"I could get used to a view like this....Yep, I'm used to it" BLT Spring Break

[mblc14]

I let her take the lead as much as possible and even let her make some mistakes on which way to go....she eventually saved the day.
I wish we could of done one other country before we left or came back and did another mission. It really is a neat idea to explore the countries in world showcase.

We then walked back to meet up with Billie to see how shopping was going. But, we had to take some pics of all the awesome topiaries on the way back, and LG found a hat...

Once we found Billie, we decided to head back to the resort to let LG swim for a little bit, finally....she had been asking to go just about every chance she could. It was also that time to do some laundry and try to find the trash area on our floor to dump from our room. That would be the only thing that I did not like about the DVC part of it. Really could of used the daily maid service. But, in the end...not a huge deal.

Once we made our way down to the pool, just me and the kids while Billie finished laundry, Chance had begun to change his mind about swimming. Now, this is hard for Billie to get, LG just took to water like a champ. But Chance is like I was...loved playing in the water, but at our own pace. Well...he locked up and didnt want to do anything water related. It was frustrating...he finally was getting comfortable and slowly starting to have fun when a lifeguard had to jump in and help a little girl. She was playing with her little sister and the little sister was pulling her down underneath, and she didnt come up for awhile. Lifeguard came in and helped her out, but not before a lot of crying and comotion. Which, freaked Chance out even more. So, it was official...he spent about 5 minutes in the water. LG loved the slide there and the games that the "yellow jackets" were playinng with them. So, we cut it a little short at the pool. Not real fair to LG, but we were planning to head to MK for a nightcap, so we had that to look forwad to.

....more to come

 

[DMGeurts]

Great update Mike! Glad to see you back on The Dis!

Loved all the pics, and glad to hear that everyone is adjusted - also happy to hear that there may be another trip in the works for you.

D~

 

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

Just read through your whole TR. hope there's a new update soon.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Yay, Mike's back!!! So glad your family is adjusting well. I am sure that is a load off Daddy's mind!

Great update! My DD10 was afraid of the water. We took a week long trip to Myrtle Beach when she was 5 yrs old...she didn't get in the pool until the LAST DAY of vacation! She loves the water now and has the darkest tan every summer from all her pool time.

 

[mblc14]

Great update Mike! Glad to see you back on The Dis!

Loved all the pics, and glad to hear that everyone is adjusted - also happy to hear that there may be another trip in the works for you.

D~

Glad to be back...somewhat, job is still super busy with all the Fall sports going on. And yes, nothing "official", but it looks like we are going with some family friends in June...

Just read through your whole TR. hope there's a new update soon.

Welcome!! I will try and get one up sometime today!

Yay, Mike's back!!! So glad your family is adjusting well. I am sure that is a load off Daddy's mind!

Great update! My DD10 was afraid of the water. We took a week long trip to Myrtle Beach when she was 5 yrs old...she didn't get in the pool until the LAST DAY of vacation! She loves the water now and has the darkest tan every summer from all her pool time.

Good to be back...sooo busy lately...It has helped a ton once school got rolling for the both of them so we had some sense of a routine again.

Chance has been slowly doing more water things this Summer, so Im hoping he keeps getting more confident with it to do some lessons some day. Glad to hear that she is a little fish for you now. Thats awesome!

Will try and get an update and finish the day I'm on sometime today...college football may sidetracke me a little tho...but I WILL TRY!

 

[mblc14]

.

 

[mblc14]

OK, I tried to wrap this day up last weekend and I didnt have any luck whatsoever....so lets see how today works...

SO we decided to head back to MK for the evening, and this was one of the reasons, if not, the main reaosn to stay at BLT for us. As much as we love the world, we were not big on riding the busses all the time. It just seemed like we were always waiting on a bus at the resort or at a park.

Anyway, on with the show....

After a nice quick trip around the monorail resorts, we were there.

We decided to not brave the walk down Main St with the crowd, so we opted for the train.

A quick ride around the park, we stopped at the Fantasyland deopt and began for a search for a QS bite to eat and ended up here.

Cosmic Rays was actually pretty good. Just what we were looking for. SOmething quick and got us back out into the park. The place was crazy busy, but you could tell there was some sense of order in the madness. Kids had hotdogs and the buns were HUGE. I swore I took a pic, but cant seem to find it now of course...but it defintely gave us a laugh while we ate. I know, we are easily amused, right?

