"Everyone! Come see how handsome I am!" **FINISHED** 2/17

[dawnmichele]

Hope that Danny liked the scooter enough to get one when you go home. Sounds like he discovered something new and liberating. Am loving your TR! Hannah looks real stressed in that photo; she's a beautiful girl! You look ROCKIN'!! You look like you are a lot of fun and, of course, we already know you are a GREAT photographer! The photos are super! Thanks for sharing!

I keep encouraging him too, but I guess he's not convinced yet. Thanks so much for the compliments!! Especially about the photos! That's my favorite part!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Welcome back!

I love BTMRR, too! I am SO EXCITED to ride it in May (as it was under refurbishment during our last trip). It will be great!

I'm glad Hannah isn't on the DISboards because I love your old-school Disney photos!

 

[gracer9977]

Hurray!! Your back!! So happy to read your latest report.

I too love the old school pictures of Hannah. Especially that really adorable one with her waving her pirate flag. So cute.

That parade always makes me happy, how can you not feel like dancing when you watch that parade coming down the street.

 

[dawnmichele]

Hurray!! Your back!! So happy to read your latest report.

I too love the old school pictures of Hannah. Especially that really adorable one with her waving her pirate flag. So cute.

That parade always makes me happy, how can you not feel like dancing when you watch that parade coming down the street.

Aww thanks! I wish digital cameras would have existed back then. It seems like I have so few photos of our first two trips, when I know at the time it seemed like I was taking so many.

So I just typed up the next part of the report - and then came here to see I have missed one! I know I wrote up all the stuff about lunch and the circus - but where did I put it??

Things have been Crazy around here the last couple weeks. I discovered a leak in our water main somewhere between the house and the meter, so a bunch of plumbers came. I had to tear down an inside wall, and they totally tore up my front yard installing a new pipe. After that a bunch of guys came to trim up the mess of trees in my back yard, and I had several sets of gutter folks and house painters come to give me estimates on those jobs. Last week the gutter guys fixed all that up and this week the painters came. Mixed in with all that was Hannah's birthday, Danny's birthday and my boyfriend's birthday. And I'm taking my ill behaved dog to obedience classes to try to help him out (luckily it's working). So yeah. Too much and not enough time to obsess about Disney!

However, as soon as I find the missing post and post it, I'll be back on track.

 

[dawnmichele]

I found the lost post!!

Can’t forget the castle!

Merida has become Hannah’s favorite princess, so we were heading to her meeting area, but when we saw how long her line was, we changed our minds.

Wow. I guess I should have checked on that line. I guess it’s a get in line first thing kind of thing. I managed to snap a shot from the distance, but we all know it’s not nearly the same thing. Next time.

Hannah decided she was hungry and since Cosmic Ray’s was one of her favorites from last visit, we headed there. I noticed we were going right at lunch time and know that’s never a good idea. H got in line for the avacado burger she remembered having there last time. I knew I’d be having dinner at the company party that night, so I was looking for more of a snack than a meal. For some reason I chose chili cheese fries and I knew as soon as I picked them up it was a bad choice.

I found Hannah down front, close to Sunny Eclipse.

She loves that guy. They didn’t have avacado burgers so she just got a regular one and was not loving it. Her fries were soggy and so were mine. The crowd made it crazy loud in there and then to help it out, a large group of CMs were visiting various tables, singing something and clapping along loudly. We ended up leaving without eating much. H was especially disappointed.

We sat on a bench outside for a bit to complain a little and decide what to do next. Pooh and Tigger walked by. Where else does that happen? I waved to them and they waved back. Because we love each other and they know that.

The Alice topiary, because it's one of my favorites.

More cute 7 dwarves art.

We headed over to the Big Top Circus area since we had skipped it earlier. The wait times made me believe it wasn’t very crowded that day, but trying to get around made me have questions.

The circus area was adorable. I love the whole look and feel even though I really hate the real circus! I did have to dodge a couple creepy clowns but over all I found it super charming.

H didn’t want to ride Dumbo or the Barn Stormer (even though she loved it when she was 4 and it was in ToonTown). We checked out Casey Jr’s Splash whatever.

Very cute and probably just the ticket on those hot, humid Florida summer days. Not so inviting in December.

We did decide to check out the new restrooms by the train station. We loved the footprints and the peanuts in the pavement, and the bathrooms really were as big and nice as I had read. Hannah was impressed that she found something even cheaper than the one dollar cheese dip - tampons. Good to know.

