the pool at the end of an evening just relaxing and talking with those you love - a very nice way to end a day. :goodvibes

[Tink9721]

I haven't had a chance to read your last update yet but...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEGHAN!!!! :bday: :dance3: :banana: :cool1: :woohoo: :yay: party:

[photographymom517]

I know how you feel because I saw the Mayor for the very first time in September!!! It was really neat to see him after reading so many DIS reports about him!!! You really do feel like you're meeting someone famous!!! It was funny because everyone was chasing after him when he got back into the car on Main Street...it reminded me of the paparazzi chasing down celebs!!! :thumbsup2

Oh my goodness! I am loving your pics of anything Christmas related! You are getting me so excited for my trip this year!!! I can't wait to see Osborne lights! Luke LOOOOOVES Christmas lights & there's a house down the street that has a "moving display" -- I videoed it this year so maybe I'll post it on my PTR! I just know he's going to love Osborne lights!!! When we went to see the house this year, I told him we'll see something fifty times better at Disney! He asked if there would be lights -- and I said "Oh yes, definitely A LOT of lights!!!"

I sent you an email but there's no hurry in reading it or writing back. I'll write back to the other one soon too, I promise!

I'm sure I had more to comment on but I am exhausted! I'll re-read this update and comment more with the next update!

Hope you had a wonderful birthday!!! :cheer2:

[Megablocks]

The Osborne light pictures were beautiful. Thanks for posting.:goodvibes

Thank you! I'm glad you liked them. I'll have videos up, too, because I finally figured out how to share my videos on YouTube without having them all public!

Great Osborne lights pictures! I've only seen MS&S in passing, but I think that the stage is a usual part of their act.

Thanks!

Yeah, I wasn't sure about MS&S...we saw them on our 2010 trip and previous trips in various areas of DHS, so seeing them on a stage was different for me!

So pretty! I hope we can see them again in 2013.

Sitting out by the pool at the end of an evening just relaxing and talking with those you love - a very nice way to end a day. :goodvibes

I hope to be there in early January again to see them again. They were even better than I had hoped for!

It was a great way to end the day!

I haven't had a chance to read your last update yet but...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEGHAN!!!! :bday: :dance3: :banana: :cool1: :woohoo: :yay: party:

Thank you!!! I love how you cover all your bases! :rotfl:

I know how you feel because I saw the Mayor for the very first time in September!!! It was really neat to see him after reading so many DIS reports about him!!! You really do feel like you're meeting someone famous!!! It was funny because everyone was chasing after him when he got back into the car on Main Street...it reminded me of the paparazzi chasing down celebs!!! :thumbsup2

Oh my goodness! I am loving your pics of anything Christmas related! You are getting me so excited for my trip this year!!! I can't wait to see Osborne lights! Luke LOOOOOVES Christmas lights & there's a house down the street that has a "moving display" -- I videoed it this year so maybe I'll post it on my PTR! I just know he's going to love Osborne lights!!! When we went to see the house this year, I told him we'll see something fifty times better at Disney! He asked if there would be lights -- and I said "Oh yes, definitely A LOT of lights!!!"

I sent you an email but there's no hurry in reading it or writing back. I'll write back to the other one soon too, I promise!

I'm sure I had more to comment on but I am exhausted! I'll re-read this update and comment more with the next update!

Hope you had a wonderful birthday!!! :cheer2:

Take your time writing back to my email! No rush!

I finally figured out how to make my videos on YouTube "unlisted"...I can see them, and only people with the links can see them. There are wayyyy better Osborne Light videos on there (I watched them a LOT before the trip :laughing:) that I am sure he'd really enjoy! Will this be your first time seeing them?? AHHH I'm so excited for you to see them!

And thank you for the birthday wishes :hug:

[Megablocks]

Alright, I edited my YouTube videos so only people with the links can see them, and they're not searchable by anyone else, in case anyone's interested! Some of them are weird because I was holding my phone up and down, not sideways.

Random Osborne Lights music

http://youtu.be/PPzDxVNRjlY

Devine (I'm not sure who's talking...it wasn't us haha)

http://youtu.be/4cacGw4Xfpo

Illuminations finale...not the best view, but you can see about a minute in the firework that set off RIGHT next to us and me going "woah." I twitched so hard...it scared the crap out of me! :rotfl:

http://youtu.be/q86A-fjnvv8

Osborne Lights dancing to Trans-Siberian Orchestra

http://youtu.be/8oC_NhINA9g

My personal favorite...Mike's and my SSE future

http://youtu.be/zun6cZlqAes

And finally, the drummers in Epcot

http://youtu.be/2VNp0s-4_XE

Have a great Sunday guys! I am off from the preschool AND school tomorrow because of Patriot's Day...some Massachusetts holiday. So I am hoping to have another update then!

[micandminforever]

The videos were enjoyable, and filled with Disney magic. The SSE video was really cute, I can see why it was your favorite.

[Megablocks]

The videos were enjoyable, and filled with Disney magic. The SSE video was really cute, I can see why it was your favorite.

Thank you! :goodvibes I'm glad you liked the SSE video too. I wanted Mike to pick it because that was his first time riding since the refurb and he obviously really liked it :)

[MeMom]

I have not looked at the youtube videos yet, but be assured, I am treating myself to some Disney fun with Meghan and the family later on this evening. Thanks for sharing! :thumbsup2

[Megablocks]

I have not looked at the youtube videos yet, but be assured, I am treating myself to some Disney fun with Meghan and the family later on this evening. Thanks for sharing! :thumbsup2

I am so glad I finally figured out how to share them! I'm weird and didn't want just anyone to be able to find my videos, so I am glad there's an option for people like me to be able to share them without them being searchable :thumbsup2

[Megablocks]

Day 5 - Sunday, January 8

I'm officially done with my practicum so that means more DIS time! The practicum was the class I took where I interned in a preschool classroom. My last day was yesterday, and leaving was so hard. I work as a sub when they need me, and might be there over the summer, but it was so hard to say goodbye to the kids knowing I wouldn't be in their class every day. I have a conference with my professor to discuss my portfolio (I'll have to post a picture of it when I get it back, it's huge) on May 1st, and have my math class to get through and a couple of summer classes...but the practicum, which was crazy, exhausting, a ton of work, and a lot of fun, is OVER...which means I am that much closer to being done with my degree!