After we ate, we wanted to go to the LaughFloor. Last time we were here, Chance cried and Billie had to take him out. So she was excited to see this since LG and I told her how funny it was.

It didnt disappoint, and although none of us were selected to be "that guy" during the comedy routine, Chance sat on my lap and during the preshow, he was selected as "Daddy's little Monster!!!' which him and LG thought was pretty cool.

then split into boy and girl groups. The boys went off to the Speedway....again, and the girls headed over to Haunted Mansion I believe.

Chance patiently waiting for our turn.

Our car, a BINGO, as our kids call every yellow car we see on the road...

Chance driving, he liked it for about 2 minutes as he kept bumping the middle rail the whole time.

After we won again, it was off to meet up with the girls on the other side of the park. On our way over, I had to stop and take a break and enjoy a....

SOOOO GOOD!

Chance had a root beer and we mostly played. I tied to get a pic of him playing, but he stopped and took this wonderful pic...

But, I eventually got him playing...

After our short break, Billie texted me that they were done with Pirates and were heading our way. We decided to get outta dodge before Wishes started and would watch from BLT. So we high tailed it through the stores on Main St. But, right before we left, Chance got to buy his reward for another good day....

A way too expensive balloon that we had no idea what we were going to do with when it came time to leave...but he has always loved balloons and we are only here so often....why not right?

So we hopped on the monorail and enjoyed BLT being the first stop!!!
Walked over to BLT and watched wishes from the walkway between. It was a little windy, but I did video some of it.


The next day will bring some more me and LG time, an interesting travel scenario presents itself, lunch at Whispering Canyon and time at AK!!!

 

[mblc14]

The next morning was to be our AK morning an then Lunch at WCC. But, the 2 sleepy heads were tired and wanted to sleep. LG and I were determined to ride Soarin' this time. Last trip it just didnt work out, and we werent going to miss out this time again. So we headed for rope drop at Epcot and try to grab some fastpasses. Billie and Chance stayed back to rest, we wouldnt want to push our sleepers too much and risk another meltdown for the little guy.

We ate a quick breakfast at Contempo Cafe and were off to Epcot. By the time we arrived they had just open the gates and we were off to get our FP!! And I must say...rope drop is crazy!!! At least this day it was, glad it was just me and LG, Chance would of got lost in the shuffle.
We did see Daisey, but we were on a mission...

It was time to get to...

By the time we made it over, there was a short wait to get to a FP machines. We were able to get a couple...

The stand by line was very short, so we decided to ride now and then again with our fastpasses. We were able to get the middle section top row for our first ride on Soarin', yay, no feet in the way for us!! It was as good as we thought it would be and were glad that we were able to ride it this trip. When we got done, my Lines and DisneyParks app had only a 30 minute wait for Test Track, so we headed that direction to ride that too.

With the short walk across the park, the time changed pretty quickly from 30 minutes to an hour. And as we walked up, they were starting to move the line to the outside que. Something we did not want to have to do again. Thats the wait we had the other day and we werent going to be patient enough for this today. So we decided to see what we could find to do while waiting for our FP time.

After talking about several choices, we settled on The Land. LG was less than excited to go on this, and after all, its a hard sell when trying to describe it to a 9 year old. But, time wise, it was going to work out perfect. Once we got going with it, she really actually started to like it, and so did I.

It really was a nice change of pace, relaxing ride. I think we both liked it a lot more than we thought we originally would. Once done there, it was just about time for the Fsatpasses. This time it was middle section, but bottom row. Saw some feet, but still was a very good ride and LG actually saw the hidden mickey this time on the golf ball!! Score! As we were exiting, and walking down the hall, I realized that my sunglasses were still under the seat. As I started to walk back, the doors began to close and we would have to listen to it the 3rd time while my sunglasses got another ride....what is it with us and sunglasses this trip?? Anyway, once the doors opened, I was able to get back in and find them, luckily the person who rode that time had not noticed them.

So the plan as LG and left for Epcot was to meet up at AK, ride EE and then head to lunch at WCC at 2. Well, Chance was still asleep so that was not going to happen. I was able to switch our lunch from 2 to 12. So we would meet them at BLT and head over for lunch. Seemed simple enough one would think....

LG and I left Epcot and headed to the TTC via the monorail. Once we got to the TTC, there was a hiccup in our plan. Monorail was down on the MK loop. As he walked down the ramp, the line for the Ferry to MK was HUGE!! They then started to bring in some busses to take people to MK. After a short wait there, we hopped on a bus to MK and then would take a bus from there to WL. I tell Billie what is going on and that they should just take the boat from CR to WL and we would meet them there.

