Yes, we did ride snow white. There was a bit of a line-up by this time. When I say a bit I'm actually being nice. The lineup ended right outside of the railing area. I gave him "the look" when we got in line. You know that look that says I was right and you were wrong and now I'm angry with you. He ignored it. So we waited in the line in silence. For a while anyway.
Behind me was a father with a little girl who looked about four. I had seen them in the castle and noticed that their table was decorated for her birthday. She was dressed in a tink costume. It looked scratchy to me and I can only hope it looked worse than it felt. The father noticed my birthday button.
"Is it really your birthday today?"
"Yes, it is"
"Well what do you know honey," he says to his daughter. "This nice lady has the same birthday as you."
The little girl really couldn't have cared less. She was pretty grumpy. Could have been the itchy dress. But I was bored and obviously not in the mood to talk to Dh so I thought I'd pursue a further conversation with my birthday mate and her dad.
"How old are you?" I asked.
She held up four fingers. Then she asked the question that seems innocent to children but mortifies most women over the age of 21.
"How old are you?" Her father looked appropriately embarrassed and tried to apologize for her but I was fine with it. After all it's not like I'm going to see these people again.
"Oh, I'm so old I don't even have enough fingers to show you. I have to tell you. I'm forty."
"So that's kind of like me. We both have a four in our numbers."
"That's right. Wow. I'm impressed that you know about the number forty. I'm a kindergarten teacher and I have a class full of four, five and six year olds and you know what? Not many of them know about the number 40. That's one smart little girl you have there Dad."
After that we spent the time exchanging pleasantries like where we lived and how old our other children were. He had twin two year olds waiting off to the side with his wife. He was surprised to hear that we had left our children at home and were there alone together.
"Really? Were the kids okay with you leaving?"
"They knew it was coming. We usually go in the summer and to be honest I think they are under the impression that we are coming back this summer. We're not. So I suspect they'll be annoyed once they realize it."
Dh piped up with "My wife's parents are looking after them and I'm sure they having a grand old time. They are probably spending more money on the kids this weekend than we are here in Disney."
By the time we got to the actual ride I could tell that the Dad was getting over his shock and starting to see the merits in our plan.
The ride itself was uneventful. It's one of the ones that I remember vividly from childhood. I didn't enjoy it back then. I still don't enjoy it. We haven't taken our kids on it yet. Dh commented after the ride that having the kids skip it was a good idea. I wanted to say that going to the bathroom when there was no lineup was NOT a good idea but I didn't. I tried to push the angries away.
Next up Dh wanted to cross off another item from our list. The gifts for the kids. He had asked the kids what they wanted.
Jedi-Jedi robe
Cindy-baby Minnie with blanket
Eeoyre-glow in the dark string thingie. His broke he bought here earlier.
In true Dh fashion, he was determined to get all the gifts immediately. He wanted to get this shopping think over as quick as possible. I agreed we could hit some shops. I had visions of browsing through the merchandise kid free, just enjoying myself. I couldn't have been more mistaken.
We hit Sir Mickey's first. Dh goes right up to a sales clerk and asks about all three items. They didn't have any of them. The sales clerk said he thinks only MGM carries the Jedi robes, but if any place had them in the magic kingdom it would be tomorrowland. The sales clerk suggested we try Tink's treasures for baby Minnie.
Off to Tink's treasures we went. Once again I was thwarted in my plans to browse. I really wanted to get Cindy some Disney earrings. She got her ears pierced after our last trip and of course I wanted to look for a watch with my Disney funcard. Dh was having none of it. He went straight up to a sales clerk again and asked his questions. No baby Minnie there. She suggested one of the stores along the main street for it and agreed with the clerk from Sir Mickey's that the Jedi robe was most likely at MGM. We might find it at Downtown Disney at the world of Disney.
We weren't planning on going to MGM this trip. We had two and half days available for parks and MGM didn't make the cut. Dh knew this. I'm surprised that he did. I guess he must have paid attention at some time during my Disney rambles.
