Why Not Just Queue Up Another Disney Trip? Link to New TR 6/24 p136!

[MEK]

Sunday December 18th

120 mins to Soarin!

I have to tell you that our trip is more than half over. We only have two more Disney days! Boo Hoo!

No time for crying. Let's get on with the story, shall we?

If you didn't get a chance to read about my LI winery tour and surprise DIS meet with Melissa, please go to pg 93.

I got up nice and early on December 18th, probably because I literally crashed into bed the night before. I got up, made coffee, and laced up to go for a run. But it was cold- brrrrrrrh- outside. I didn't have pants, but I think I was smart enough to bring a long sleeved running shirt. I ran in the opposite direction this morning and I ended up at some villas which were quite close to a main road. It was noisy back there and I was glad that wasn't my Disney home.


So which park today? Well, Epcot, of course!

I wore flip flops and shorts to the park (with a long sleeve shirt) and my toes were COLD. I considered going into Mouse Gears and buy a pair of overpriced socks, but two things stopped me. First, I pictured Stacy and Clinton admonishing me for such a severe fashion fopah (flip flops with soaks! ). Second, I knew it had to warm up in the next hour or so, so I steered us to some inside activities.

But first we sent Nick to pick up the coveted Soarin FPs. He did such a great job getting the EE FPs, why mess with success?

FPs in hand I suggested the boys try this.......

There was no line and it didn't take them to enter the Design lab

Even though the line was short, I had to watch a few other people ride before Denny and Nick were up.

I think that is them.

No, that is not a lamp growing out of Nick's head.

Woo hoo. Flip time

Time's up

One thing I noticed - the ride seems even shorter when you are not riding. By the time they exited the line had grown fairly long, so I skipped it. I guess I could have ridden by myself, but what fun is that and who would have taken the pictures?

Next stop

One of my favorites

Time for some NON-flash SE pictures

I love the smell of this ride. Weird? I know!

Continued in Next Post.........

 

[MEK]

Continued......

Is that really supposed to be Steve Jobs?

Marking a time and place in history, in a recent update to Epcot’s iconic Spaceship Earth ride, Disney even added a garage scene in which a bearded, long-haired young man is slumped over an early prototype of the world’s first personal computer. While not specifically named as Jobs, it’s clear that this scene represents an important moment in technological history that Jobs was a major part of. (Source: Inside the Magic)

Love this part. I love that you are actually at the top of the globe

I think its future time

Nick - put your head on straight

Clearly someone is going on a trip

Looks like I was attached by a pack of hungry mice

Is that a hidden Mickey on my head?

Good to know that the China Inn is open

Watch out for that wall Nick

Help, My Oxygen Tank is empty!

Notice that someone has a new home in the Pacific Ocean. Nice going Nick!

With time to spare before our FPs were due, we headed over to Mission Space

Look - there's an orb on Denny's head!

I took some pictures inside the attraction

Continued.........

 

[MEK]

Continued......

Look who

And that's it for pictures. I considered taking phone pics during the ride, but decided against it.

Please remember all photos were taken without a flash.

After we rode MS we grabbed FPs for TT and headed over to Soarin.

When we hit the Soarin line I could NOT believe how long the stand by line was. It was seriously almost to the entrance of the queue. Silly people. Why didn't half of you get FP's? Standy by time = 120 mins!

Oh well, not my problem. My line was moving just fine.

I remembered seeing Glennbo's Soarin pictures so I decided it wouldn't hurt to take a few nonflash phone pictures.

Ready to Soar?????

I love how people can never seem to step on their arrows

Up, up and away

Continued.......[COLOR][SIZE]

 

[MEK]

Continued........

This is actually my favorite scene!

Sorry I got things out of order a little bit and I did no editing to these pics, but I hope you enjoyed your Soarin simulation. Maybe next time I'll be brave enough to take the real camera.

Up Next....An Epcot First

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Oh no!!! I don't drive in the city, I'd be freaking out if I got lost in Brooklyn too!! Glad you made it out alright, and your LI weekend seems like it was lots of fun!!

