Mom, my hands smell-A first timer's TR-Completed 4/12

Thanks for your TR. I've been enjoying it. Gave it 5 stars.
And I even told your accommodations story to DH. I told him we may be staying in the worst resort at Disney (some bad recent reviews), but it could be worse!

It's nice to know that this has, ummm, warned some people and make others look on the brighter sides of things. It gets even worse in the last update (but that's so very far away). Thanks for reading! I hope you have a great time at Disney, no matter the hotel.

That's a long update!!

The train station near SM is rather well hidden but it gives one a better feeling of accomplishment when you do find it.:yay: . Nice profile on the train buy the way:thumbsup2 . Grumpy looks a bit more like Happy & Sleepy looks like she's glad to get off her feet for a while.

Roy Disney had his picture taken with me too once he found out that we share the same first name. We just couldn't keep Minnie from jumping into the picture.

Your Princess pose is adorable. I don't think Grumpy would look as good as you do with that crown on but that would have been a priceless picture.

The "Mystery of The Smelly Hands" revealed at last!!!!! I must say it was somewhat of a let down however. I was hoping for a much more dramatic story, preferably at night with a full moon, a chill wind out of the North and a harrowing howl that seemed too close for comfort. At least I now know to stay away from CMs in Tomorrow Land.

Alice is one of my favorites too. She's one of the too few Disney Heroines that's not a Princess.

I really hate the "departed the park" ending:sad2: but we all have to get back to the real world or the Magic wouldn't be the same the next time.

Bye for now.

I would pay to see Grumpy in a princess crown. Well, the smelly hands part was funny at the time and it served for a good line for the TR. The CM was really creepy but he was just trying to have some fun. The departing the park is not for the rest of the day. I forgot to post the coming up part (in a rush to get out of the house), but we were on our way to DTD.
 
Hey, guys. Sorry I haven't been posting. I've been loaded down with homework from the moment I started school back up just a little under 2 weeks ago. I've only been online twice and I'm cheating right now because I had to e-mail something for one of my classes. I swear I will have an update up once things slow down a tad. Hopefully in a week or so. Maybe this weekend if I'm lucky. Don't leave!
 


Hey, guys. Sorry I haven't been posting. I've been loaded down with homework from the moment I started school back up just a little under 2 weeks ago. I've only been online twice and I'm cheating right now because I had to e-mail something for one of my classes. I swear I will have an update up once things slow down a tad. Hopefully in a week or so. Maybe this weekend if I'm lucky. Don't leave!

Never fear, take your time & I'll be watching for you.

We have too much time invested to quit now.
 
Wednesday, July 16, 2008

When I last left you, we were just departing the Magic Kingdom in order to go see some more fun. Our destination--Downtown Disney.

We decided, instead of going back to the TTC and trying to drive to DTD on our own in the rain, we just headed over to the resort busses (yes, we abused the Disney system). Where to go…where to go? Hmmm… We thought about heading to POP (Grumpy said that it would make for some cool pictures) but as soon as I saw the sign for Caribbean Beach Resort, I pulled Grumpy and Sleepy along to the stop. They’d stayed there on their anniversary back in 2002. We were in luck—the bus arrived just as we got in line. Woo-hoo!

And we were off to CBR! The bus ride was nice—I could get used to this.

There was only two other families on there with us, one at the front of the bus and the other right across from me. The families (there were actually two, but the mom’s were sisters) had the cutest little kids. They had a three or four year old who apparently was very hungry because she ate about six Fruit Roll-Ups. And the boy had a meltdown about ripping his map (it’s funny the peculiar things you remember half a year later). We got off at the first stop—Martinique.

Grumpy and Sleepy were happy to be back.

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Come on, say it with me…eeeeeewwwwww…

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A few Disney busses came for the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and Animal Kingdom… Not ours.

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So we took some pictures of the signs (sorry it’s sideways).

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Then some more busses—Blizzard Beach, two for Magic Kingdom, another EPCOT, and one in training.

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Lalalala…. Oh, more busses. Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, EPCOT, Magic Kingdom, Training, Hollywood Studios, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios (not necessarily in that order).