We walked through the big top tent and were overwhelmed. It’s giant, super colorful and filled with great smells. In the middle of the tent there were about a thousand delicious looking treats. We checked out headgear and pillow pets and swore we’d come back for a treat when we were more hungry. Never happened. Next time.

Of course I was ready to go meet some more characters and Pete’s Silly Slideshow was right there. Hannah agreed to meet one set, so since the boys line was shorter we chose that one.

Goofy was great, but his PhotoPassPhotographer not so much. He took a weirdly timed shot of Hannah as she was just standing in line and then totally ignnored some charming interaction when they first said hi. He redeemed himself with some good shots later.

Donald’s PPP was better but the lighting in that area was kind of crazy. Every photo I’ve seen of that M&G has some weird color thing going on - ours included.

After that, Hannah was starting to feel exhausted and yucky from those antibiotics, plus it was getting close to time for me the head back to the room anyway, so we decided to just head back to our hotation. (Hotation is a world Hannah made up on our first Disney trip when she confused the words for hotel and vacation. “Are we going back to our hotation?” she’d ask. She also called the monorail the "mamarail". Of course I loved that.)

As we were standing at our bus stop, a giant crowd of cheerleaders filed in behind us. Not surprising since it was Pop Warner weekend. We all loaded and squished onto the bus - and the group started singing their way through the soundtrack to The Little Mermaid. We all love those songs, of course, but not really the North Rockland Cheer version on a long crowded bus ride.

We were relieved when we reached our stop. On the way back to our room we passed these bushes full of beautiful flowers again and I thought I’d show you a few of them.

Up next: The company party.

 

[dawnmichele]

So we had started the day at the Magic Kingdom and the brand new FantasyLand expansion. We were feeling that first full day exhaustion and decided it was time to head back to the CSR.

If you remember, Danny had spent the day at work meetings, and later that night we were headed for a company dinner followed by a private dessert party at Illuminations! He was napping in his bed when we got back to the room, and we were inspired to do the same thing. A little nap seemed like just the thing for all of us. I set the alarm and crashed out on the bed with Hannah.

D and I got up and started getting ready when the alarm went off, but that girl just slept right through it all. She didn't get up until we were walking out the door. I told her we'd text her later and meet up at Epcot after the party.

We headed out and back towards the main building. They had planned for us to have cocktails outside which sounded perfect at that beautiful resort. Being out by the lake at CSR at sunset on a warm delicious December night with complimentary cocktails? Yes, please. But someone thought it was going to rain so they moved us inside. They set up a bar at the back of the room where we were dining. Still better than being back in Kansas.

We found a table and settled in. The work people talked about work stuff and the guests tried not to be bored - isn't that how it always is at company parties? I was disappointed there was very little Disney talk, so I mostly listened and nodded. Danny's boss gave a little speech and they opened up the buffet lines.

My first plate = fruit, olive/tomato/mozzarella, salad. All very good. especially the olive stuff. How can you go wrong with olives, tomatoes and cheese?

My second plate = I used to have notes about this food, but they are lost. This is why you should write your trip report as soon as you get back. Or maybe just be more organized with your things. It was some mediterranean chicken with some pearl couscous, some pasta with my favorite veges and some Kalamata olive bread. It wasn't as good as the first plate, but for a buffet in a banquet room it wasn't bad.

Danny's first plate.

Danny's second plate. He obviously likes meat a lot more than I do. He liked it a lot, but he wasn't in love with it.

So - after weeks of worrying what I could wear that would be dressy enough for the party, yet warm and comfy enough for extra magic hours - not to mention what kind of shoes could work for both - I discovered many folks (mostly the ladies) were making a quick trip back to the room for a wardrobe change. Ugh. Why didn't I think of that? I decided to just stay in what I was wearing (I hate to rush and worry about missing the bus!), but later I did want to kick myself for not going back to grab my camera. This part of the report would be so much more visually interesting if I had.

We also found out that our kids were welcome at the dessert party so I texted Hannah to stay tuned for a location.

We lined up for the busses in the lobby. Since D was the only one there with mobility issues, they loaded us on on first right behind the driver. It took 4 Mears busses to fit everyone, but eventually we took off towards Epcot. As usual I was worried about the time, and with all the crazy traffic on the road I was sure we'd never make it in time for the show. I should really stop worrying (especially on vacation at Disney) and just trust the professionals to do their job.