We got to MK just fine, it was just the L O N G wait for the WL bus.
LG waiting patiently

...and 30 minutes later..

Finally!!

Time to meet up at WL for lunch at WCC. I was pretty excited to eat here, the menu looked good and thought that the kids would really enjoy themselves with the antics.

LG and I beat Billie and Chance there so, we had some time to look around some. What a beautiful resort!!

Continued in next post...

 

[mblc14]

Billie and Chance joined us a short time later, and I had been convinced that we need to stay at WL at somepoint in the future.

The one bad thing about changing our ressie was they had just opened and there were not a lot of people in there. Our server was good and did a nice job, but was a little distracted. One table away was a guy who clearly used to work there, as several employees made their way to him to catch up. And it seemed every time our waitress came over to our table, it was after having to wrap up her conversation with him. One of the other waitresses was having a great time and the kids got a kick out of her embarrassing her guests.

The food was really good and I bet a lot more fun if it was busier. Im thinking there was about 7-8 tables with people.

I had LG tell our waitress that she needed a longer straw, but what she heard was more straws, so we got this...

Again, it was a good lunch and we all enjoyed it and our server was good, just wished she wouldnt of been distracted most of the time. Afterwards, we did some more looking around the resort.

It was time to head over to

so the girls can ride

We headed straight over there to get their FP's. Once we got them , Chance and I went to get a couple for the Safari and quickly realized that I wasnt able to get 4 because i had just used LG's and Billie's for EE and wouldnt be able to get theirs for awhile. Fail, forgot about that rule.

On the way back to find the girls at Dinoland, we stumbled across..

Divine!! I was hoping we would have the chance to see her this trip. Chance had no clue what I was taking a picture of and what all the people were looking when she was out!!

We met back up with the girls in Dinoland and they had just rode Primeval Whirl and LG loved and Billie was starting to second guess this EE ride coming up. It was still not time for thier FPs and it was about time for the Nemo musical so we decided to catch that show.

We all really enjoyed it, and would make time to see it again too. As we left, it started to DOWNPOUR!! Big time. We found some cover and quickly decided it be best just to head back to the resort and rest up some. LG was disappointed about EE, but hopefully there's a trip just around the corner.

Everyone ended up taking a pretty good nap that afternoon. LG and I went to eat and then bring some food back for the others. The plan this evening was to go watch Tarzan on the big blowup screen they had been showing movies on every night so far.

LG right outside the CR headed to the movie

We only got about halfway through the movie. My knee was killing me from sitting so low to the ground and walking all day, and the kids were ready for bed. Tomorrow was our last day in the parks and we had breakfast ressies at CP before park opening.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Ahhh~Whispering Canyon is on my list of places we still need to try! Too funny about getting all those straws...the whole family can share the drink! I peeked at some ketchup on a plate, did you get all the bottles of ketchup in the place when you asked for it?? Love the picture of LG in front of the Mickey sculpture. Such a little cutie!

 

[mblc14]

Nope...no ketchup call either....

 

[DMGeurts]

Great updates Mike!

That is such a bummer about WCC, that is on our must do list this next trip, and I am so worried that it will turn out to be another 50's experience for us. However, I am very excited about seeing the beautiful WL... I am not crazy about the look of the rooms online, but the resort iteself looks just amazing, and I cannot wait to check it out!

It's a bummer that LG didn't get to ride EE... I am positive she will love it when she gets the chance.

I love that they show the movies in the courtyards... they did that at POFQ too, and the girls really loved it. Since it was showing right ouside our door, I would let them just go down on their own to watch.

Can't wait to hear about your last day!

D~

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Hey Mike, are you coming back to finish this? I hate to unsubscribe if you are still planning to come back. I know life gets BUSY, so no pressure.

 

[mblc14]

Hey Mike, are you coming back to finish this? I hate to unsubscribe if you are still planning to come back. I know life gets BUSY, so no pressure.

If you haven't left yet, I do plan on finishing the TR....so sorry I've been gone so much lately. Î miss the boards, things are nuts with being thé asst principal and activities director, but I love it. But miss the Dis!!

 

[DMGeurts]

Still here! I know you're busy... but I also know you have another trip in the works!

D~

 

[oopsiDAISY]

I'm still here! Waited to hear from you before I sent you to the "unsubscribe" pile. Take your time, we aren't going anywhere!