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By this time, a few other families had showed up, three of whom were heading to DTD. One family with little girls had the last reservation of the day at Bibbity Bobbidy Boutique and another had reservations at some restaurant and hoped to get into the Adventurer’s Club that night (may it rest in peace, the announcement for the closing had come the day before…very few at Disney knew:sad: ). I forget where the other family had headed to. Finally, someone called the front desk to make sure that a bus was on it’s way pronto because everyone had been there for at least 20 minutes (we’d been there for 45). And soon enough, one very crowded Downtown Disney bus was there. We crowded onto the bus—standing room only and were finally off. Of course, what we failed to realize was there were, what, seven more stops before heading to DTD.

We got off the hot bus at the Marketplace (of course, we didn’t really know the difference was at this time).

Ta-da!

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Our first stop was the Scrapbooking/ Art store (I know it has a name but I don’t have the receipts on me). We considered some cool scrapbooking supplies and I picked up a bunch of postcards so I could send them off the next day. The line in the scrapbook store was huge, so I was smart and went to the connected art store and didn’t have to wait at all.

Next stop…Goofy’s Candy Co. This was a pretty cool store. We picked up some Mickey head pretzels and candy bars for some of the folks back home then I got chocolate covered marshmallows on a straw (yum) and the last pink hot chocolate for one of my teachers. While Sleepy and I did this, Grumpy went to go check the wait for the Rainforest Café. Two and a half hours. No thank you.

After escaping the store, we went to Once Upon a Toy (I think…) and I met one of my friends.

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Nothing we really wanted so we headed to the poor excuse for a discount store in the back. Does Disney think that just because some people like deal hunting we should be stuck in a humid, claustrophobic room with only one fan twisting around slowly? Needless to say, we got out of there soon. Then Sleepy met some of her friends.

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We were all a bit hungry, so we headed over to Wolfgang & Pucks Express. The line was out the door but we joined it anyway. It only took a little while to get to the front. I don’t remember what everyone else ordered, but I know I got the four cheese macaroni. It took a while to get our food but it was amazing. And no, I’m a bad DISer…no pictures.

When we finished, we headed out and were flagged down by one of those eager questionnaire people. This guy was probably about 20 or 25 and looked like a grown, overeager Boy Scout. Grumpy decided to accept his offer of taking a survey.

“How would you describe your experience at Walt Disney World? Excellent, Very Good, Good, Pleasant, or Unpleasant?”

“Almost excellent.”

“And how about your experience at Downtown Disney?”

“Good.”

“And your meal?”

“Very good.”

“Your overall Disney experience?”

“Very good.”

“Now lets go onto your accommodations. How would you best describe them…?”

“Dump!”

This was Sleepy. She spoke before he gave us options and Grumpy, Sleepy, and I all busted our guts. The overgrown Boy Scout just looked at us with that Disney smile plastered on his face until we had finished. It took us a while.

“Would they be best described as Apartment, Condo, Deluxe, Moderate, Hotel, or Motel?”

“Uh…motel.”

Up Next: RUN!
 
Good to hear from you again.

OK on CBR, we stayed there 4 yrs. ago and the bus service sounds familiar. I thought it, like a few other resorts, SSR, CSR to name a few, was a little too spread out. If you got lucky, near the center of activity, they are OK but that's a long shot.

DTD is great for shopaholics and my DW and I have left more than a few bucks there over the years. I stay away from The Rainforest Cafe. We have one not too far from home and I've never had what I would call a good meal there. Never been to Wolfgang's either. There is supposed to be a new one about 15 miles from here so I'll have to try it sometime.

I was stopped by a survey CM at CSR last year and I must have impressed him because he offered me a job there. I would have taken it but that's a pretty long commute from Michigan.

Love those sideways pictures. At least everyone looks happy in them.

See you later.
 


**Note: Being utterly exhausted by this point in our day, we'd stopped taking pictures. Bad Disney fans, I know. So this is a picture free chapter. But, luckily, I believe that it is the only picture free one and I should have another update up before Monday to more than make up for pictures.**

Once the interrogation was over with and we once again stepped into the rain, I asked Grumpy what time it was.

“Umm…quarter to eight. Why?”

Panic seized up in me and the Disney Nazi began to take over. 7:45. We had to be back at the Magic Kingdom in one hour. It had taken us forever to get here. There was no way we’d make it back in time.

Unless we ran.

Trying to keep calm, I started walking. “We have to go,” I said.

Obediently, Sleepy and Grumpy followed. I think they realized how close we were cutting it. We (well, I) ran to the bus stop and looked over the long list of different resorts.

“Pop?” Sleepy suggested.