We drove through some gates. There were plain buildings, strange vehicles and bright interesting lights all around. There were a lot of ramps and railings. I was sure I could see part of Test Track. We were backstage! There were lots of giant speed bumps and check points. At one, a lady boarded our bus with a neon blue light stick and told us they'd be doing a bag check. We were all to hold open our bags for her as she walked past. She barely glanced in mine and headed on through the rest of the bus. It went very quickly. I wish I could remember if she was wearing a uniform or what she looked like, but in my defense I was A. texting too much with Hannah at the time and B. kind of over excited by the whole situation.

After the lady was done, we loaded off the busses and headed up a set of concrete steps. Someone held a door open and we all went through into a giant kind of warehouse/garage space. I was trying to take it all in but we were moving quickly, and it was really kind of dark in there. If there was much to see, I missed it.

Someone opened a door up ahead and there was a lot more light. We walked through a back door to the gift shop in China. It was such a contrast I feel like I can't even explain it. You're in a dark, drab utilitarian cold set of hallways where there's nothing to see and it's hard to see it. Then you step through a doorway and it's warm and red and gold and bright. Lights. Music. People. Excitement. It's Disney World! Not knowing what was coming definitely helped the excitement factor. It was one of the best moments and memories of my entire trip.

Hannah, in the meantime, had asked an Epcot CM about where we'd be meeting for the party and was on the Mexican pyramid watching for us. We were a pretty big crowd of dressed up old people being led by a Disney lady holding up a bright blue light, so she didn't have any trouble spotting us. She ran up to meet us and seemed pretty excited. We all were.

They led us to a roped off area between Port of Entry and Disney Traders (the two shops in front of you just as you enter World Showcase). There were tables loaded down with a few desserts and an overly crowded area with some beverages.

Danny got us a place by the rail with his local coworkers while H and I headed for a dessert table. I got one of everything for Danny, some for me, and H loaded her plate. We took them over to our spot and H went to fetch us some beverages.

This was my plate. Sorry these pictures are all so bad. I was way too distracted by fun and adventure to be a decent photographer.

We chatted with the coworkers from our city and caught up on everyone's kids and how our trip was. I think I was probably a little too excited. I mean it was a special party full of desserts and surprises - to watch my favorite Illuminations! - at Disney World! As the kids would say, I died. I was so, so dead.

Oh, and the desserts. I almost forgot about them. Because sadly, they were kind of forgettable. They weren't bad but they were no where near the hilight of the night or even really up to what I'd consider Disney standards.

There was some kind of butterscotch cookie thing that I skipped because I don't like butterscotch. There was a giant pan of strawberry shortcake that I scooped onto my fancy looking but disposable plate. There was a rice krispie treat with a handful of chocolate chips sprinkled on top, and a Boston creme donut with some of those silver candy balls on top.

Danny loved the shortcake and asked for more. Hannah loved it too. My favorite was probably the donut.

Everyone chatted and watched the ducks in the water. We wondered what they thought of all the spectacle of the show. The voice kept announcing the count down and before we knew it, Illuminations was starting. Everyone was amazed and I was in love all over again. I was upset with myself for not bringing the camera, but it was also good to just be an observer, right?

Since I don't have any pictures you'll just have to flashback to your own fantastic memories of Illuminations. If you've never seen it, you have my permission to go right now and watch it tonight. I think it always starts at 9:30 pm. Hurry. I'll wait.

When it was over, everyone was pleased and happy and ready to start extra magic hours at Epcot!!

Up next: Extra Magic!

 

[dawnmichele]

Welcome back!

I love BTMRR, too! I am SO EXCITED to ride it in May (as it was under refurbishment during our last trip). It will be great!

I'm glad Hannah isn't on the DISboards because I love your old-school Disney photos!

It's almost May!! I hope you have a fantastic trip. I'm pretty sure you will .

I love those old pictures, too. That's one of the best parts of going to Disney again and again over the years I think!

 

[dawnmichele]

We've been back from our trip for a little over 4 months now, and I'm just about to post the end of day 2. That's normal, right?
Oh, and I just realized I have completely different hair in these pictures. It's just a wig. Even Disney isn't that magic.

Since Danny and I were all dressed up, we stopped for some photo pass pictures!