So just when I position myself in front of a rotating jewelry display Dh grabs my hand and says, "Come on." Off to tomorrowland we go.
While Dh heads into a store (I can't remember what it's called. It has the booth where you can insert your image in a star wars pose and it's beside the stitch ride) I notice that the fast pass return for Buzz is only 30 minutes away. I go and grab two.
Back at the store Dh has finished a conversation with another sales clerk. He is waving a baby Minnie frantically in the air in my direction with the same pride as if he had caught a fly ball with the bases loaded. His conversation with this sales clerk has confirmed that MGM has the robes but there is a slim chance that the world of Disney has them too. The clerk has gone to phone the world of Disney for us so suddenly I have time to browse.
I pick out a 2009 photo album. It doesn't take me much time as I had looked at the albums my other trips and knew that they were the same price everywhere. I pick out one that holds 200 pictures and has a sparkly red cover with a 2009 on it.
Dh takes the baby Minnie and my album to the counter. He inserts our Cinderella castle picture in the bag and has them deliver the goods to our hotel. He's pleased with himself. I'm a little worried as we are only here for the weekend and tell him he mustn't do that again because it could take a couple days to get there. He looks like a scolded school boy. I feel bad.
The sales clerk comes back from his phone call but has nothing to report. He was just passed from department to department and no one could give him an answer. We thanked him and went on our way.
It was still too early for our Buzz fastpasses so we went to my favorite Disney ride of all time.
You guessed it. The carousal of progress.
We had just missed a seating so had to wait for five minutes. There were only a couple of us waiting. Then as we were loading into our seats a group of cheerleaders got on. The took up a row right in front of us. How did I know they were cheerleaders? I think the fact that they still had their uniforms on and their hair in high ponies with a big red bow was the giveaway.
I was surprised to see so many cheer groups running around the park dressed in their cheer outfits. My kids dance competitively and I know it's a bit different but their costumes are expensive and I wouldn't let my kids wear them out until after the year was over plus their dance instructors are very strict about wearing warm-up suits so as to keep the surprise of the costume a surprise until you go on stage. So it is shocking for me to see these groups out and about in their uniforms.
We couldn't see over the hair very well so we got up and moved back.
The cheer girls weren't really that bad. It was just one girl who was on the phone the whole ride talking loudly and pointing out negative aspects of the ride to her phonemate. She made it difficult to hear but I already knew the dialogue so I tried to block her out. I thought a cast member rode with us through the ride and kept waiting for someone to tell her to get off the phone but no one did.
I still love that ride. Especially when the daughter is getting ready for the valentine dance. That's my favorite era,
We still had a couple minutes to kill before our fast passes. We sat down at a bench nearby that was facing a bandshell. I'm guessing it's the bandshell where the stitch show plays. It was showing videos of futuristic commercials. They were cute. Our real entertainment was a street sweeper. I don't think he saw us or else was just too involved in his own world. He kept balancing the end of his broom on his chin. He was pretty good. After a particularly long balancing episode Dh and I applauded. He turned beat red and then did the Dick Van Dick move from Mary Poppins where he tipped his hat and waddled off like a penguin before getting at least one heel click jump in the air. I wish I had of gotten his name to report how funny he was to his supervisors.
After our impromptu show, we headed to Buzz. There was no lineup in the fast pass line. We breezed in. I beat the pants off Dh and enjoyed gloating about it. It would be the only time all trip I would.
His score
My score
I rednecked the photo of us.
It was about 8:30 by now and time for us to find a spot for the parade. We made our way to Main Street stopping at the castle for a nighttime photo pass picture.
By this time, I was starting to feel a bit sick. My stomach wasn't feeling right and I had to stop to go to the bathroom behind Casey's. I knew I wasn't feeling well when the smell of the popcorn and other goodies coming out of Casey's didn't tempt me in the slightest.