You're not the only one who loves the smell of Spaceship Earth!! I especially love the burning of Rome scene!

You got some awesome non-flash photos during the ride!! I'm always impressed by your mad photography skills!!

Thanks for inviting us along on your Soarin' ride as well!! I love the beach scene too. I think that and the orange groves are my favorite.

 

[glennbo123]

Glad you found your way back from the city. It looked like a fun weekend getaway though!

I remembered seeing Glennbo's Soarin pictures so I decided it wouldn't hurt to take a few nonflash phone pictures.

You're giving me too much credit here...I don't think I've taken pictures on Soarin', and haven't even ridden it the last trip (or two?). I have seen some pictures on other TRs so you probably saw some elsewhere. But thanks for thinking of me!

 

[thecapells]

Fun flashback!
I grew up on Long Island and have taken some winery tours.
I remember Peconic Bay but don't recall the others you mentioned.

 

[thecapells]

Wow!
Talk about a long update!
Nice shots on Spaceship Earth and Soarin'!
But I'm surprised the Spaceship Earth lines weren't insane so close to opening.
Was it a long wait?
I've noticed that it's usually really long right at opening and then dies down for the rest of the day.

 

[Poolrat]

Getting lost in the city was not fun! At first I was OK but after driving around and around trying to find the lincoln tunnel (whose on ramps were under construction - hence the GPS was not helpful) I was starting to get so stressed. I felt like just stopping my car in the middle of the street and screaming "help"

I grew up there and would never venture through the city. I did take the train in once to meet some friends when I was in college. My parents were freaking out and almost did not let me go. My "city" friends took extraordinary measures to make sure I got home on the train. They even walked me on the train and assigned me a babysitter. Luckily the "babysitter" happended to be someone I went to high school with. He sat in front of me in homeroom all 4 years since we were seated alphabetically.

 

[Moira222]

oh how did I get 16 pages behind? AAAGGHH!

Love your visit through the Maharaja trek. I think we only did this in '07 - I usually can only get Joe to walk through one exhibit like this per trip. I am hoping I can get him to walk through it again, though it will depend I think on the heat and the crowd levels that day.

GREAT Tiger sleeping!

pretty wine glass I love the gold designs and mickey heads. I hope they still have something like that in June. Since we are driving, I can buy things that I normally would be afraid to put in luggage on an airline. could be dangerous!!!

chocolate truffle cherry wine... yes please.

multi quotes --- here is a different way: look at the beginning of the quote - you'll see a bracket[, quote and then a bit more and a nother bracket ]. copy just that, then put [/quote] where you want to stop quoting, write your reply, then paste the opening quote code that you copied. saves copying pasting and deleting a bunch of times.


(ok still behind but since I apparently fell asleep with my fingers on my keyboard I need to go to bed. )

 

[eandesmom]

I pretty much finish every TR I sub too. However, sometimes I start to get lost with some of the most popular TRs because there is usually so much banter. I also prefer TR's that announce an update because I'm too lazy to look.

I'm with you there. I have a hard time keeping up on ones that don't as I can't tell if it's an update or banter

If I have to move on that last day I may just stay off site again because they really can't kick me off property until midnight. I would like to spend my last afternoon with some quality pool time!

That is a great plan!

I really enjoyed having Nick along in December. Unfortunately, he is not too thrilled to be going again in June. I think he has hit the full-on teenager stage. Fun!

Is it b/c the nephews are younger? Would there be room for Nick to bring a friend? I remember you doing that with Brian. K would not be thrilled if it was "just" WDW either and as it is, wanted to bring a friend (but got over it when we talked her through the cost..our rooms only sleep 5!).

I am getting very worried now that they don't seem 100% committed. I think they will go, but why don't they want to wrap up their travel arrangements? I don't even want to discuss it with them until they have their travel arrangements. And - no - they don't get it. To my brother it is just an inconvenient vacation. He keeps saying to me, "I don't do rides".
And I keep saying, "So?" He totally does not get it. He wants to drive all night and get there and go to sleep.