Hannah says she feels like she just photo bombed us in that picture with her Bambi sweatshirt on while we're all dressed up. Silly girl. I just love having pictures of us all together. Have I said yet that I love having pre purchased the Photo Pass Plus? That's a lot of P words! I do. There's one reason why.

We were headed toward Soarin'. Hannah and I both love it, but Danny had never ridden and only heard about it before and was anxious to check it out. We could see from the big times board the wait time was about 45 minutes and we figured it was worth it.

On the way, we were looking for restrooms when I spotted the Character Spot. It was open. I suggested we use the facilities in there and then meet the Fab 3 who were waiting for us inside. Mickey, Minnie and Pluto standing around and there was absolutely no line - so we joined them!

I met the main mouse.

I had to show him my Mickey Mouse watch.

Danny was next.

And Hannah.

Pluto was next. He's such a good boy I had to give him a few scratches.

And then the sweetest mouse ever.

We had the best time at that meet and greet. Even Hannah thought it was fantastic.

I want to mention a little here about how it's different when there's a scooter in your party. It's not always clear what to do or where to go and there is a lot of stopping to ask a CM. Coming in to the Land pavilion was one of those situation. We came in and immediately wanted to go down to the bottom floor. The CM there was great and directed us down past some bathrooms to a small elevator we could take down. It was a small elevator and there was a line of people trying to get back up waiting when we got off. The area outside there was really small and hard to maneuver through and kind of a mess. I wouldn't be surprised if they changed it soon.

So - the wait for Soarin' seemed long, but I doubt it was 45 minutes. As usual somewhere close to the front we split off into a separate line for scooters. We ended up in the middle row which I did not mind. The people's feet didn't bother me nearly as much as the dirt on the lens! People are not kidding. I kept thinking I spotted a UFO. The ride was still really great. It's just so dreamy and relaxing. It smells so good. I love the smelly parts. We all loved it. I'm pretty sure it's Danny's favorite ride now (competing with Dinosaur and Star Wars). That night he found the soundtrack online and listened while he fell asleep.

Just off Soarin', Living with the Land seemed a logical choice. We got in a super short line and got on the ride. I really liked the first part. The midwestern farm house made me all proud to be from Kansas (even though I'm a city girl). It smelled and sounded just like home. The garden part was ok but all the fish kind of freaked me out a little. Seriously.

Also freaky - the tunnel bit. It reminded me way too much of the scary part in Willie Wonka when Gene Wilder sings that song "Is it raining, is it snowing, is a hurricane a blowing…" You know the part. I didn't love it.

Right at the end as we came around the corner to see the loading platform, we got stuck. For about 15 minutes. I didn't love that either. The announcement kept saying the ride would resume immediately, but it did not. It wasn't too bad, but none of us wanted to go on it again for the rest of the trip.

It was getting late so we decided to head out. Of course we stopped for another ride on Space Ship Earth.

And one more photo.

I don't know why I like to take pictures of the queue, but sometimes I do. Right after I snapped this of the line for the bus, we were joined by a group of Danny's office mates.

I liked the way the parking lot got all hazy and glowy at night.

We got on a bus and headed back to the CSR at 12:16 according to my very sparse trip notes. It was a truly fantastic night. I was out as soon as I lay down.

Next up: Extra Magic Hollywood Style.

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

I just found your trip report and I'm enjoying reading along on your journey.

 

[dawnmichele]

I just found your trip report and I'm enjoying reading along on your journey.

Thank you! I'm glad to know you've joined in!

 

[gracer9977]

Just got all caught up again. Love all the pictures with Goofy at the circus. I would have run from the clowns too, I am also not a huge fan of the circus and not really a big Dumbo movie fan (kills me when the elephants and kids make fun of Dumbo and that when mama gets mad they put her in a cage and seperate her from her baby. )

Anyway I still have to ride Dumbo everytime and looking forward to trying out the brand new one.

Great pictures, the Epcot Mickey, Pluto and Minnie pictures are great too.

Looking foward to the next update.

 

[dawnmichele]

Thanks to Disney excitement, I was up a little before Mickey and Stitch called at 6. I was determined to get us to the bus stop by 7am and we were!

I had read on the disAbilities board about the ways people decorated and personalized their scooters for the trip, and had stopped at our Target one day to buy Danny a set of battery operated LED christmas lights. (I read they had ones with Mickey heads, but not at my store apparently.) We had forgotten them the first two nights, but Hannah had remembered to grab them that morning. We wove them around his front basket while we waited for our bus.