So this Disney day was was an exciting day because all of us decided to go for rope drop at Epcot. We hit the food court around eight, and caught the bus around 8:45. That was really the only slight delay with the buses...well, at the time. Remember this for later. Anyway, we arrived right at opening, 9 AM!

We headed for Soarin', grabbed FastPasses, and hopped in line. There was a 20 minute wait for standby posted, but we actually walked RIGHT up to the loading area...and had a seat in the first row! The CM directing people moved two people from the second row to the other loading area so they could sit in the first row, and moved some other people from row two to the first row so that "everyone has a front row seat on the first flight." Everyone clapped at that...Disney magic at its best!

I didn't get any pictures on Soarin', but it was amazing, of course. Dad, Mike, and Kailyn like it, but don't LOVE it like Mom and I do, so they gave us their FastPasses! :hyper:

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After Soarin', we headed to Test Track. We walked RIGHT on. The doors to the preshow area were open, and so were the doors to the loading area, so we walked through and right up to the loading dock. Kailyn at some point got the all-important red card, so like any good DIS'er, I took a picture.

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We basically walked on TT, rode, walked off, and hopped back in line. This time, we had to wait probably all of five minutes, but still walked right through the preshow area. We used the time to discuss how we were going to pose. My dad for some reason was reallyyyy set on this one.

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The CM actually started cracking up when she pulled up our picture. We ended up buying it and it's now on display in our living room. :rotfl:

After the second TT ride, we got FastPasses, then split up. Mom and I headed back to Soarin' to ride with our two sets of FPs (like I said, the others gave us theirs because they didn't care to ride again!), and Dad, Mike, and Kailyn headed for Mission: Space.

It was HOT waiting in line for Soarin' this time! Like uncomfortable so. It literally felt like the heat was on, and I was sweating. Not fun when you're inside. Anyway, we made it up to the loading area, and were directed into row one again...but this time, CENTER! We rode, got off, and hopped in the FP line again. We got the center again, but this time it was row three.

After Soarin', we went over to TT to meet everyone and use our FastPasses we got earlier. We had a bit of a wait because of a problem, but not super long.

After that ride, Mike left (he's not really an Epcot person), and the rest of us rode Living With the Land. I seriously love that ride, it's so relaxing. After that, I found the cart that sells cinnamon glazed pecans and got a pack. They're something I can't really find here so they are a very special treat for me. Kailyn and Dad decided to head back to Pop, but Mom and I wanted to stay since WS was now open. Dad was seriously amazed at how much we got done in such a short amount of time just by getting there early. If you were keeping track, we all rode Test Track three times, Mom and I rode Soarin' three times, we rode Living With the Land, and Dad, Mike, and Kailyn rode M:S (I think more than once.) I LOVE rope drop and I am so excited to do it at Epcot again!

Mom and I were now alone, in our favorite park, with WS and all it's wonderful shops open...so, next update, World Showcase!

[MeMom]

Just the thought of riding Soarin' right now makes me happy. Put me in the LOVE IT category. :)

Your Test Track picture is great! That will be down for our next two trips. It's one of Brooklynn's favorites, so she'll be momentarily disappointed. Jill wouldn't have been able to ride on this trip anyway, and I only ride it when it's the last ride of the evening because it messes up my hair so much. ;) It will be interesting to see what changes they make to it when it gets back in service.

[Poolrat]

Love the EPCOT update - Rope drop rocks!!!!

The PP picture is priceless. I wish I was there right now.

Watched the videos and love the end of Illuminations...

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

That's so cool that everyone got to ride in the first row on the first ride of the day!! I agree, Disney magic really is wonderful! :goodvibes

Your TT picture is awesome!!

[xoktenox]

Epcot is the only park we've never done RD at but wow...you guys got soooo much done!!!! I can't believe you rode Soarin' and TT 3 times a piece, that's amazing :thumbsup2

Getting to WS at close to when it opens is awesome! Can't wait to hear how it went!

P.S. is playoff hockey giving you severe anxiety like it's giving me?!?!?!?

[Megablocks]

Just the thought of riding Soarin' right now makes me happy. Put me in the LOVE IT category. :)

Your Test Track picture is great! That will be down for our next two trips. It's one of Brooklynn's favorites, so she'll be momentarily disappointed. Jill wouldn't have been able to ride on this trip anyway, and I only ride it when it's the last ride of the evening because it messes up my hair so much. ;) It will be interesting to see what changes they make to it when it gets back in service.

I knew you would appreciate getting to ride Soarin' a few times first thing in the morning. Best way to start the day!

Glad you like the TT picture. That's too bad it'll be down when you guys are there. :( And I know what you mean about it messing up your hair - I had my hair down for part of the morning, but I always carry a hair elastic or two so I can pull it back if it gets to be too much. Definitely had to after that last TT ride! :laughing:

Love the EPCOT update - Rope drop rocks!!!!

The PP picture is priceless. I wish I was there right now.

Watched the videos and love the end of Illuminations...

This was my dad's first time doing rope drop and he was seriously amazed at all we got to do in such a short amount of time. We'll definitely be doing more on the next trip!

Glad you like the picture; it's on display right next to my dad's picture as a jedi. :laughing: I also love the end of Illuminations. My mom and I forgot how awesome the entire show is. :cloud9:

That's so cool that everyone got to ride in the first row on the first ride of the day!! I agree, Disney magic really is wonderful! :goodvibes

Your TT picture is awesome!!

It was so cute how he moved people around to get everyone in the first row!