The only vacations they take are 3 nights to the beach because they can't handle being around their kids any longer than that. They should just let me take the two oldest and stay home! I knew it was going to be a weird trip, but I am doing this for the kids, not the crazy parents.

UGH. And I'm sure doesn't get the coveted hard to get Treehouse either.

OMG - I didn't event hink to look for that. I never turned and looked backwards and on the drop I was too busy screaming.

LOL! Something for next time.

I that glass. I have to show you the cute wine thing I bought in LI. Actually, I'm so dumb because I should have bought one for each of us for October. DOH!

I checked this morning for the week before ours, right now no BW Boardwalk view, 4 nights garden/pool but not all sequential. BCV had the same 4 nights which was bizarre! I actually think, given what we are chatting about recently with MNSSHP and FW that if we end up with a split having VWL on the front end would probably be very cool!

Mine too. Definitely my fav picture of the trip!

It's a framer!

Overall, he is really a good kid and I do understand the "not wanting to vacation with the parents" thing since I went through it myself. He is graduating in June 2013. It was nice having a year off in between kids in terms of the whole college application thing. I found that to be stressful last year with my oldest son. I think it will actually be worse with Nick because he is a much better student and he should get better offers so his options have to be considered more thoroughly.

But he also thinks he wants to play soccer which limits his choices academically. So he will basically have a list of "soccer" schools and "academic" schools. I wish he could get looked at for soccer at Salisbury (where my older son is) because I think his grades are good enough that he could get some academic scholarship money. That would be the best of both worlds because I think Salisbury is a good school.

UGH! We are just going there with K now as well although she's 2014. Right now it's about summer soccer camps at potential schools that fit both bills. It's tough as her club team is frankly, sucking wind at the moment and that doesn't help her at all. It is likely unless things drastically change, we will be looking at a change of clubs (again). T was easier though super stressful. At least with K we don't have to worry about her going, it's a where not an if, unlike T who was an if. We did confirm that the running start will definitely pay off, potentially almost 2 full years. IF he can get the required classes in on time, since they aren't offered every quarter it's a bit of a scheduling challenge.

FUN weekend girl trip and you guys look like you are having a blast. So cool you got to hook up with Melissa!

 

[teekathepony]

Ohh I wish I wasn't claustrophobic!! I want to try the Sum of all Thrills so much!
I DO love SE <3 I did some research on the Steve Jobs scene too. It's a very interesting moment in time for sure.

I love the smell of this ride. Weird? I know!

I love the smell of the monorails. I think it smells like heavy horses.
Your Soarin' pictures made me tear up! Hahaha, oh I love that ride.
Can't wait to hear about the Epcot first!

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

Getting all caught up today!

Glad you got to ride EE at night but hate that it was not what you expected. I loved it when we did it in 2008. Thought the tree of life was beautiful all lit up from above.

Looks like you had a nice girls weekend. How neat that you got to see Melissa.

Loved your pictures of Soarin! That is probably my favorite ride on property. My favorite part is the orange groves. Geez, a 120 minutes wait--no thank you! I can't believe people actually stand in line for that.

I have never rode Mission Space. It looks like a tight space to me and I do not like tight spaces. Is it?

Too funny about you liking the smell on Spaceship Earth.

 

[Poolrat]

120Min for Soarin'? I saw 240!!!! The week between Christmas And New Years

 

[MEK]

Oh no!!! I don't drive in the city, I'd be freaking out if I got lost in Brooklyn too!! Glad you made it out alright, and your LI weekend seems like it was lots of fun!!

Actually, I found out from my coworker (who grew up in the city) that I was actually in Manhattan. Go to know!

I was quietly freaking out and then, when I kept missing the lincoln tunnel, I was actively freaking out.

Still a fun weekend!

