Basking in the Glow of the (not so) Creepy Clown -2/11-Pictures, Final Thoughts, PTR!

[pooksma]

Great photos and a great start! Looking forward to more

 

[Vexorg]

Vexorg!

What's up dude?

Been a while.

Hope all is well out your way.

Could be doing a bit better, but nothing I haven't dealt with before. I managed to make it out to Disneyland for a few days back in May, but never really wrote a comprehensive TR for that one. I tend to wander on and off the boards as Disney trips come and go, but I do at least try to drop in every so often.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

You have one precious little boy. Love the sleeping and flamingo poses.

I'm going to reveal myself as a bad DISer and tell you I've never made it out to Planet Watch. There's so much in AK I haven't really explored. I may have to break down and actually consult a map.

Can't wait to hear what happens next on your magical trip and still uber-excited about your 15 days!!

 

[Vexorg]

The Soarin' FP is not very fast at all. That is kinda a bummer. September is such a great time to go - the crowds were like that all week!

At CA with the Single Rider Line do you get to skip the pre-show? They should have put one of those in at WDW too, makes a lot of sense!

No, you still queue up in the pre-show with the rest of the riders. Basically, the idea is that they're using the single rider line to fill in the spaces between people in the other lines. They explicitly state that groups of people that use the single rider line will be broken up, and that it doesn't necessarily guarantee you'll get on any faster (although in practice it was pretty quick.) I did have a 20-25 minute wait once in the single-rider line on California Screamin', but in that case there were a lot of people using the single-rider line. On most rides with single-rider lines, you would be entering via the handicap entrance (and in a couple of cases, this means you'll need to take a couple of elevator rides to get there.)

 

[Native NYer]

Love your AK photos!
And 15 days in Disney sounds just perfect

 

[brookelizabeth]

A quick personal note...

As you may have seen on my Facebook, or perhaps even the news, southeastern Minnesota has recently had a major flood - and unfortunately, much of my family and family friends are affected.

My cousin and her husband, and their son, live in my Grandma's home (my Grandma now lives with her son, thankfully!), and they were directly affected. They have lost all their furntiure, bedding, all the floors, walls, and cabinets will need to be re-done on the first floor. Everything in their garage (which was a LOT!) is pretty much gone and destroyed. How do you tell a 3 year old boy all his toys are gone????

If you pray, please pray for them right now. It's a very rough time for them, for obvious reasons, but also, my cousin is pregnant, so it's even harder on her because she cannot be there for safety reasons.

I have so many childhood memories wrapped up in that house and in these towns that are affected. A high school friend of mine COMPLETELY lost her childhood home and her Mom is now homeless. My second cousins have lost everything on their first floor, and who knows if their home can be saved. It's devastating. So many memories...washed away.

Thanks all.

-Brook

 

[disney<333]

I'm so sorry to hear that, Brook.
As long as everyone is o.k, that is the important part.
Hope everything works out.

 

[MaryAz]

Brook, my thoughts and prayers are with all affected. Big hugs to your family.

 

[jenseib]

How awful. I didn't know they had flooded? I guess I'm not up on the news. We will be praying for your family!

 

[Tinker_Tam]

I am so sorry to hear of all the lose for those close to you. I will keep them all in my prayers. It must be so awful to lose everything like that.

 

[brookelizabeth]

What a great day so far. We did planet watch once, but I don't remember alot about it other than Skip wasn't impressed ...but he doesn't care for AK too much. We did run into the talking trashcan there though. I would like to go back and explore, but it seems we never have much time too....mostly because we now only plan partial days there since Skip doesn't like it.
I'm loving all your pictures

Joe isn't the biggest fan of AK either and could easily do a half day there, but I really like it! It's probably my favorite if I had to choose one. Planet Watch is a bit of a haul out there, but it was very fun for Henry. The train ride is kinda neat too.

First off: fifteen days! That's amazing!

I'm sure it just depends a lot on the weather. We were there near the end of it this year, and it was unseasonably hot, meaning a lot more flowers were wilted than I've seen in the past. Oh well -- it was still beautiful!

Great update...I've never been to Planet Watch, since it seems a little pointless without kids. Someday, though!

It is amazing! And a little crazy! We are looking forward to RELAXING while there. I sure hope it's warm enough for swimming...

That makes a lot of sense about the flowers, I hadn't though of that. The pictures everyone takes always get me, no matter what month they are taken, so I'm thinking I'll love it regardless!

I think the most entertaining thing back there for adults without children would be the animal care - sometimes they have surgeries and other things going on live. That could be interesting if you like that sorta stuff - otherwise, ya, it's more geared for the kiddos.