Thank you!! My dad reallyyyyy wanted to do that pose on ToT but Kailyn said she couldn't do it on there because she couldn't let go of whatever she was holding on to (me, usually), so we chose TT. She does have her eyes closed, though, because she hates the part when you're zooming towards the door. :rotfl:

Epcot is the only park we've never done RD at but wow...you guys got soooo much done!!!! I can't believe you rode Soarin' and TT 3 times a piece, that's amazing :thumbsup2

Getting to WS at close to when it opens is awesome! Can't wait to hear how it went!

P.S. is playoff hockey giving you severe anxiety like it's giving me?!?!?!?

You have to do rope drop at Epcot sometime, it was awesome to get all that done in such a short amount of time! Being there right when WS opened was awesome, too :)

Yessssss playoff hockey is driving me crazyyyy! We are also tied at 2 and it's very stressful! I'm just glad Vancouver is doing crappy. Even my cousin who lives in British Columbia is rooting for the LA Kings instead :rotfl:

[MeMom]

This was my dad's first time doing rope drop and he was seriously amazed at all we got to do in such a short amount of time. We'll definitely be doing more on the next trip!


You have to do rope drop at Epcot sometime, it was awesome to get all that done in such a short amount of time!

Just keep this a secret among our DIS friends. :ssst: We don't want the rest of the world to crowd up our nice mornings. ;)

[Tink9721]

Hi Meg! :wave2: I'm all caught up!

I really, really hope we go in January next year so I can see the Osborne Lights!

I love your SSE video and your Test Track picture :lmao:

Now that I've finally done rope drop at MK, I wanna try it at the other parks too. I almost made it at AK unintentionally :lmao: I think the park opened at 9:00 and we got into the park at like 9:03.

[Megablocks]

Just keep this a secret among our DIS friends. :ssst: We don't want the rest of the world to crowd up our nice mornings. ;)

We can complain and say how crowded the mornings are... :idea:

Hi Meg! :wave2: I'm all caught up!

I really, really hope we go in January next year so I can see the Osborne Lights!

I love your SSE video and your Test Track picture :lmao:

Now that I've finally done rope drop at MK, I wanna try it at the other parks too. I almost made it at AK unintentionally :lmao: I think the park opened at 9:00 and we got into the park at like 9:03.

I hope you get to see the Osborne Lights! They're seriously amazing. Seeing them in person and seeing them in pictures are sooooo different.

Glad you like them - Mike and I got such a kick out of our future. He isn't really an Epcot or SSE person so I was really glad he got to see the interactive part. :)

Unintentional rope drops were what we made, too, on previous trips! :rotfl:

[Megablocks]

Day 5 continued - Sunday, January 8

So when I left off, the guys and Kailyn had left Mom and I to explore Epcot. This is our absolute favorite park and we love going with each other, because we each like to poke around and take our time. WS had just opened, so it was probably around 11:30 at this point. We started in Canada, and made our way to France because we were hungry and not eating at Boma until 4:30. We shared a ham and cheese croissant, a lemon tart, and creme brulee. No pictures, but it was all reallyyyy good! The lemon tart was especially amazing.

We pretty much meandered around WS, taking pictures. We spent a LOT of time in Morocco. It's my mom's favorite pavilion, and my BFF spent two semesters there for a study abroad program, so I always want to take a bunch of pictures there. These are a mix of my pictures and my mom's.

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I loved seeing the Christmas tree!

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Not 100% sure where in WS I took this...but I wanted to get a picture of the weird bird. I also got a seagull! :rotfl:

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My mom and I love the lions. I got a pair a couple of days later.

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We seriously killed an entire afternoon just walking around WS. At some point, I had texted Mike to ask him to tell Kailyn to meet us at Epcot around 3:30-4:00 for Boma. Her phone at the time was having major issues with sending/receiving texts and even getting phone calls, and the guys had decided against coming to Boma. Since we still had some time to kill before Kailyn was meeting us, we decided to ride SSE. I think I mentioned that we had kind of a wait for TT at one time earlier in the day, because of some issue. It was kind of a sign of things to come, but we didn't realize it at the time. On SSE, we got stuck right in between the Egyptians and the Venetians, for several minutes. We saw people actually walking by with flashlights and I was kind of nervous we'd have to be escorted off. We got stuck in a crappy place, too - literally RIGHT in between scenes, so we couldn't see anything unless we leaned over to peer out, or turned around and craned our necks to look behind us. :laughing: We did get moving again, luckily - no escorting off the ride!

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Totally just realized "our" robot has a little mustache and bowtie. :lmao:

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Luckily, we are the types of people who allow for delays, so by the time we got off, Kailyn was waiting for us near the buses and said she had only been waiting a couple minutes. :)

Next update - Boma and Magic Kingdom!

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Isn't meandering around WS just wonderful?

That would have made for an interesting story, having to have been escorted off of Spaceship Earth!! I've always looked at those billions of stairs when you're going up or down into the ride, like "I'd hate to have to walk up or down all of those!" :laughing:

[MeMom]

We can complain and say how crowded the mornings are... :idea:



Yes, that is exactly what we will do! ::yes::





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American White Ibis, I'm pretty sure.



We've been stuck on Spaceship Earth probably 3 or 4 times - enough that we don't go on it if we have any time constraints at all. I'm sure most of the time it gets going pretty quickly, but once we were stuck for what seemed like quite some time.

Looking forward to Boma and AKL pictures!

[IheartDDuck]

WS is my favorite place to wander around and waste time. There are so many things to see and you never feel bored.

I would love to be escorted off of Spaceship Earth! I'm just a weirdo though. :lmao:

[photographymom517]

I am so glad I finally figured out how to share them! I'm weird and didn't want just anyone to be able to find my videos, so I am glad there's an option for people like me to be able to share them without them being searchable :thumbsup2

HOW do I do this?! You have to email me & let me know. I really want to share my videos of the kids with you (and some Disney videos on the DIS!) but I don't want a bunch of random creepers from online to see them! :laughing:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now onto your updates!

How exciting to make it to Epcot before RD!!! :thumbsup2

I STILL haven't made it to a single rope drop but maybe next trip! We saw a partial rope drop at WS when they first opened, but I'm not sure that counts! It's nothing like a park opening with the characters & the music/show, but it was really neat to see the CM's from France all standing in a row with their country's flags!!!