You're not the only one who loves the smell of Spaceship Earth!! I especially love the burning of Rome scene!

Yes - I love that smell! Not sure why. There is just something comforting, yet filled with anticipation, feeling when I smell that.

You got some awesome non-flash photos during the ride!! I'm always impressed by your mad photography skills!!

This is the best I have ever done with pictures in there. I just worked the shutter speed and tried to adjust the light settings.

Thanks for inviting us along on your Soarin' ride as well!! I love the beach scene too. I think that and the orange groves are my favorite.

The orange groves because of the smell - of course.

But those surfers at dusk. It's like they are having so much fun that they trying to get one more run in before its too dark.

Glad you found your way back from the city. It looked like a fun weekend getaway though!

It was a ton of fun. I really like Long Island - well, except for getting there and coming home!

You're giving me too much credit here...I don't think I've taken pictures on Soarin', and haven't even ridden it the last trip (or two?). I have seen some pictures on other TRs so you probably saw some elsewhere. But thanks for thinking of me!

Are you SURE it wasn't you? Yeah - I guess you are sure. Well, darn, who the heck was it???? I know it was a guy DISer and it was posted in the last year or so. Oh well. I take it back. You are no longer my inspiration.

Fun flashback!
I grew up on Long Island and have taken some winery tours.
I remember Peconic Bay but don't recall the others you mentioned.

Sparkling point is new and its the most upscale of the ones we visited. Duck Walk and Osprey were further east than Peconic Bay. We also hit Pindor, but by then I wasn't counting. I bet Long Island is gorgeous in the summer and fall.

Wow!
Talk about a long update!

I don't know what got into me last night. When I finished with the Spaceship Earth pics I just decided to post the Soarin pics since they were on my phone.

Nice shots on Spaceship Earth and Soarin'!
But I'm surprised the Spaceship Earth lines weren't insane so close to opening.
Was it a long wait?
I've noticed that it's usually really long right at opening and then dies down for the rest of the day.

I'm pretty happy with my SE shots. No - the wait was not long at all. It wasn't exactly a walk on but maybe 5 minutes, tops! Just good timing, I think.

I grew up there and would never venture through the city. I did take the train in once to meet some friends when I was in college. My parents were freaking out and almost did not let me go. My "city" friends took extraordinary measures to make sure I got home on the train. They even walked me on the train and assigned me a babysitter. Luckily the "babysitter" happended to be someone I went to high school with. He sat in front of me in homeroom all 4 years since we were seated alphabetically.

I wonder how many people never come off Long Island because they can't stand the thought of having to drive through NYC!

That's a great story about the train babysitter! It probably made your parents very happy!

oh how did I get 16 pages behind? AAAGGHH!

TRs can be very labor intensive, can't they? I try never to get too far behind because I'll never catch up.

Love your visit through the Maharaja trek. I think we only did this in '07 - I usually can only get Joe to walk through one exhibit like this per trip. I am hoping I can get him to walk through it again, though it will depend I think on the heat and the crowd levels that day.

The heat makes those paths unbearable, but the temp was so perfect I had to go back there. It was really a great trail. I hope you get a chance to see it!

GREAT Tiger sleeping!

I love that tiger! I love all the big cats. They are so cool!

pretty wine glass I love the gold designs and mickey heads. I hope they still have something like that in June. Since we are driving, I can buy things that I normally would be afraid to put in luggage on an airline. could be dangerous!!!

Look in the dump shop by EE. I bet they still have them.

I guess that is one good reason to drive - room for plenty of souvies!

chocolate truffle cherry wine... yes please.

Seriously. That sounds amazing!

multi quotes --- here is a different way: look at the beginning of the quote - you'll see a bracket[, quote and then a bit more and a nother bracket ]. copy just that, then put

where you want to stop quoting, write your reply, then paste the opening quote code that you copied. saves copying pasting and deleting a bunch of times. [/QUOTE]

That is exactly what I have been doing and its great. Definitely a time save and I have no idea why it took me so long to figure it out! DOH!