When it came it was a short ride to the DHS. It was pretty empty and extra hazy when we got there.

The crowd grew behind us as we waited and I was so glad we had managed to get there when we did.

We ended up the 6, 7, and 8th people through the gate.

None of us had ever ridden Toy Story Midway Mania before, so, like most guests there that morning, that was our first goal. On our last trip, Hannah and I never made it to DHS early enough to ride without a long wait, and it didn't exist last time Danny was there. All of us were looking forward to checking it out.

However, nothing could keep me from making us stop for a picture!

Hannah went ahead a little bit and got our FPs. Since the standby line was pretty empty still we decided to stand by! There wasn't enough of a line for me to really take in the magic of that queue area and I didn't get a single picture. Oh well, it's better to get through the line quickly than to take some pictures. I think.

At some point the line broke off and we were sent up a ramp and into the loading area for people on scooters and wheel chairs. It's off to the side somewhere, and it seemed like every once in a while the regular loading would send a car off to our area. I never saw the regular loading area so I don't know really.

Danny and I rode in a seat together, and Hannah sat right behind us. We loved it. No wonder it's so popular - it was so much fun!

Here's our score. It was our first time!

Danny is a life long geek and was super excited to check out the upgrades they'd made to Star Tours, so we headed there next.

We took the regular line until we came to the stairs part. We were sent down an elevator. From there a CM took us to a line on the opposite side from where you regularly enter. Whe the doors opened, we loaded from one side while everyone else loaded from the other.

We saw - some stuff. We rode that so many times I can not remember which part we saw first. But I know we loved it. We looked around the dump shop after. I thought about buying a Chewbacca hat, but didn't.

Outside the ride, Danny hopped on a pod racer or whatever they're called, and I tried to get him in some kind of fake action shot.

By then it was about time for our TSMM FPs so we headed back through the unlit Osborne lights to Pixar Palace. Hannah ran over to RnR to get herself a FP, so D and I took our time making it back to the ride. We sat on a bench and people watched some until she got back.

Here's the wheel chair loading area.

The CM giving us instructions talked so quickly and so mumbly, we had no idea what she was saying. We asked her to repeat herself, and still had no idea. Since we'd done it before we figured we'd figure it out so we smiled and nodded. The funniest part was when the next family came in the same thing happened. They looked at us and we told them we had no idea. We all shrugged and laughed. Then the car came around and we loaded in. It was just as fun the second time around.

Danny gets me on accuracy every time, but I get a bigger score. Which is better?

I loved it so much I suggested we get one more set of FPs for later that day. Hannah already had hers from RnR, but she didn't really love TSMM, so that would be fine. The return time was pretty far out and I speculated that if we didn't get passes then, that we wouldn't end up having a chance to ride it again for the rest of our trip, since this was the only morning we would spend at DHS. That's the crazy thing about this ride. If you don't get there in the first part of the day, you're probably not going to ride it. Unless you like waiting in long times or maybe right before close.

Thing was, the current return times were during our lunch. I needed to wait just a little bit to get the next return time. Hannah was crying for some breakfast, so Danny decided he'd go with her around the corner to the Commissary to get some food, and I'd hang around till the time changed and meet them there.

I've reached my photo limit, so we'll do breakfast in the next post.

Next up: Breakfast noms.

 

[dawnmichele]

While I was waiting, I took a lot of pictures myself.

You clever dis people are probably already chuckling at me because you know the Commissary doesn't serve breakfast! We did not. They texted that fact to me and we picked a spot to meet up as soon as I got our passes.

Even though she hates General Hospital, Hannah knows it's one of my life long favorite things, so she texted me this picture. Good girl!

Danny asked a guy at a cart the best place for counter service breakfast, and he pointed us the way to Fairfax Fare. Danny tried to give him a tip, which of course he didn't accept.

On the way there I happened to notice The Scary Apothecary Shop, which I happened to remember sold the carrot cake cookies I happened to want to try. I told D and H I'd meet up with them and stopped in for my cookie!

Fairfax Fare is a nice, open place to eat. I approved. Their biscuit sammies looked great,

but I was pleased to pick off the raisins and enjoy my cookie breakfast and enjoy that!