I can't believe how much you got done in just a couple hours! That is really motivation to try to make it to RD!!!

You already know this but we LOVE Epcot!!! Your pictures from Morocco are so beautiful!

I always take pics of those birds too! There are so many of them wondering around the grassy areas near WS!!!

I know I had more to say but I am so exhausted! I will come back this weekend, reread your updates and post again! :thumbsup2

[flyergrad09]

Hi! I'm late in joining this, but I'm really enjoying your TR!

The only time I got stuck on SSE it was between scenes too. So boring. :rolleyes2

I love the Morocco pavilion! I also had a friend who did a study abroad there, but she's not much of a WDW person, so I'm planning on taking lots of pictures so she can see how much it's like the real place.

I saw that you completed your practicum... yay! I completed mine a couple of weeks ago too. What are you getting your degree in? Mine's a Master of Library & Information Science. I definitely know what you mean about being sad/relieved when your practicum ends... I loved my library site, but I'm really enjoying the extra free time now too.

[Megablocks]

Isn't meandering around WS just wonderful?

That would have made for an interesting story, having to have been escorted off of Spaceship Earth!! I've always looked at those billions of stairs when you're going up or down into the ride, like "I'd hate to have to walk up or down all of those!" :laughing:

I love just meandering around WS! My dad and Mike don't really care for Epcot, and Kailyn can take or leave WS...she likes it, but can't spend an entire afternoon just wandering like my mom and I can. Just walking around there is one of my very favorite things to do in Disney!

Right?! It would have made for fantastic TR fodder, and it would have been cool to say, "why yes, I was escorted off SSE..." but I think if I had to walk past the audio-animatronics, I would lose it. I don't mind them when I'm safely inside the vehicle, but they're soooo lifelike I'd be afraid walking by them! I'm one of those people who really dislikes/is afraid of dolls, mannequins, etc. :laughing:

Yes, that is exactly what we will do! ::yes::





American White Ibis, I'm pretty sure.



We've been stuck on Spaceship Earth probably 3 or 4 times - enough that we don't go on it if we have any time constraints at all. I'm sure most of the time it gets going pretty quickly, but once we were stuck for what seemed like quite some time.

Looking forward to Boma and AKL pictures!

We've gotten stuck for a couple minutes at a time before, but this time we were stuck for several minutes. It was really weird. I'm pretty sure we were trying to figure out what was going on, especially after we saw people with flashlights walking past. Definitely never saw that before!

Ummm...I actually did not take any pictures of either, unfortunately :( I was kind of only partly planning on writing a TR so I didn't take as many pictures as I usually do. Took notes, but not a lot of pictures, oddly enough.

WS is my favorite place to wander around and waste time. There are so many things to see and you never feel bored.

I would love to be escorted off of Spaceship Earth! I'm just a weirdo though. :lmao:

Same! I love how there's so much to see. In real life, I am not much of a shopper, but I love looking in all the WS shops.

:rotfl: Part of me was kind of like, "being escorted off would be kinda cool, not everyone can say they've been escorted off SSE!"...but seriously, if I had to walk by the audio-animatronics, it would freak me out. :laughing:

[Megablocks]

HOW do I do this?! You have to email me & let me know. I really want to share my videos of the kids with you (and some Disney videos on the DIS!) but I don't want a bunch of random creepers from online to see them! :laughing:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now onto your updates!

How exciting to make it to Epcot before RD!!! :thumbsup2

I STILL haven't made it to a single rope drop but maybe next trip! We saw a partial rope drop at WS when they first opened, but I'm not sure that counts! It's nothing like a park opening with the characters & the music/show, but it was really neat to see the CM's from France all standing in a row with their country's flags!!!

I can't believe how much you got done in just a couple hours! That is really motivation to try to make it to RD!!!

You already know this but we LOVE Epcot!!! Your pictures from Morocco are so beautiful!

I always take pics of those birds too! There are so many of them wondering around the grassy areas near WS!!!

I know I had more to say but I am so exhausted! I will come back this weekend, reread your updates and post again! :thumbsup2

Okay, let's see if I can explain the YouTube thing. First, log in to your account, then go to your username in the top right corner. Select "video manager" from the drop-down menu. All your uploads should show up. To the left of each one should be a little box. You can click in the box so a check mark shows up. Up at the top, hit "actions," then select "unlisted" from the drop-down menu. Something should come up and say that all the selected videos were now changed to unlisted. That way, the only way for anyone else to view it is if they have the direct link :thumbsup2 I hope that works for you, if not, text me or something and I'll try and help!

I know you share the WS love with me :thumbsup2 I would love to be there at the same time as you so we could poke around there together! The rope drop was awesome, we got SO much done. Even my dad and Mike were really impressed. Mike was also impressed the day before, with all we got done at MK. Definitely must-dos from now on!

I always get such a kick out of the weird Florida birds! There's actually hawks around here now, which is probably the most unusual bird I've ever seen around here. We have bluejays, seagulls, the occasional cardinal, I think robins, and of course sparrows and pigeons (not as many pigeons as we used to :confused3) but hawks are now around here. We also have the odd wild turkey, which frankly just confuses me, because we're a city. :laughing:

Hi! I'm late in joining this, but I'm really enjoying your TR!

The only time I got stuck on SSE it was between scenes too. So boring. :rolleyes2

I love the Morocco pavilion! I also had a friend who did a study abroad there, but she's not much of a WDW person, so I'm planning on taking lots of pictures so she can see how much it's like the real place.

I saw that you completed your practicum... yay! I completed mine a couple of weeks ago too. What are you getting your degree in? Mine's a Master of Library & Information Science. I definitely know what you mean about being sad/relieved when your practicum ends... I loved my library site, but I'm really enjoying the extra free time now too.

:welcome: Thanks for joining, I love new readers!

Yeah...my best friend is not really a WDW person. :laughing: I do always take pictures of Morocco with her in mind, just so I can show her how similar they really are.