“That’ll take too long,” I said. I searched over the resorts, quickly, looking for the first right one that showed up. “The Contemporary.”

We were in luck. A bus from the CR had just arrived and only a few people were boarding. We ran on and the doors closed behind us and the bus pulled out.

It was 7:49.

I had forgotten the little fact that Disney busses make multiple stops. We stopped at Pleasure Island and only a few people came on, but more left. Then we zipped around to Typhoon Lagoon. It was raining and thundering and many wet, sour looking people boarded the bus in their wet Crocs. In retrospect, I guess I should have been worried that they would cancel Spectro Magic… but I guess a panicked mind doesn’t process such things.

As soon as the doors were shut, the driver pulled out of the lot and we were on our way to the Contemporary. By this time, it was 8:10 or so.

The bus ride seemed to take forever. But we finally did arrive at the CR by 8:25. I breathed. I could see Cinderella’s Castle and the train station from here. We would make it.

And…it had stopped raining.

Sleepy thought that we were going to take another bus apparently because she asked, “Can we go inside so I can find a restroom first?”

“Yes we can go inside because we’re taking the monorail.”

Oooh.

We walked into the lobby (which Sleepy and Grumpy were quick to proclaim cold and dull) and walked over to the restrooms. And then the wait began. I took my time staring at The Wave Restaurant, which looked…interesting. At this time, I was still not “in the know” about most everything in Walt Disney World (just think about how much fun I could have now that I know so much more) and didn’t really much about what was happening at the CR. Or any of the other resorts (nor did I know what many of them were called). ANYWAY…

Sleepy finally came out of the bathroom and we went up to the monorail stop just as one was arriving. Except…this one stopped at every other resort first. We didn’t have time for that. So, we boarded and got off at the TTC at 8:35. Just as we hopped off, another monorail headed straight to the Magic Kingdom appeared. Score!

We hopped on that quickly and were finally on our way to the Magic Kingdom once again.

It was 8:45.

We’d made it….

Up Next: (a chapter with pictures) Disney Magic
 
Sorry about the rain, Liquid Sunshine, you have to expect that in the summer.

Love that Monorail. We should be at CR again this year. A lot has changed since our last visit.
 
We made it, we made it, we made it. And it had stopped raining. Or so we hoped. The parade didn’t start for fifteen more minutes and we were on our way down the monorail ramp and towards Main Street. Uh-oh. Bag check was a huge line. But we were in luck, the line was moving quickly. The two guys checking our bags were hilarious. They found my hot chocolate and started having a discussion about drinking some of it, but where to find hot water.

They were quick to deem pink hot chocolate too feminine and let us go on our way. We passed through the gates and tried to take a picture of the Mickey in front of Main Street Station.

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I said tried.

And then we were headed through the tunnel and faced with a very crowded Main Street. We spotted a slightly less busy area on the right side of the opening to Main Street and literally ran over there. Once we hopped the little rope (our sign that the show would go on) we were only behind one row of people. Right in front of us was a family sitting on the curb. I hopped over them to get this.

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As we waited, we took a few more pictures.

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This is one I just found and my newfound favorite.

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And then, the lights down Main Street went out and the sound blared. The parade had started.

Except…as soon as that happened, the family in front of us stood up and started yelling excitedly. Oh goodness. They were all (including the women) over 6 feet tall and German. Not that their heritage would make a difference, but the fact that even if we tried to say “Can you please sit down on the curb so that the rest of us can see” they wouldn’t understand. Now, Sleepy and I are some of the shorter people—both of us just at or slightly over five foot, so we couldn’t see anything. Immediately, the tired, grumpy Sleepy threw a fit and walked over to where Grumpy (who doesn’t enjoy parades) stood by the rope. I found a small hole in the crowd and managed to see some of the parade.

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It all started with a mouse.

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I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking.

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Continued in next post.
 
Around this time, I noticed Sleepy jumping up and down in place trying to get a picture—or to prove a point to the family in front of us. The girl, about my age, got the hint and sat down. No one else.

One of mine

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One of Sleepy’s.

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Onwards.

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And here’s a sample of how Sleepy was acting. She accidently switched her camera to video and took this. Notice her jump then trying to go under the people’s legs to get a picture.