(ok still behind but since I apparently fell asleep with my fingers on my keyboard I need to go to bed. )

I'm glad I'm not the only one who does that!

 

[MEK]

I'm with you there. I have a hard time keeping up on ones that don't as I can't tell if it's an update or banter

Exactly! I like to know right where to look for the update. Like Kathy even gives the post number because she has so many readers.

That is a great plan!

Yeah - why move to another DVC resort when I can still be at the BWV until midnight. If I have to move I might as well just sleep near the airport and start my reentry into the real world.

Is it b/c the nephews are younger? Would there be room for Nick to bring a friend? I remember you doing that with Brian. K would not be thrilled if it was "just" WDW either and as it is, wanted to bring a friend (but got over it when we talked her through the cost..our rooms only sleep 5!).


UGH. And I'm sure doesn't get the coveted hard to get Treehouse either.

Nick is great with his nephews and they love him. I'm not sure what it is exactly.

Just between you and me (and the rest of the DIS board who can now flame me) I did offer to let him bring his GF for the treehouse nights and said they could fly home together. Here's the thing - that would put the occupancy at 10. IF all of my brother's family showed up.

I am very much by the rules, but since my youngest nephew is only 5 I was going to leave him off the reservation. I know this is technically not the right thing to do, but he would probably just sleep in his parents room in their bed anyway. But for whatever reason Nick does not want to ask his GF to go. Not sure why, so I'm leaving it alone.

So I have a treehouse that as of right now can have an occupancy anywhere between 3 and 9 plus, shall we say. If they decide not to go I will definitely have Nick ask a friend, but times a wasting now.

No - they don't get the treehouse thing at all.

LOL! Something for next time.

If there ever is a next time!

I checked this morning for the week before ours, right now no BW Boardwalk view, 4 nights garden/pool but not all sequential. BCV had the same 4 nights which was bizarre! I actually think, given what we are chatting about recently with MNSSHP and FW that if we end up with a split having VWL on the front end would probably be very cool!

I think that would work out so great! Of course, it won't when I go to call, but you never know. Fingers crossed.

It's a framer!

I agree!

UGH! We are just going there with K now as well although she's 2014. Right now it's about summer soccer camps at potential schools that fit both bills. It's tough as her club team is frankly, sucking wind at the moment and that doesn't help her at all. It is likely unless things drastically change, we will be looking at a change of clubs (again). T was easier though super stressful. At least with K we don't have to worry about her going, it's a where not an if, unlike T who was an if. We did confirm that the running start will definitely pay off, potentially almost 2 full years. IF he can get the required classes in on time, since they aren't offered every quarter it's a bit of a scheduling challenge.

That's how it was with Brian - easier, but more stressful because he was so all over the place.

Nick has to go to summer camp with his school because he's captain and I would like him to pick one other camp that is at a potential school. He has two college showcases coming up and we are shooting video now. I actually have to get a new computer to make his video. Well, I don't have to but the timing is good and I want it to be as easy as possible.

FUN weekend girl trip and you guys look like you are having a blast. So cool you got to hook up with Melissa!

I was so excited to see Melissa. That was such a bonus! I can't believe how close we were to her house. It was a fun weekend, although there were parts of it that got really rowdy.

Ohh I wish I wasn't claustrophobic!! I want to try the Sum of all Thrills so much!

I have to admit that the first time I did that ride and the cover went down I got a little panicky. But as soon as the video came up (like in seconds) I was fine. I just didn't expect it to be so enclosed.

I DO love SE <3 I did some research on the Steve Jobs scene too. It's a very interesting moment in time for sure.

It really is. So interesting how the how computer age started. What a gift to have so much insight.

I love the smell of the monorails. I think it smells like heavy horses.

Well, I can honestly say I have never heard that before. I'm not sure I know what a heavy horse smells like. To me the monorail often just smells like stale sweat.

Your Soarin' pictures made me tear up! Hahaha, oh I love that ride.
Can't wait to hear about the Epcot first!