Congratulations on being done with your practicum, too! I'm getting my associate's in early childhood development. I'm really lucky and get to sub at my site and will be working there over the summer, but before I knew that, it was sooo hard to leave. I am so glad to be done with the class, though...it's such a relief!

[Megablocks]

Day 5 continued - Sunday, January 8th

When I last left off, Mom, Kailyn and I were all heading to Boma. This was my request, since I loved it the last time we ate there, and I was really excited to go back. We caught a bus to AKL pretty quickly. When we arrived, we got off at the wrong stop, quickly realized our mistake, and got back on. Yeah, rookie mistake. When we were driving in, all I could think was that I didn't think I could ever stay deluxe...I am SO directionally challenged and the size of some of the deluxe resorts just overwhelms me.

I unfortunately didn't get any pictures from AKL, or our meal, so I'll try to keep this part short. We arrived at 4:12 for our 4:30 ADR, but were asked to check in in three minutes. We checked in three minutes, got our buzzer, and were called at 4:35 and led to a nice, small table in the corner, but still close to the buffet. I can't remember what exactly Kailyn got, but once she found stuff she liked, she stuck with that. Mom got some chicken corn chowder that she LOVED. I had the steak (went up several times for that), sausage and lentil soup, bobotie, peanut soup, white bean hummus, olive tapende, and pita bread. The only things I didn't really care for were the bobotie, and the peanut soup. I love peanuts and the soup was, of course, very peanut-y, but the spices or the seasoning in it just threw me off. Everything else was delicious, of course.

For dessert, I had caramel cheesecake, two zebra domes, banana butterscotch bread pudding with vanilla sauce, chocolate cinnamon mousse, a coffee tart, and a peanut butter thing (I obviously couldn't remember exactly what it was called because my notes literally say "peanut butter thingy.") I don't think I cared too much for the coffee tart. I LOVE the bread pudding with the sauce, and the zebra domes. Overall it was a fantastic meal!

We waddled contentedly out of Boma, checked out the gift shop, and caught a bus back to Epcot so we could get a bus back to Pop. We saw a Pop bus there while we were still on the other bus, but we waited just over five minutes for another bus. (Foreshadowing alert: this was pretty much the end of our awesome bus luck.) We arrived back at Pop a little after six, relaxed for about an hour, then headed to MK for EMH 8-11 and Wishes at 8. We arrived around 7:45 and by the time we made it in, it was the end of the Magic, The Memories, and You show, and Main Street was PACKED! We made our way up as far as we could, then just stayed on Main Street for the fireworks. My mom got some pictures while I tried to video the end of it. It was my first time seeing it from Main Street, and WOW.

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I hate the sound of my voice, especially in this video (I was crying haha) but it shows the finale of the show, with the castle lights. If you don't want it spoiled...don't watch! Also I apologize for the weird angle, and the shakiness...I was holding my phone up and down and not sideways, plus I was watching over the phone and not through the screen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GG9qsr6YhQ

I realized my dad said something about a Mickey balloon going by...pretty sure someone lost it and it was just floating away.

After Wishes, we headed to Liberty Square to see what the wait was for HM. It was pretty short, so we hopped in line. There was a full moon this night so Mom got a really cool pictures of it through the trees at HM.

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Remember how mom and I got stuck on SSE? Well, we got stuck on Haunted Mansion, right before the hitchhiking ghosts...and then the effect didn't work. :sad:

BTMRR was closing the next day for the refurb, so we headed over there to see how the long wait was. The time posted was 20 minutes, but the line was all the way past the entrance, so we just decided to skip it. Mom, Kailyn and I then headed over to Splash Mountain. I wore my hoodie and didn't get too wet, but Kailyn got drenched! We also got stuck three times on THAT.

We went over to PotC, and waited like ten minutes. Got stuck on THAT a couple of times, mostly due to boat backup. We checked out the shop after, and started heading towards the castle. I was definitely really tired and knew I wouldn't make it till eleven, so I decided to head back to Pop. On the way out, though, some window displays caught my attention.

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Mickey's Christmas Carol! :hyper: I freely admit that this one of my all-time favorite movies. It came out when I was pretty little and I remember watching it ALL the time. I still love to watch it repeatedly around Christmas.

This part always freaked me out when I was little.

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This part still makes me cry...

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I finally left after checking out the displays, and began the loooooong trek to the Pop bus stop. As I was walking, I saw one queue that was COMPLETELY filled. I mean, weaving all the way around and the line was going down far past the entrance of the queue. As I got closer, I realized...

THAT'S THE POP CENTURY QUEUE.

:scared1:

I've honestly never seen the queue that bad before. I texted Mom at some point to let her know the situation, just so they wouldn't get a nasty surprise if it wasn't fixed by the time they left (from the looks of it, it wouldn't be, and no, it wasn't; it took them almost as long as me to get back.) From the time I arrived at the bus stop, to the time I got back to Pop, was an hour. I made it on to the fourth bus, and I was NEVER so happy to get on a bus in my life. What was funny was that even though the bus ride was incredibly quiet, "Sweet Caroline" started playing on the way back. When it got the "Sweeeeeet Caroline" (bah bah bahhh) some people quietly sang, "bah bah bahhh..." and then when it got to, "good times never seemed so good"...you heard, "so good, so good, so good!" It was AWESOME!

I was so grateful to have a preferred room tonight. I got back to the room, changed, shut the connecting door, and fell asleep really quickly.

Next update: a nice lazy morning!

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Boo for your good bus karma ending!!! That Pop line sounds crazy!! :scared1:

I thought your Wishes video was great!!! I definitely could never hold the camera that steady! One of these days, I really do have to watch it from Main Street, I know!

[flyergrad09]

Geeze, it's like all of the rides just gave up after the Christmas crowds left! You have some seriously bad luck with rides. :worried:

Mickey's Christmas Carol used to scare me so much when I was little! Those window displays are beautiful, but I'll be honest, the grave one kinda got my heart going.

[Megablocks]

Boo for your good bus karma ending!!! That Pop line sounds crazy!! :scared1:

I thought your Wishes video was great!!! I definitely could never hold the camera that steady! One of these days, I really do have to watch it from Main Street, I know!

