Tequila, Dole Whips & Tonga Toast: Celebrating 50 years! Read all about it!

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

I know....what are the odds? We were there last summer Aug 21 - 30! Hoping to get the same room this summer.....I really did enjoy the locations.

Crazy I say! I think they repaired the room sign from when you stayed in it last year Your picture the "9" lookied like it was ready to fall off. I didn't notice that when we were there last week.

Good lucking getting to stay in our room again

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

Wow! You really know how to work the fastpass system!

Our family really enjoys Chef Mickey's too even though it gets less than stellar reviews for dinner. What a great little birthday surprise for your son

Even though things didn't go as planned for your your DH, he seems like a trooper and a great guy!

I credit reading these boards with learning about using the FP's to my advantage. Plus, the day we were at MK, a Wed, touring plans had them as the preferred park. There was no EMH-morning or evening, and I think MK had an early EMH the day before. So as pixie dust would have it, we just happened to hit it on an especially good day. I don't recall having that good of luck with FP's before but since DS loves the 3 mtns & that day was dedicated to celebrating his birthday, it was especially sweet it worked out so well for us. CM's was icing on the cake to a great day!

Yes, DH was pretty understanding about us all not getting to ride HM with him that night. He himself had already rode it about 5 times that morning before the POTC fiasco & you will read later that we do get back to MK to ride with him. He knew DS was excited to ride those mtns on our first "offical" all day at MK so he was totally cool with passing it at that point of the day. Getting out of the park before the parade started & back to the resort to relax with a beer I knew would make him happier than another ride on HM

WDW is not his favorite vacation destintation, he more of a beach kinda guy but he knows DS & I love it. So since this year is my 50th birthday, yes indeed he was a trooper going to our happy place. It's taken us a few trips together to get it all figured out how to make everyone have fun. Me, I tend to be a commando, I'm trying to overcome this and DH likes to tour in a much less hurried & more relaxed fashion with lots of pool time & dining fun. But he has seen through our many trips that it REALLY is important to have a plan if you want to avoid excessive waits so he ususally go along with what I have in store

 

[J&C@Disney]

All caught up!!

Looking forward to reading more!!

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

All caught up!!

Looking forward to reading more!!

Thanks for joining and posting

My aunt is reading & sending me e-mails, she is hestitating to join the boards but secretly I think she wants to

Another episode coming up after dinner! Stay tuned

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

Dad comes through in a BIG way

Oh my gosh, my feet were KILLING me! Our first "official" day had gone so well but reflecting on it, I can now see that I am an unrepentant commado touring fanatic focused on major headliners unsatified with just one time around

Every trip I tell myself, I don't have to do this. It is okay to ride just once & anything I miss will be there the next time. Try as I may, today proved to be about as effective as taking a bottle of wine to a party & deciding in advance I will not consume the entire bottle no matter how much fun I'm having

"My name is TweedleDeeTweedleDum & I am a Disneyaholic"

But the worst thing is I have transferred my insanity to DS So as I stand on the crowded bus ride home, feet hot & tired, DS tells me he doesn't think he can get up for DHS rope drop tomorrow.

"That's okay son. I think you need a sleep in day anyway. Our flight left really early yesterday & we were out late last night. You've had a full day today, you need to get some rest sweetie."

"But mom, I really want to ride RnRC & TSM"

"Did you have a good time today?"

"Great day, mom. Thanks for staying longer so we could ride all the mountains again"

I tell you, that's worth the price of admission

We get back to our resort, this time no stop at ASsports, straight to ASMusic I don't think DS's head had hit the pillow before he fell asleep.

Meanwhile, DH is relaxing watching some sports on the TV & enjoying a beer. I joined him with a glass of wine (and no, I didn't consume it ALL that night ).

DH likes to review the dining plans for the following days Then he surprises me by offering to go to rope drop the next morning to validate his park pass so I can get FP's for DS & I to ride the headliners the next day

THis is what rope drop at Hollywood Studios looks like, we were about 3 people back from the front of the line

Thank you DISboards for telling me to get there EARLY for DHS rope drop, you want to be infront of this - Notice all the people behind us

ANd here is the rope drop ceremony starting at DHS - notice the "director" announcing the park opening, the lady in blue was part of his "cast"

CONT: Touring Solo at DHS

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

Touring Solo at Hollywood Studios

DH could not believe there were so many crazy disney nuts like I at the Studios that morning. As I said, I am so glad to have the wealth of knowledge available on these boards to know how to effectively tour disney without being stuck all day in lines.