It is a wonderful ride and the pictures do help me relive it.

My Epcot first is really not all that exciting, but it IS a first!

Getting all caught up today!

Welcome back stranger!

Glad you got to ride EE at night but hate that it was not what you expected. I loved it when we did it in 2008. Thought the tree of life was beautiful all lit up from above.

You're the second person who said that and I totally don't remember seeing the TOL. Is it possible it wasn't lit up???? because EE wasn't lit up like I remember either.

I did really enjoy it. It was a ton of fun so I hope I didn't come off sounding too disappointed.

Looks like you had a nice girls weekend. How neat that you got to see Melissa.

I was so excited that I got to meet Melissa last minute like that. I really didn't say anything about the trip because I was so sure I would have to cancel because of my mom or dad. so once I got up there I figured out that Melissa literally lived in the middle of wine country!

Loved your pictures of Soarin! That is probably my favorite ride on property. My favorite part is the orange groves. Geez, a 120 minutes wait--no thank you! I can't believe people actually stand in line for that.

I can't either. We rode three rides and our FP was due. What is wrong with people? Not that I should complain - works to my advantage!

I have never rode Mission Space. It looks like a tight space to me and I do not like tight spaces. Is it?

When you first get in you think you are going to be claustrophobic but then air blows on you the whole time. As soon as the air blows and the video starts it does not feel small at all.

Too funny about you liking the smell on Spaceship Earth.

There is something nostalgic about that smell.

120Min for Soarin'? I saw 240!!!! The week between Christmas And New Years

Did they put up porta-potties along the route? that's NUTS!

 

[Nermel9]

Great update! You know I love this one, it's all Epcot!

Yay for Spaceship Earth! I love that ride sooo much! Especially the part at the top where you can see the Earth!

Soarin!!! Ugh, it always annoys me that people don't stand on those arrows, I don't know why...they are kind of close together, though! 120 minute wait time??? That's crazy!!

I never thought of taking pictures on Soarin with my phone! Great idea! What if I drop it though!

 

[KatMark]

I really enjoyed this update, MaryEllen. As always, great pictures. But I love the way you described the pictures of you and Nick on Spaceship Earth.

 

[Poolrat]

I wonder how many people never come off Long Island because they can't stand the thought of having to drive through NYC!

That's a great story about the train babysitter! It probably made your parents very happy!

I think to NJ I always took the Verrazaro- Narrows. When I went to Pa it was Throg Neck.

I did the tunnel a handful of times and it was scary.

 

[MEK]

Great update! You know I love this one, it's all Epcot!

I know you love your Epcot! We did have a fun morning in Epcot and there's more to come so stay tuned.

Yay for Spaceship Earth! I love that ride sooo much! Especially the part at the top where you can see the Earth!

It really is one of my favorite rides and my kids fell in love with it on there first time. It's one of those rides I could ride over and over.

Soarin!!! Ugh, it always annoys me that people don't stand on those arrows, I don't know why...they are kind of close together, though! 120 minute wait time??? That's crazy!!

It happens every time I do Soarin. there is always someone who can't stand on the arrow!

That was the longest Soarin queue I have ever seen, but it sure doesn't come close to Pat's 240 min wait at New Years. Forget about it!

I never thought of taking pictures on Soarin with my phone! Great idea! What if I drop it though!

I figured I was in the third row so if it fell it wouldn't go THAT far!

I really enjoyed this update, MaryEllen. As always, great pictures. But I love the way you described the pictures of you and Nick on Spaceship Earth.

Thanks Kathy!

I let Nick pick out the story line for spaceship earth, so you'll have to credit him.

I think to NJ I always took the Verrazaro- Narrows. When I went to Pa it was Throg Neck.

I did the tunnel a handful of times and it was scary.

We took the Verrazano on the way there. The ride there was slow (very stop and start), but I got some great views of the city and the Brooklyn bridge. They way back - not so much. It was just crazy!