It was delicious. I had imagined the cookie parts would be harder, but it was soft and yummy. Also, so rich I could only eat about half of it. Hannah grabbed me some napkins to wrap it in (they didn't say Disney anywhere on them!). I put it back in it's bag and back in my bag hoping it would hold out for later (it did).

The best part of eating there was the view of my beloved Tower of Terror!

Next up: We ride rides and join the Clean Plate Club.

 

[murmkc]

Still over 220 days until the next trip. This report is awesome and is helping me with WDW withdrawals.

 

[dawnmichele]

We finished our breakfasts, tossed out the trash and headed up the hill to the Tower of Terror.

H and I were excited! We love that ride. Danny was pretty sure he wouldnt like it, even after I explained how I used to be so sure I would hate it I vowed to never even try it - but then I did and now its my favorite. He still passed and found a spot to park along the wall and wait for us.

It was maybe a 20 minute wait. I left my camera with Danny so I didnt get any pictures of the gorgeously themed queue. I love that hotel. Somehow I did not remember that little room where fake Rod Serling tells you a story. I have no idea how I could forget such a thing. I guess the thrill of the drops had wiped my brain all the other times Ive ridden it. We watched that, screamed when the lights went out (not really) and then headed to our car.

On that ride, once I get in the car and its on its journey to the front, I start wondering why on earth I got on this ride in the first place. I freak out a little and think maybe I made a mistake and want off! But its that feeling of being scared (when you know everything is really ok) that makes me love the ride so much! That and the giant drops and the incredible view of the park flashing by.

We thoroughly enjoyed our first turn on Tower of Terror!

We met back up with Danny and headed off towards RnR so Hannah could use her fast pass. D and I sat on a bench. It seemed to take her a long time, so we took a lot of pictures. I am only going to show you a few of them.

It's a giant guitar.

Me and the upside down car.

Our TSMM fast passes!

My Mickey watch said it was 10:11.

Finally, we spotted Hannah. She didn't want her picture taken.

We had early lunch reservations at 50s Prime Time Cafe that day. It was new to all of us and we were pleased at the chance to check it out. It wasnt quite time yet, so we wandered along Sunset and Hollywood Blvds on our way to Echo Lake.

None of us really remembered that area so we took our time checking out the lake and the giant dinosaur.

We decided to see if we could check in a little early for our reservations (a recurring trend on this trip). They were happy to send us off to watch TV and wait. It was pretty crowded in there, but the wait was not bad.

I took a lot of pictures while we waited because it looked so cool. Uncle Phil called our name and led us to our table. We got a TV table and I was thrilled.

We watched some TV and soon Auntie Theresa came over to see how we were and ask if we needed anything to eat. She gaves us napkins that said Disney on them!

Magic napkins.

Auntie Theresa was great. She was super sweet and friendly, and a little funny. She played along with the set up perfectly but didnt embarrass any of us. Thank you Auntie.

I got the pot roast with some mashed potatoes and veg:

Hannah had the fried chicken with mashed potatoes and corn:

Danny got the combo of fried chicken, pot roast and meatloaf, just as I predicted:

"This is really good," was Danny's opinion.
We all got clean plate stickers, but we passed on any kind of desert.

We saw clips from these shows: Dennis the Menace, I Married Joan, Father Knows Best, The Real McCoys, Dick Van Dyke, the opening of Disneyland, a clip about the kitchen of tomorrow, and a clip about preparing for the Olympics. Danny pointed out that with few exceptions, all the clips were about food! Clever Disney.

I loved the look of this place, and I love that it's like a giant game of pretend. The food was super tasty, but was so heavy it made me feel kind of yuck later. I'd like to go again for the atmosphere, but I will get the chicken caesar salad next time.

Next up: Countdown to a fun surprise!

 

[dawnmichele]

We headed out of the restaurant proudly wearing our Clean Plate stickers and talked about what to do next. We were right by the Indiana Jones show, and since none of us had ever seen it before, we decided it was a good next thing. It would make it kind of tight for making it before our FP for TSMM expired, but - inspired by the daring of Indy himself - we decided to live it up and risk it.

Scooter seating is at the very back along the walkway, so we did not have anything like good seats, but I don't think that really effected our experience. Danny and Hannah really loved it. The fake audience volunteer said he was from Kansas City, my home town (and still less than an hour away), so I was all WooHoo Kansas City, but then later I wondered if he’d made that up along with everything else. Does anyone remember if he's always from Kansas City?