As you could see in the second photo on my last post, there were literally THOUSANDS of excited people behind us that morning. We were at our bus stop about 8am, to the studios and through bag check before 8:30 & waiting at the ticket turnstyle. Now I've never been to MK when they opened up Main St. early, but today at the Studios they opened up the park to where we were positioned about 8:45am for a 9am park opening. No, those tour books kid you not that sometimes they do open these parks early! You just never know what day it's gonna happen though

Anyway, after a reasonably short opening skit where the "director" was teasing the oblivious tall man in front of us who kept looking back for his party (as if anyone would've let them squeeze through) the rope that was infront of the people 3 rows in front of us was walked in an orderly fashion about 100 yards, at which point the CM's literally DOVE for cover. That's when it gets really fun

So DH is tailing me as we RAPIDLY walk to TSM, DH notices the crowds going left towards the entrance but realizes I know the logistics so he follows me right & we're positioned in the FP line. We get through that in less than 10 minutes BECAUSE we were so far up front & once we have our TWO fastpasses, I suggest since he's gone through all this he might as well ride once with me By now the stand by line is about 20 minutes & it will be NO shorter the rest of the day.

This is where you see line cutting galore by folks who stake out a place in the standby line, someone in their party has gone for FP's & then that person cuts into the line to "catch up" with their family. I really wish Disney would put a stop to this practice but what can you do We in particular had a woman & daughter infront of us, when we turned a corner under the rope comes her husband & son. Totally annoyed my DH to no end. He felt they should have entered the line together. I keep telling him he needs to blog here on the DISboards! We argue about these kinds of topics all the time

So can you tell DH is still a little annoyed with the folks infront of us when I quickly snapped this picture of him walking past Mr. Potatoe Head?

Fortunately, he wasn't much longer, we rode this delightful ride & he even kicked my butt!

When we exited the ride, the FP line was so loooong it might have taken people over 20 minutes just to go through the FP line. I couldn't believe my eyes. DH kept muttering to himself as we passed them, "Crazy I tell you, all these people are nuts"

DH wanted to get back to the hotel since DS was sleeping in but before he left we stopped at the counter service, Starring Rolls. It's next door to the Brown Derby & for CS food, let me tell you it is really good They even boxed DH's sandwich to go, I kept his water & the cheesecake

This is where I gave DH a good morning thank you kiss goodbye. Isn't this (I think) 1941 gold cadilac beautiful?

As DH walks off & out of the park, I think to myself, "What a great guy " Then I rush down sunset blvd. shoving that mouth watering cheesecake in about as fast as I'm walking to Rock N Roll Coaster by Aerosmith

RnRC is my favorite Disney coaster. I just love the rush of taking off to 60mph in about a nanosecond. Of course I go the single rider line & after less than a 10 minute wait I'm screaming the ear off the poor youth beside me. When I get out, I think to myself, that was sooo good, I think I'll take another ride. Only they've closed the single rider line because the lines are up to an hour wait And it's too early to get another FP so off I go to check out the Tower of Terror.

Love the looks of ToT

It's about a 45 minute wait which is about how long it will take until I can get another set of FP's (DH left his tix with me) so I decide to go for it. DS didn't care about riding this, DH likes the themeing but refused to be dropped repeatedly like a yo-yo so if I'm to enjoy, then solo it is. Fortunately, I was behind 2 young couples who were visiting their first time & after asking me questions where things were we ended up having a lovely conversation that made the wait more bearable. Before I entered the building, DH called to say he was back at the room & price charming was still sleeping away

The lobby themeing at ToT is AMAZING

And the check in desk

I had read on the DISboards they have changed the programming again on ToT. There were some cool changes, notably you saw yourself in the ride vehicle during your trip, but the changes to the yo-yo dropping IMO was less intense than before. Nonetheless, still a great thrill & very enjoyable experience. When I told DH later, he was unconvensed & still declined giving it a try

After ToT I was able to FP the RnRC Now DS can ride his 2 fav's later. I already decide he & dad will ride TSM together, much as I enjoy that ride I felt DH really should be the one to ride with him

DH lunch looked so good from Starring Rolls I decided to go have lunch there myself, although it wasn't 10:30 yet. ALready the tables were filling up. I saw a family doing the walk around, what are we going to do now that we have our food routine so I asked them to join me. The dad looked at me like I was from Mars, then grinned & thanked me, yes they would join me, but about that time his wife found a table opening up but he thanked me profusely. I kept watching & shortly saw another family doing the same, so I asked them to join me. I didn't stay much longer as I was about finished but I knew they were glad for the invite.