 

[mblc14]

I have an update typed up and ready to go, just have to add pics if photobcuket wont be a pain for me for once....

 

[mblc14]

Thursday, March 22
This is it, the final full day before we check out and head back to reality….

Side note, as I finally write this final segment, I am sitting in the DSM International Airport waiting to go to San Antonio, but connecting in Chicago fist. And of course, there are families also flying to Chicago, but their connection is Orlando....going to the World…today!! So excited for them and know how much fun they are going to have. And of course….jealous…..CRAZY jealous. But, I guess Ive been spoiled. My wife and I always talk about how much it costs, etc. But in the end, it is totally worth it. I would make a ton of sacrifices to be able to go at least once a year….is that too much to ask for….lol….

Ok, on this, our final day, we are starting off with an early wake up call for us. 8:05 reservation for CP. I had originally scheduled this for Monday morning, but thought better of it since we were, and did, stay out late at MK on Sunday night. It was a fairly typical morning…LG and I ready to roll and Chance and Billie slowly getting up. It all went well though, not too much grumpiness this morning.
We decided to see how long the walk was from BLT to MK as it was a very nice morning. It barely took 10 minutes, even with Chance and LG stopping to want to read the names on the pavers on the walkway to MK.

Once we arrived, we found the reservation line for CP and waited there. With the switch in original ADR’s, today ended up being an EMH at MK. Not ideal, but the main point was to just get in before everyone else to experience the walk down Main St. with hardly anyone around.
While waiting in line, at some point I thought that someone might ask for our reservation number, or name, or something that would verify our early entry into the park. No one ever did….There were CM’s that would walk up and down the line to make sure that people understood what the line really was, and several people left because they just went to stand in line because one was forming I guess….
Finally it was time to walk in, and going down Main St was sweet. Well worth the effort to get up a little earlier and not feel rushed when walking towards the castle. I took more than a fair share of pics this morning.

Checked in at CP and had a short, but not too bad of a wait there. Again, was very photo happy here, but got some really good pics of the kids just playing and having fun without them knowing it.

LG got to tak a pic of me and Billie

Before our buzzer went off, we were able to see the masses flood into the world. I don’t think that I could ever be at rope drop and then sprint to your attraction type of guy….but would like to see the opening that they do at MK at least once tho.

Out of pic room...continued next...

 

[mblc14]

We were very pleased with our meals and character interactions at CP. We aren’t really big Pooh fans, but the kids really loved it. My only complaint was the Omelet Nazi…he was solely focused on his job at hand, which I can appreciate, but was pretty rude about how it did it. Maybe he just wasn’t as “Disney” as the rest of the CM’s we came in contact with. But, it was very noticeable that it seemed like he belonged in the kitchen only and probably shouldn’t have too many interactions with guests….

Gotta love those pure smiling opportunities....priceless.

Afterwards, the park had been open for a little while, but it still seemed fairly empty. We were able to take some good pics of the statues at the end of Main St. and took a couple of Photopass pics as well. For whatever reason, we really didn’t do much of the photopass thing this time. Not really sure why….

Would like to do something with those pics someway somehow

More to come....

 

[mblc14]

We decided to split one more time….The Boys back to the Speedway for one more final victory for Chance and the girls decided to go to Space Mountain as the App said it was a short wait. LG was able to conquer 2 of the 3 mountains and really wanted to try BTMR, but that will have to wait until next time, it was out of our hands that it was being refurbished. We did all ride Buzz this time and had a blast and LG found Stitch.

Our Buzz Photopass pics...apparently, I was reallllly into it....lol

Took some time to just walk the park and try to soak it all in one last time...

We made our way over to the Jungle Cruise, not sure whose idea it was though. Thankfully we had a skipper that had a good sense of humor and pulled off all the punch lines well. Probably helped that it was early in his shift that he wasn’t bored with it yet for the day. ( I mean, can you imagine doing that for your entire shift….)


After the Jungle Cruise, we decided to head out of MK, but not before just one more Dole Whip and LG bought a Lanyard and her first trading pins.
Always a little bittersweet when leaving MK for the final time of a trip, we just love this park soooo much. But, on our way out, we ran into this and just had to watch it...

It was off to DD to do some shopping for the souvenirs for the family. We took the ferry over to the TTC and then went to the Poly and waited for a bus. What a beautiful resort that is as well. But finally it was off to DTD.

CR and BLT

Just hanging out

"Look at my pins"

Up next on the finale....DTD!!