It was insane! I don't think it ever went down, either. I'm pretty sure it was just as long as when my bus (the fourth one!) pulled away, and my parents and Kailyn had the same problem. I've never seen it like that before.

Awww thank you! And yes, definitely watch Wishes from Main Street. We've seen it from the side of the castle, but seeing it from Main Street was SO different, and amazing. It gets me anyway, but seeing it from Main Street REALLY got me!

Geeze, it's like all of the rides just gave up after the Christmas crowds left! You have some seriously bad luck with rides. :worried:

Mickey's Christmas Carol used to scare me so much when I was little! Those window displays are beautiful, but I'll be honest, the grave one kinda got my heart going.

It was so weird! We've gotten stuck on rides, of course, but never THAT often. I remember one of the times we rode HM, I was telling my sister that my friend got stuck in the bride's attic and how jealous I was. I wish I could remember if that conversation took part when we got stuck. I do remember being kind of unhappy we were not stuck in the bride's attic. :laughing:

Oh, good, I'm glad I'm not the only one. The grave one definitely was the scariest part for me. I STILL get nervous watching it! Also, another part in a Disney movie that used to scare me..."Poor Unfortunate Souls." I heard the song on DIS radio and it actually kind of freaked me out, because that part reallyyyy freaked me out when I was little. I love creepy movies now though. :confused3

[Megablocks]

I can't believe it's been so long since I updated...I hate the end of the school year! But, I am done with school till my online class starts up at the beginning of June. This report is wrapping up, too...I only have this day, the next day, and departure day to get through. I'm REALLY hoping to start planning another trip soon so I can do a PTR this time around.

Day 6 - Monday, January 9

This was the day before our last full day. I hate this day almost as much as the last full day. It also ended up being a sleep-in day, since we'd gotten up pretty early the last few days. We slept in and headed out around 11. Dad and Mike were heading to Animal Kingdom, and Mom, Kailyn and I decided to head to DTD. When we got there, we hit Tren-D, then Art of Disney, then World of Disney. I didn't really take any shopping pictures (sorry!) I LOVE Art of Disney and wish I could just buy out the store! I also love WoD even though its size is completely overwhelming for me. I bought something for Katie DisKate there, along with some Vinylmations. I got sucked in on our 2010 trip and had NO IDEA they had expanded to tiny Vinylmation keychains, so I had to get one of those for myself. THEN, I saw them...STAR WARS VINYLMATIONS! I'm not a big Star Wars person, but DBF, Charles, is, and also LOVES blind boxes, so I grabbed one for him. I'm pretty sure Kailyn got one for herself, and my mom grabbed one for Mike and maybe Dad. Mike was really happy and ended up buying some more for himself! My keychain Vinylmation was a tiny tiger, from IASW. :cutie:

I took this picture, sent it to Facebook, and tagged both Charles and Katie in it...because I'm bad.

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After shopping, we headed to

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I didn't really know about EoS till I joined the Disboards, and I am SO glad I learned of it. Each time I've been there, I've gotten the Hawaiian BBQ sandwich, but this time I deviated and went with the Italian (all descriptions are courtesy of allears.net.) The Italian was roasted ham, salami, capicola, mortadella, mozzarella cheese, roma tomato, and zesty italian dressing, and it was DELICIOUS! I was not disappointed to have strayed from the Hawaiian BBQ. Kailyn got the BLT (pretty self-explanatory), and Mom got the veggie (feta cheese, lettuce, roma tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, roasted red peppers, and mediterrean dressing.) We were all very happy with our choices.

Since I feel the only safe way to enter Goofy's Candy's Co. is when you're completely stuffed, we headed there for treats. Each of us got a rice crispy treat. Mine was dipped in dark chocolate, covered in crushed Oreo cookie crumbs, and drizzled with white chocolate. Mom's was dipped in white chocolate, covered with dark and white chocolate chips, and drizzled in white chocolate. Kailyn's was dipped in white chocolate, covered in rainbow sprinkles, and drizzled with white chocolate. I didn't get a picture of Mom's or Kailyn's, but this was my masterpiece

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I could definitely go for one right now!

While we were waiting, Kailyn and I were playing with the mirrors and laughing at ourselves

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After Goofy's, it was around 1:30, and we decided to head back to Pop. The guys came back from AK, and we hung out for a little while before heading to DHS around 3.

Next update: DHS and Epcot and IS THAT REALLY THE LINE FOR THE BUS?

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Agreed that the only safe time to enter Goofy's Candy Co. is when you're full! :laughing: That rice krispy treat looks great!

[IheartDDuck]

I agree that the day before the last day kind of sucks. It's because you're trying to get the day to last as long as possible, but at the same time, you're thinking about the fact that you'll be leaving soon.

Vinyl's are so addicting! You just get sucked in. And the Star Wars ones? Don't even get me started! I have almost every single one.

[MeMom]

I'm REALLY hoping to start planning another trip soon so I can do a PTR this time around.

When the last day is finished on a trip report, there are only two things that can make life better -

planning a new trip.....

or

leaving for one! :thumbsup2







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It's a mystery!


I have had maybe 5 different kinds of Earl sandwiches, and all of them have been so good! :)

Goofy's is a fun place to pick up souvenirs, too. Nobody ever turns down candy, and they have some cute tins and other things that can be kept after the candy is gone.

[Megablocks]

Agreed that the only safe time to enter Goofy's Candy Co. is when you're full! :laughing: That rice krispy treat looks great!

It was sooooo good! I'm not sure I can legitimately say it's my favorite Goofy's Candy Co. treat because it's really the only one I've ever had, but I really love it. My mom and Kailyn only kind of picked at theirs when we got back to the rooms, but not long after I took that picture, mine was gone!

I agree that the day before the last day kind of sucks. It's because you're trying to get the day to last as long as possible, but at the same time, you're thinking about the fact that you'll be leaving soon.

Vinyl's are so addicting! You just get sucked in. And the Star Wars ones? Don't even get me started! I have almost every single one.