Seeing as DS hasn't much tolerance for princesses, I figured I might as well enjoy a showing of the Little Mermaid before heading back to the room. Lucky me, I lined up & was able to see the next showing at 10:40. Prior to being admitted, I witnessed a little line hostility from a teen girl waiting with her family. They allowed quite a few in the stand by line, and then about 15 people ahead of me they stopped us in our tracks to let the rest of the FP comers in. Now being a FP addict, I know the drill but evidently this young lady did not. She was getting down right irate over the whole situation & snarky with the CM as her mom tried to get her to settle down. Life must be tough for CM's sometimes We ended up getting in for the show

I just adore this show. It's just so sweet. Maybe someday I'll have a granddaughter who will want to see it with me When we were there in 2008 you'd think I was pulling molars out of my 2 guys subjecting them to sitting through this show

I just can't help myself. I walked back to RnRC before I left to nab TWO more FP's before I left the park. On the way out, it wasn't yet 11:30 & sure enough, on the boards announcement it noted all TSM FP's were gone for the day. Yeah Dad, he's the hero of the day

Coming up, an uneventful birthday celebration with a FANTASIC fantasmic show!

 

[mandas08]

I love the theming on TOT..I really hope to overcome my fear and ride it!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Holy smokes! You move fast over here. I've finally caught up though. You guys are having a fantastic time!

 

[dancin Disney style]

I love the theming on TOT..I really hope to overcome my fear and ride it!

Until last summer I had never been on ToT and thought that I never would....I hate the feeling of a big drop. I ended up coming across the ride spoiler and after reading it I rode ToT.

Do it....it was really fun and I wanted to go a second time.

 

[GrammyJudy]

Ilove your report an your GREAT sense of humor!

 

[Queenofallthings]

How nice of your hubby to do that for you

ToT, RnRC and TSM.....my DD's favorities.....I love Great Movie Ride and AI....I will do the first 3 with her but the days of riding them over and over again are unfortunatley behind me. I get a little dizzy now

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

I love the theming on TOT..I really hope to overcome my fear and ride it!

That's DH, he really thinks the Twilight Zone is so cool & has looked at the info on Utube but he doesn't enjoy coasters or drops (still hasn't forgiven me for getting him to ride DEMON DROP at Cedar Point in the early years of our marriage, althought I didn't realize at the time he hated that kind of stuff).

His opinion is the ToT was ruined because of the drop I've assured him he can walk thru the queue, they have a "chicken" exit or whatever is a nicer way of saying it, but anyway, you DON'T have to enter the ride vehicle if you really don't want to & nobody would think any less of you if you choose not. I've told him that but he remains a doubting Thomas

Hopefully you can sike yourself out to try it once. It really is a fun experience. You just have to decide in advance you're not going to fight the sensation & let your endorfines have a ball

That said, DS didn't have a chance to try it again due us only being there the one day, he wanted to, but given a choice between ToT & RnRC, RnRC wins hands down in his book

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

Holy smokes! You move fast over here. I've finally caught up though. You guys are having a fantastic time!

We did have such a WONDERFUL time. I wish I could live down there, well kinda, I'd miss our family & friends but I'm sure we'd get a lot of visitors if we lived near WDW maybe more than we'd like

Writing about the trip just helps to keep the post trip blues from settling in

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

Until last summer I had never been on ToT and thought that I never would....I hate the feeling of a big drop. I ended up coming across the ride spoiler and after reading it I rode ToT.

Do it....it was really fun and I wanted to go a second time.

ICAM!

Ilove your report an your GREAT sense of humor!

Thanks so much Tune in for the next chapter!

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

How nice of your hubby to do that for you

ToT, RnRC and TSM.....my DD's favorities.....I love Great Movie Ride and AI....I will do the first 3 with her but the days of riding them over and over again are unfortunatley behind me. I get a little dizzy now

My aunt who is reading but hasn't signed up on the boards e-mailed me the same thing - not all husbands would get up to do rope drop & basically leave. Although we did get to ride TSM once together even though he beat me!

And he said later that his turkey sandwich from Starring Rolls was a really good change of pace for that days lunch (he got it to go) compared to the grill & pizza choices over at the ASMusic food court

Well, at least you can still ride those headliners at least once I tend to still be on the obsessive side when it comes to the thrills. You'll want to read about our EE adventure on the last day

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

A detour before we get to the Uneventful Birthday Party

It's TOO early for this

Before I get to the uneventful birthday party, just wanted to add some information about us. THe day after Easter, DH & I started the South Beach diet. Prior to the trip I had lost about 35 lbs but DH has lost JUST a little bit more - the unfairness of dieting with a man

ANyway, I had booked this wonderful trip with the DDP prior to starting south beach so I was in somewhat of a panic mode about a month out thinking, "Good grief, we can't go down there & go nuts over food & resort to our old habits? I sure as Henry don't want to destroy my progress! " So I'm worrying mostly over all these counter services, most of which I imagine ask if you want fries with that PLUS a dessert with every single meal"

SO I did a LOT of research about the meal plan - using these boards - thank you so much DISboards and tried to plan in my mind which CS would be best for us. This was one of the reasons we chose Sunshine Seasons at Epcot, the Harbour House at MK & the Starring Rolls at DHS. All of them had selections beyond your typical burger & fries - not that we don't eat burgers, it's really the breads, potatoes, fried foods & stuff full of sugar we try the most to avoid.