It’s a good thing we love her. ;-)

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And this, this is when I found the magic of Disney World. I’d been there for four long days now, only two days were left, and I had yet to TRULY feel the magic of the World. I’ve been to Disneyland more than a dozen times and haven’t felt this before. But here, on the night of my first parade, I truly fell in love. Because, right after Cinderella and Prince Charming passed, I saw my hero. My favorite Disney character.

The White Rabbit.

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He’s waving AT ME, MOMMY!!

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Sleepy even stopped jumping around and joined me for the picture taking.

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And all too soon, Jiminy was bidding us good night.

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Really feeling the soaring feeling of Disney magic, we decided to go back into the park for some more rides, something we had not planned on doing. Our first stop was Winnie the Pooh and we bounced along with Tigger and Pooh.

Then we headed to Peter Pan. While waiting in the 20 minute line, the fireworks started going off. On the next trip, I want to see my first Disney fireworks. We could hear the explosions all the way in Never Land. We ran across the way and rode It’s a Small World for the last time. I practiced my princess wave to the person in the booth seeing us all off. It was a young guy when we went in. We sailed around the world with the children and when we came back out, it was an old man.

“My goodness!” Sleepy exclaimed. “How long were we in there?”

And then, we walked around the side of Fantasyland, towards Liberty Square, and then back on Main Street. I found a shirt of Walt and Mickey on Main Street and bought it. The store didn’t have a changing room, so I couldn’t try it on. And then, hands being held all the way down, we skipped out of the Magic Kingdom, saying good-bye to the castle for the last time this trip.

On the tram, someone asked us about our First Timer’s buttons and I directed them to the right location in every park and where to get them at their hotel (if they were Disney) without breaking a sweat. I was still so happy. We got back to the worst hotel in Orlando, and I didn’t even care. I was near Disney. My Disney. I went to bed that night, blissful and smiling.

If only the feeling was going to last.

Up Next: The story turns sad in The Happiest Place on Earth?
 
What!? SAD?! That's not good! I don't really like sad! You're at Disney, how could it be sad? Now I am hanging by a thread here waiting for your next installment! Really nice TR!
 
Just found your latest updates.

I've never heard of Pink Chocolate. Must be a Chick Thing.:confused3

Glad you made it in time for the Parade. Getting a good spot to see it is always a problem. Being a little on the short side, tall people are not my favorite either. Having seen many parades, we skip it & take advantage if the shorter lines at our favorite rides. The Fireworks, on the other hand, are a definite MUST. Considering the conditions, your pictures are pretty good:thumbsup2 and I'm happy that you found your White Rabbit again.:cheer2: :goodvibes

Thanks! The Small World song is going through my head again!

Not sure I want to read the sad part of the story but I'll be watching for it.:scared:
 
What!? SAD?! That's not good! I don't really like sad! You're at Disney, how could it be sad? Now I am hanging by a thread here waiting for your next installment! Really nice TR!
Thanks. :thumbsup2

Just found your latest updates.

I've never heard of Pink Chocolate. Must be a Chick Thing.:confused3

Glad you made it in time for the Parade. Getting a good spot to see it is always a problem. Being a little on the short side, tall people are not my favorite either. Having seen many parades, we skip it & take advantage if the shorter lines at our favorite rides. The Fireworks, on the other hand, are a definite MUST. Considering the conditions, your pictures are pretty good:thumbsup2 and I'm happy that you found your White Rabbit again.:cheer2: :goodvibes

Thanks! The Small World song is going through my head again!

Not sure I want to read the sad part of the story but I'll be watching for it.:scared:

I got the pink hot chocolate at Goofy's Candy Co. They had (they were going on final mark down in July) different Disney characters on them and the hot chocolate powder is colored to that character. Such as Stitch is blue and Princess Aurora is pink. Sleepy and I are convinced that tall people are out to get us. Generally, my family is either never in the parks for parades and fireworks or we take advantage of the short lines. But for this trip, we knew we wanted to see SpectroMagic (and Fantasmic). It was my first time seeing a full Disney parade.

On the sad part, I'm trying to not linger on it because it was so long ago and I'm mostly over it. It just put somewhat of a damper on our day.
 
The different colored chocolate sounds interesting. I'll have to watch for it the next time I'm in DTD. Always looking for something different for the Grandchildren.
 
Hey everyone! :flower3:
Believe it or not, I am still here. School has practically overtaken my life for the last few weeks. But I'm finally over the big stuff so I'm planning on returning here to the TR. I'm hoping to get an update up this weekend, or maybe even the end of the week.
 

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