That's exactly it. I also definitely kept on thinking how at that time the week before, I'd been so excited to get going. :(

They are ridiculously addicting! I actually got a Star Wars one for my boyfriend's brother, too, and he thought it was awesome. They're not really Disney people (they've never been!), but they both loved the Star Wars ones, and my boyfriend desperately wants more. :laughing:

When the last day is finished on a trip report, there are only two things that can make life better -

planning a new trip.....

or

leaving for one! :thumbsup2







It's a mystery!


I have had maybe 5 different kinds of Earl sandwiches, and all of them have been so good! :)

Goofy's is a fun place to pick up souvenirs, too. Nobody ever turns down candy, and they have some cute tins and other things that can be kept after the candy is gone.

I really want to start planning another trip soon!! I'm going down the Cape for a week in August with Charles's family, including his aunt and uncle, and staying in a nice rented house right near the beach, but I need a Disney trip in the works, too!

I actually had to get the Italian sandwich again...I loved it! There is allegedly an EoS opening in Boston. There's one somewhere in Logan Airport, and there's supposed to be one opening in the area of the Boston Commons. The Commons, however, are HUGE, so I'm not sure exactly where it's supposed to go. I do keep an eye out every time I'm in that area, though. :laughing:

[flyergrad09]

Mmm... I love Earl of Sandwich! I wish there was one closer to me, but I think the closest one is 2 hours away. Closer than Downtown Disney, but still pretty far!

I've never been in Goofy's Candy Co., but I think I may need to in the future to get my hands on one of those rice crispy treats! YUM!

[Megablocks]

Mmm... I love Earl of Sandwich! I wish there was one closer to me, but I think the closest one is 2 hours away. Closer than Downtown Disney, but still pretty far!

I've never been in Goofy's Candy Co., but I think I may need to in the future to get my hands on one of those rice crispy treats! YUM!

Hey! Are you back from your trip? How was it?

Logan Airport is absolutely HUGE, so I would not be able to find my way to the EoS, even if it wasn't past a gate. I really, really hope this one opens in the Boston Commons!

The rice crispy treats are soooo good. They don't get stale and gross quickly, either :)

[therussells08]

Hi there! :wave2: I'm late, but I'm joining in!

I can't wait to read about your trip! I'm going to try to catch up on everything today!

[Megablocks]

Hi there! :wave2: I'm late, but I'm joining in!

I can't wait to read about your trip! I'm going to try to catch up on everything today!

:welcome: Yay, thanks for joining! Hopefully there'll be a PTR for you to join, too, at some point :thumbsup2

[Megablocks]

Day 6 continued - Monday, January 9

When I left off, Mom, Kailyn, and I had been to DTD and came back to Pop just to hang out and wait for the guys. They came back not long after us, and we headed back out around 3 for DHS. A bus was waiting when we got to the bus stop, so we hopped on and made it to DHS around 3:20.

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We really, really wanted to see Lights, Motor, Action at 4:15, and some of us wanted to ride Tower of Terror. The FP return time was 4:10-5:10 at this point, and there was only a twenty minute wait posted, so Dad, Mike, and I got FP's and jumped in line. After that, we trekked allllllll the way to Streets of America. I know DHS isn't that big a park, but the walk felt LONG! We got there right at 4:15. I unfortunately didn't take any pictures because I really just wanted to enjoy the show. It's definitely a must-do for us, especially for my dad, who LOVES cars and any kind of car-chase movies.

After LMA, Mike, Dad, and Kailyn got Star Tours FP's. They seriously could not get enough of this ride. We headed BACK to ToT so Dad, Mike, and I could use our Fastpasses, and Kailyn and Mom decided to look around the shops. On the way, we passed the plumber/public works guys!! I was SO bummed we couldn't stop and watch them (our Fastpasses were about to expire), so I called Mom and told her that they were out, and our favorite, Frederick, was there, too!

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Dad, Mike, and I reached ToT and walked right into the library. We dropped a ton of times. I wish I'd been able to redneck this photo, because it was hilarious...we were all posing. I forget how Dad and Mike posed, but since I was wearing my "keep calm and carry on" shirt, I grabbed two handfuls of my hair and tried to look as crazy as I could. It'll have to be repeated on a future trip. :rotfl:

After ToT, it was about time for the Star Tours Fastpasses, so Dad, Mike, and Kailyn headed there, and Mom and I decided to head back to Pop. We stopped at the Planet Hollywood gift shop, because I have this problem with hoodies. I absolutely LOVE hoodies and always feel like I never have enough. I especially love them from specific places. One of my favorites is this one that I got in North Conway, New Hampshire. If I didn't live less than ten miles from Boston, I'd totally have a Boston hoodie. So even though we didn't eat at PH, I wanted to check out the hoodies. I saw one I REALLY liked, then almost choked because it was like $65!! Nope, sorry, don't like you that much. So, we finally headed out.

All of these were actually taken on the way IN...but since this was a pretty poor picture update, here you go!

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When Mom and I got back to Pop, we grabbed some food from the food court, and checked out Everything Pop. I was taking pictures of various things and texting them to my friend Amy from home. She's the only person outside the DIS who understands my Disney obsession, and when I asked her if I could pick anything up for her, she said, "anything pink. Or princess. You know." I found her the PERFECT keychain...it had this huge pink (fake) jeweled ring, a little pendant that said "princess," and basically just screamed Amy. Actually, when I showed it to Kailyn later, she asked, "is that for Amy? That's so Amy." :lmao:

I also decided on this trip that I reallyyyy wanted a hair wrap...my hair was not crazy long on this trip, so I knew it wouldn't cost me too much. So when Mom was at the room, I got it done. I had it done kind of underneath all my hair, so if I wore my hair down, all you could really see were the beads at the ends, so I unfortunately didn't get any pictures of it. It was navy blue and lime green and had some cute matching beads, and it lasted FOREVER! I actually ended up cutting it out after two months. Kailyn got hers done the night after I did, and she STILL has hers in.