Phew. I have spent the last hour or so getting all caught up. Love the TR Brook!! I have followed all your other ones & was a little late to this one!!

What a great travel day you had & the view from your room!!

Loved the pics of H & Joe when he first arrived. So cute

What a great first night you had ending with Illuminations (my fav)

Isn't it wonderful just walking back to the resort after?? We stayed at BC in May & just LOVED it.

Great day at AK so far. Looks like H is having a great time.

15 days in March???? How great is that!!! Lucky you!! We have been for 10 days before & it was great. I'm sure you will have a wonderful time.

Glad you were able to get caught up!!! And glad you are reading along on this one too!

Yes! Walking back from Epcot is amazing. Or just dipping in quickly...we loved that so much! So much we are going back!

Planning so far for the 15 day trip has been a lot of fun. We were going back and forth with some things and details weren't settling right, but now things are shaping up. Lots of relaxing and non-planning going on!

15 days!!!! I am jealous. We stayed at BLT in February and loved it. It was so nice being able to walk to MK.

I was reading some reviews of BLT last night and was surprised at the negative things that people had to say - but they all wrapped up with a "Overall, we loved it and will stay there again!" despite the flaws. Did you have any issues with the furnishings? Seems like quite a few of the floors are showing a lot of wear already, the couches have stains and are ripped, problems with the showers are common, and the cabinets are chipping! Not so good when it's only been open a year! Some people complained about the monorail to Epcot taking too long too. I don't think I'll mind that though, I love riding it!

**********

More replies tomorrow, I'm going to read on my subscriptions...I need to just relax after reading all the recent flood news...

 

[PopArtGal]

I don't remember exactly the weather. I might have mentioned it in my TR.

BLT sounds lovely! And the Kona coffee= heaven!

 

[PopArtGal]

Rafiki's planet watch is great, isn't it. So relaxing and cool.

 

[PopArtGal]

A quick personal note...

As you may have seen on my Facebook, or perhaps even the news, southeastern Minnesota has recently had a major flood - and unfortunately, much of my family and family friends are affected.

My cousin and her husband, and their son, live in my Grandma's home (my Grandma now lives with her son, thankfully!), and they were directly affected. They have lost all their furntiure, bedding, all the floors, walls, and cabinets will need to be re-done on the first floor. Everything in their garage (which was a LOT!) is pretty much gone and destroyed. How do you tell a 3 year old boy all his toys are gone????

If you pray, please pray for them right now. It's a very rough time for them, for obvious reasons, but also, my cousin is pregnant, so it's even harder on her because she cannot be there for safety reasons.

I have so many childhood memories wrapped up in that house and in these towns that are affected. A high school friend of mine COMPLETELY lost her childhood home and her Mom is now homeless. My second cousins have lost everything on their first floor, and who knows if their home can be saved. It's devastating. So many memories...washed away.

Thanks all.

-Brook

I wish we lived closer. Clothes and supplies could have been donated.

 

[Flossbolna]

Brook I am so sorry about your cousin's situation! I hope that they will be able to get back to a normal life as soon as possible!

Wonderful AK update, it's so funny that Henry did sleep longer than the two of you!

Once again I loved all your pictures! The Harambe train station is wonderfully themed and I never seem to get enough pictures to really capture it.

And wow: 15 days!!! How exciting for you! I am really starting to miss planning a Disney vacation, but since I have the vague idea of spending my 40th birthday next November at WDW, there won't be any winter/spring trip in 2011 for me. Also, I am planning to visit a friend who works in Isreal at the moment in the spring, so there is a vacation on the horizon. But I still miss WDW!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Oh, Brook, what horrible news about your grandmother's house and your cousin's things! Lots of prayers headed to Minnesota and to your family!

 

[MeMom]

Nashville is still recovering months after our flood back in early May. When you see rowboats driving inside the mall to assess damage, it seems so unreal, yet it is real. They are hoping to open that mall up by Christmas, but that's iffy, from what I hear. Your family and that entire area is in our thoughts and prayers. It will be physically and emotionally hard on them in the months ahead.

 

[wdwgirl03]

HOLY COW, 15 days?! That is insane! We won't cross paths now but you can think of me on the day you come home since that's my birthday. haha

Love the AK updates! I don't think I've ever seen the AK dedication rock (plaque?) either. I will have to look for that!

 

[Lady Lallie]

So sorry to hear about your family, Brook.

 

[manntra]

Brook I am so very sorry to hear about your family's situation.

Tracy