My favorite part was taking photos. It's not every day that I can shoot a few frames of an explosion, or a small plane surrounded by fire.

By the time we got out of there, it was definitely time to go use our last set of TSMM FPs. We rushed over and this time I got some queue pictures!

I am 3D ready.

Dig me, I won.

Danny and I loved that ride. I can't see either of us ever waiting in the kind of lines it attracts, but it is a lot of fun.

I think it was right around here that Hannah started feeling poorly. She was just finishing up a round of antibiotics and I think they were having a bad effect on her. The first fews days she was feeling crummy and tired a lot, but after the pills were all gone she kind of perked right up. Lesson: never get sick or injured in the last few weeks before your vacation.

We had a bathroom break just outside the Pirate show, then headed for the queue. H and I told again of how dull the Narnia exhibit had been when we were here last. H believes it just seemed bad to us because we had seen a better and bigger touring version of Narnia stuff a few years before. I say the Disney World version was bad either way.

We were all hopeful about the new Legend of Jack Sparrow - and then it was awful. None of us enjoyed it. We were told to stand by the wall so Danny could see, but next to the wall we really could not see or hear anything. Hannah wandered around a little to try to get a good luck, but it was so insanely crowded. There were way too many people in there.

I just didn't get it. I'm sure that was made worse by the fact that I couldn't see or hear any part of the "show". We didn't know there was a mermaid involved until someone told us. And I have to admit I just don't get the whole pirate love. Pirates were bad guys, and I know it's fantasy and pretend but I can't make myself forget that. So of course between all that I didn't really enjoy it, but on the other hand neither did D or H.

Hannah took some pictures for her BFF who loves Jack Sparrow.

Apparently once when Jack was going on about where the rum was, I muttered “Have you seen yourself?” which Hannah still thinks is hilarious. Thanks, Hannah.

For the second time in as many years, I was super happy to be leaving that building when they opened the doors! I'm going to guess that spot is just cursed in some way, and avoid it in the future. I wonder what was there before Narnia.

We walked along a bit, and Hannah decided she really did feel crummy. She wanted to head back to the hotation for a little rest. I thought about going back with her, but decided I wanted to see the parade first and told her I'd be back after that.

Now I know the 3 o’clock parade is at 3pm., but for some reason I thought the Countdown to Fun parade was later in the day, like the AK parade. So by the time I got to the parade street, some parts had already passed.

Here’s the thing. I am an insane fan of the musician/genius Todd Rundgren. Don’t feel badly if you don’t know who he is, but feel free to look him up. At the same time, as you know, I am somewhat Disney obsessed. So how on earth did I not know that the Countdown to Fun parade song is Todd’s goofy Bang the Drum song! I was so happy to hear it (even though it's not a favorite). They changed the words a bit, and I admit it got a little repetive by the end - but yay for Todd! I would have never imagined Todd and Disney together but what a fun surprise. I hope he got a million dollars out of that deal. And since it's all gone now, I'm so grateful I got to see it while it was still there!

I sang along and took some pictures.

After the parade, I headed back to the room. Danny wanted to stay and ride Star Tours a few times so we made plans to meet up at the MK later. We had our photo taken and I headed out.

Hannah was asleep when I got to the room, so I left the lights off and tried to be quiet. I was feeling kinda yucky myself about then. I soaked my feet in the bathtub and appreciated the calm and quiet. I could still feel all that roast beef from lunch in my belly and it was not really agreeing with me. I was happy I had brought along some Alka Seltzer and I had some of that.

After those things and a 15 minute power nap, I felt so much better! I woke Hannah and had a diet DrPepper from the fridge and a square of Hannah’s Hershey bar. A little chocolate is always a good tonic for whatever ails you, I find. Just like how you need a little after a Dementor attack. We changed into something a little warmer and were both ready to enjoy the magic of the Magic Kingdom after dark.

Next up: Magic Kingdom after dark.

 

[gracer9977]

Loved all the updates. Been off the Dis for awhile so I was happy to get all caught up. Love all the pictures!!!!

 

[dawnmichele]

Loved all the updates. Been off the Dis for awhile so I was happy to get all caught up. Love all the pictures!!!!

Welcome back! And thanks! Taking pictures is one of my favorite things to do at Disney World. Of course, the list of favorite things to do at Disney World is very long , but taking pictures is definitely in it!

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics!

 

[dawnmichele]

Great pics!

Thank you!