We were both stuck with how busy the parade route was. It was super crowded already. People were everywhere and it was loud and smelly and well we both looked at each other and in that moment we decided to get the heck out of dodge. Before we left Dh asked once more just to make sure that I was okay with diverging from the plan. It was on the list to see the fireworks and the parade so by leaving we were in effect changing the plan. That doesn't go over very well with Dh. I think he was surprised I was happy to leave. Actually at that moment I was surprised I ever even thought about staying to watch them. Sitting at home in front of the computer it seemed like a good idea. But when it came down to it, I just wanted to escape the crowd and hop on an empty bus back to the resort. I'm still not sorry we decided to skip them.
We were both a bit peckish when we got back to AKL. We decided to search for MARA our food court and pick up a snack and our re-fillable mugs. Now if you remember I had the slowest check CM ever so I only grabbed the map of the resort and ran. I didn't let her tell me where anything was. Consequently we had no idea where Mara was. We found Boma and Jiko. We found a lounge. We found the firepit where storytelling happens each night. We found the savannahs. We spent some time on the savannahs. I saw zebra's and wildebeests and some birds. I couldn't name any of the other animals we saw. There was a guide out there taking to a family and that's how I knew about the wildebeests.
I tried to take a picture of the lobby from the outside. I couldn't get the lighting right. It was an awesome sight though. Here is my pathetic attempt at it.
Finally we found Simba's babysitting service and the pool. As we were admiring the pool area I saw some people heading out of some doors with refillable mugs. That must be the way I thought and dragged Dh over to the glass doors. Sure enough we had found Mara. We felt like we had found an oasis in a desert. I don't know why we couldn't find it. They need some better signage I guess.
I was surprised at how small Mara was. We had stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and Allstar Music before and their food courts are huge. This was like a little snack bar in comparison. I made a mental note to avoid it during the meal rush. It must be nasty.
I saw the zebra domes in the refrigerator section. My stomach still wasn't feeling so great so I didnt feel up to it. I pointed them out to Dh but he wanted something to stick to his ribs. He was man-hungry. His term not mine. He got a bowl of chicken corn chowder soup and I got a hot chocolate in my new mug.
We headed up to the room. Dh wanted to check out the Savannah again but I really only wanted to check out our restroom facilities. I really wasnt feeling well. My stomach was churning.
We sat out on the balcony and I sipped my hot chocolate while Dh ate his soup. He wanted to head back down to the savannahs. I knew I needed to stay close to the bathroom. In the end he decided to go check it out himself and I turned Stacy up loud and listened to her while I was in the bathroom. Not exactly the romantic evening I was looking for.
I was still otherwise occupied in the bathroom when Dh got back. By the time I felt safe enough to make it to the bed he was passed out. I turned Stacy back on but put her on mute. Now I could see what I had heard earlier.
I was hoping I would feel better by tomorrow. I had a lot of eating to do on our deluxe dinning plan. Visions of zebra domes danced in my head as I drifted off to sleep.
Up next-We have an early ADR in an empty park and tour to take. Would I feel up to it. Worse yet would Dh catch what I have? Click here to find out.
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33221364&postcount=219
!!!!!!!
Hoping you aren't like me!
one of my favorite childhood/teen memories was riding the Princess Marguerite up to Victoria and getting a bar each way. They probably stopped making it as it took out too many fillings and cracked crowns. That stuff was hard as a rock but OH so good!
I lost my computer while planning if you recall. Thank goodness I emailed all the information to myself. I am the person that deletes the memory card after each download to the computer. That is why before I did my report I uploaded all my pictures to Photobucket. I would have lost over 1200 pictures 
I hope you find your card. I am glad everyone is OK.
anyhoodle....I was sitting here thinking, Why hasn't Diamond talked to us lately, that is not like her not to check in.
I am thinking of you and sending
that you are successful in finding it. We've missed you terribly and I'm glad your back
I have heard from other resorts that some have gotten a card from mickey or one of the princesses. I would really love to decorate the room but I feel thats kind of tooting my own horn or something ya know?
Diamond!! Hurray, you're back!! Hope you're feeling better. Love the Happy Birthday photo in front of the castle!!