Anyway, we discussed it & decided in advance we'd take a mini-vacation from our diet, just not go hog wild. We had, afterall, been really good for 4 months & we'd jump right back on track as soon as we got home - update on that at the end - just how much DID we gain? How long will it take to get it OFF?

But on this particular day, when I got back to the room, I had asked DH how he liked his Starring Rolls turkey sandwich. He's commenting about how good it was & how he even ate the bread. Since I ate his cheesecake I didn't eat most of my bread & then stuffed the huge chocolate chip cookie dessert in my purse to bring home to DS, who by the way, at almost noon is STILL asleep. Guess he really DID need that rest

So we're just there in the room & talking about how it was too bad we couldn't just sit there at Starring Rolls & enjoy lunch together but DH reminds me it was still preferable to our meal at the airport



Really, I had put it out of my mind & even forgot about it when I started this TR, but I now feel I should amend & set the record straight.

Now if you've read this far, you know that I did indeed brag about how well our trip started out & how flowery wonderful it all was & it was all that, except for ONE little airport incident.

And I would have forgotten but DH has been reading this TR on his lunch break & he reminded me about it. Painful as it is, I feel it only right to correct my oversight. DH thinks its too disgusting to bring up, but alas it is a part of what happened on our trip & I feel I should share. Afterall, I had to see it so you may as well envision it.

I was appalled.

DH was shocked.

DS was embarassed.

WARNING

Skip the rest of this post if you don't want to hear about it - it's a little disgusting so if you want to avoid a visual, move to the next post!

Okay, for those of you who decided to join me. The morning of our flight out, we left for the airport too early to do b-fast & not wanting to start our vacation from our South Beach diet on some crappy airport food, I packed DH & I something we could eat while sitting there waiting to board.

DS of course had pizza after we cleared security. We had some coffee & then got settled in to wait the remaining hour or so before boarding. Everyone was excited & even the nice family of 4 that I had seen on the parking shuttle was positioned across from us. It was nice to see the little boy excitedly running back & forth to the window commenting about the plane. The area starts to fill up as you imagine with no extra seats around. So I decided to get out our sandwiches to eat while there was still time. DS was full so he was playing his electronic game.

DH takes his sandwich & gives me a peculiar look. I know that look but it's still pretty early so it zooms over my head. I sit back & start eating my sandwich. DH is still looking at me, but he starts to eat- slowly. I think it strange he is staring at me while I eat. I'm in the middle of a big bite & then Directly across from me is the father of the family of 4, he's wearing black nylon shorts which are presently rode up his legs to basically looking like underwear, sitting there spread eagle, in a position suitable for sitting on "the throne" I could've chocked. I mean really, what part of you is unaware that you are practically exposing yourself in an airport

Well, now when I look at DH, that ornery man is grinning like a chessaire cat amused that I finally realized what the "look" was for.

Oh the horror!

For the love of God cover yourself up, man!

Then I snort & it goes into an all out laughter, the embarrasing kind that you can't control. DH joins in, DS is so embarassed by us which only makes me laugh harder. We look like 2 absolute idiots sitting there laughing hysterically that early in the morning, unless of course you were positioned where we were & knew what our problem was.

FINALLY, the little boy runs up & announces, "Dad - look, the plane" I about applauded when "dad" got up to go see the plane.



And now, back to our regular program

 

[J&C@Disney]

I haven't laughed so hard in a long time, poor DS!!

 

[natebenma]

I'm in! Great report so far! We stayed in ASMu, Jazz, in 2008 not sure what room number. Love the pictures from the plane and the great shot of the welcome arch. That's when you know you have arrived and the trip is on!

Chat more later. Have to rip myself away from the boards and get some stuff done this morning!!!

 

[mickeymouseclubhouse]

re: the guy in the airport

I can just picture you and your dh laughing hysterically in the airport and your poor embarassed son

Loving your trip report!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Oh what a funny story! That's just what I needed to start my work day!