When I got back to the room, Dad, Mike, and Kailyn were back. Mom and I headed to Epcot, and the rest headed back to DHS for nighttime EMH.

[Megablocks]

The Epcot bus was waiting, so we got right on. We rode SSE, of course, where I literally cannot look normal for the picture. It just doesn't happen.

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After that, we headed to WS to look for a spot to watch Illuminations. We found a spot right between Africa and Germany (where else besides Disney World can you say that?), and waited for the crowds to thin out after it was done before we decided to leave. We took our time, looked around some stores, and took a bunch of pictures. Actually, the ones of the temple might have been taken on the way in. I'm not even sure.

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I loved the poinsettias making a Mickey head!

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When we got to the bus stop, the line for the bus was MK the night before ALL OVER AGAIN. The line was all the way back to the entrance of the queue, past some other stops. UGH! We made the third bus, which was uncrowded, so we could sit.

When we got back to Pop, the others were back, and had made Charles a blue lightsaber as a thank you for taking care of our animals. We went to bed shortly after.

Next update: the last full day. :sad:

[MeMom]

I loved the poinsettias making a Mickey head!

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This is where I was taking pictures when the CM asked me if I was lost! :laughing:

I wasn't lost at all - just taking a picture of a flowery Mickey head. :thumbsup2

Maybe a new hoodie could be a birthday or Christmas present from a family member one of these days. Yoy could always drop a hint or two. ;)

[IheartDDuck]

Hahaha, I love your picture on SSE. I can never make a normal face either when I know I'm on camera. It almost becomes a thing. :lmao:

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Hahaha I think I'm giving up on making a normal face on SSE...I never come out looking normal anyways!! :laughing:

[Mndisneygirl]

I would have loved to see that TOT picture! :lmao:

I think Epcot, particularly SSE at night is so pretty! I always take a lot of pictures.

[Tink9721]

All caught up!!! :cool1:

Not 100% sure where in WS I took this...but I wanted to get a picture of the weird bird. I also got a seagull! :rotfl:

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I remembering seeing that picture on facebook and laughing at the seagull :rotfl::lmao::rotfl2: It has the best look on its face!

On SSE, we got stuck right in between the Egyptians and the Venetians, for several minutes. We saw people actually walking by with flashlights and I was kind of nervous we'd have to be escorted off. We got stuck in a crappy place, too - literally RIGHT in between scenes, so we couldn't see anything unless we leaned over to peer out, or turned around and craned our necks to look behind us. :laughing: We did get moving again, luckily - no escorting off the ride!

We get stuck on SSE a lot too. I think it's usually when they're loading a handicapped person, but not when people with flashlights are walking around! We got stuck in between scenes once in March, and another time that trip we got stuck in the Renaissance. I remember wanting to text you to say "I'm currently stuck in the Renaissance" but I don't think I had a signal :laughing:

What was funny was that even though the bus ride was incredibly quiet, "Sweet Caroline" started playing on the way back. When it got the "Sweeeeeet Caroline" (bah bah bahhh) some people quietly sang, "bah bah bahhh..." and then when it got to, "good times never seemed so good"...you heard, "so good, so good, so good!" It was AWESOME!

That's awesome :rotfl:

[Megablocks]

This is where I was taking pictures when the CM asked me if I was lost! :laughing:

I wasn't lost at all - just taking a picture of a flowery Mickey head. :thumbsup2

Maybe a new hoodie could be a birthday or Christmas present from a family member one of these days. Yoy could always drop a hint or two. ;)

I remember that update in your report! So funny they asked if you were lost, doesn't everyone take pictures of poinsettias making a Mickey head? :)

Yes, it could be! I'm weird, though; I'm sooooo picky. I don't care for pullovers, it has to be a zip-up. I've been on the lookout for a cute Disney zip-up!

Hahaha, I love your picture on SSE. I can never make a normal face either when I know I'm on camera. It almost becomes a thing. :lmao:

It is such a thing for me!! For my entire family, actually. We actually discuss before the trip or in line how we're going to pose. :lmao:

Hahaha I think I'm giving up on making a normal face on SSE...I never come out looking normal anyways!! :laughing:

hahaha, my head was not terribly cut off this time, but I definitely had the same problem as you! I've definitely given up looking normal on SSE. I tend to forget till after we exit that the pictures all end up in the exit area, but hey, I'll never see these people again! :rotfl:

[Megablocks]

I would have loved to see that TOT picture! :lmao:

I think Epcot, particularly SSE at night is so pretty! I always take a lot of pictures.

I am so bummed I didn't get to redneck it!! It was probably one of the best pose ideas we ever had! :rotfl:

I loveeeee Epcot, especially at night. I have SO many Epcot/palm tree pictures because I just cannot get enough of it!

All caught up!!! :cool1:

:banana: Yay!

I remembering seeing that picture on facebook and laughing at the seagull :rotfl::lmao::rotfl2: It has the best look on its face!

Oh my gosh, I could not WAIT to be able to upload all my pictures to Facebook! That was definitely one that I was like, "I can't wait to show this to people!" :rotfl:

We get stuck on SSE a lot too. I think it's usually when they're loading a handicapped person, but not when people with flashlights are walking around! We got stuck in between scenes once in March, and another time that trip we got stuck in the Renaissance. I remember wanting to text you to say "I'm currently stuck in the Renaissance" but I don't think I had a signal :laughing:

I think we initially thought it was that they were loading a handicapped person. Then, the longer we were sitting there, the more we were like "well...maybe not." When the people with the flashlights started coming by, we were soooo curious as to what it was! Not going to lie...since I've read all the Kingdom Keeper books, I kept relating it to the books. :upsidedow

I would have DIED at that text!!! And of course brought it up to Charles. "Guess where Christine is right now? Stuck in the Renaissance." :lmao:

That's awesome :rotfl:

I knew you'd appreciate the "Sweet Caroline" singing. :) I'm pretty sure I wanted to text you, but it was late, I was super tired, and I was standing up on a dark bus...I didn't want to take out my brightly lit phone and tip over or something. :laughing: