I Got My Disney Fix and I Feel Fine! An illustrated story.

[quiltymom]

I would have freaked about EE also. I rode it for the first time last May and it broke down on me too.

Except it broke down AFTER the big drop, right when your about to go outside. YOu know, the part where your in the mountain and there is a screen and the yeti comes, pulls up the track, and then when you move outside, the yeti follows? well, we didn't follow.

THe yeti pulled up the track and then jumped out the screen side and we just sat there.

Me and my sister were just sitting there like, is that supposed to happen?
So we are just sitting there and then WHAM. It moves.

It scared me so badly because I have a roller coaster phobia.

Wowza! I must say that I don't know about the part where the Yeti follows you, because I had my eyes closed from when it started going backwards all the way to the remainder of the ride. But you have my sympathies! And yes, I would've screamed, too!

 

[quiltymom]

Has anyone been able to test my Kali seating theory yet? If so, inquiring minds want to know!!!

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Sorry that this installment has been so long in coming, but Christmas just kinda took over. But I’m back!

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The Tree of Life

One of the things I did when planning our park days was to make a list of all the things we did not do on our last trip there – like half of each park. Amazing, but true. I still don't know just how that happened. And that was with planning, too. Not as much planning as I did for this trip, but then I was a WDW neophyte, so what did I know?

Would you believe that after spending one whole day at AK our last trip we had never seen the Tree of Life up close? Realistically, how could you do that? It’s like if you visit Seattle and never notice Mt. Rainer in the distance. It just doesn't make sense. But, we had completely missed it for some reason, so seeing it was tops on my “must do” list.

After we left Flame Tree BBQ, I steered the gang towards the TOL. We didn’t have very far to go, since it was right there.

We took this path and after a very short walk - this is what I saw:

Wow. Talk about a beautiful thing. I was really looking forward to seeing this.

The first thing we did was capture a PhotoPass photographer to get a family photo. I was thrilled to see him. Why? Because I had pre-purchased the photo CD and had wanted to get all the photos that I could. He was the only one we saw all day, too. I wanted to be sure to get a family photo at each of parks big landmarks, so here we are at the Tree of Life:

The tree is amazing! I just stared at it for a while, and then realized that my family had gone ahead without me – again. This happened throughout the trip. I was always running after them after I had stopped to take a photo of something. It was a good thing that Handsome & I had our cell phones with us since we got separated so much.

I was also thinking that it would be fun to post all of the pics I have with Handsome in the foreground, walking to the next spot. He calls me the commando tourist, but when there’s a place to go, he makes sure we don’t waste any time getting there.

But I digress again. I’m good at that.

We had fun looking at the animals carved into the tree. I’ve read the stats of just how many animals are carved into it, and I honestly couldn’t imagine how they could fit so many on there. But that wasn’t for me to waste time pondering since I was getting left behind, again.

The kids were very excited to see some eagles carved into the tree since their school mascot is the Golden Eagle.

Another fun thing we came across (which I read about on the DIS) was the fish tanks under the Tree.

The kid’s got a kick out of this. There were some huge fish in there! My kids like them BIG – they’re used to seeing the ones they have at the Amazonia habitat at the National Zoo in Washington, DC. Now, there’s some huge fish for you!

One of the fantastic tips I learned on the DIS was to make sure to talk to a CM whenever you found one. So, we did just that and learned so much about some of the animals there:

She brought us around to various places to see the animals that we had previously walked by. So, if you see a CM just standing around to talk with you, do it! You’ll be happy you did!

And the scenery was stunning.

We came around one bend and saw Terk just waiting for someone to take their photo with her, so I told the kids to get over there and pose. They weren’t having any of it. Buddy Boy decided that he was just too old for that kind of stuff, and Sweetie Girl was in one of her famous pouty moods. So, I grabbed Mick and had me a photo op with Terk.

The only thing that cut short our time at the TOL was that we needed to get on over to Camp Minnie-Mickey for our FOTLK show. We didn’t want to miss that!

 

[Mic_n_Min]

It's wonderful to see another update- fun pics!

 

[marivaid]

Your TR is awesome !!! I'm so sorry you had to go through this on EE. When we rode it, nothing broke down... but we were scared half to death anyway. I would have completly flipped out up there if that had happened to us.

Your family is beautiful, love the matching tees. I keep noticing your DD's hair, because on Day 1 you had braided it exactly the way my mom used to braid mine when I was a kid

 

[AuroraBelleCindy]

Just read your food reviews so thot I would read your trip report also and it is very entertaining - I didn't know there were aquariums under the Tree of Life - thanks for the tip

 

[quiltymom]

I just had to show you these pics, even though they have nothing to do with Disney.

As you can tell from Sweetie Girl's pics, she has very long hair. Her hair has been longer than waist length since she was 3 years old.

Well, although she loves her hair (she really wanted to grow it as long as Ariel's!), it has become a source of aggrivation. It's just too long for her to take care of by herself, and I didn't want the responsibility anymore.

So, yesterday after school we went to get it cut. She had about 12" cut off, all to dontae to Locks of Love. Here's the before:

Check out her face in the mirror - she's none too happy!

Getting the ponytail cut:

She looks a bit worried, don't you think?

The deed is done!

She's a little happier here since our stylist told her that she looks at least 9 years old!

And the final look:

When we got home I showed her the Locks of Love website so she could see where her hair was going, and after that she was real happy that she could help a child get some hair.

Then, she spent all evening primping in front of the mirror.

 

[mkluvsmickey]

Thanks for posting this - I'm trying to convince my daughter to do this too. I will show her the pictures!

Your daughter looks great!

 

[iluv2go2disney]

I agree with the hairstylist. Your DD looks a few years older. There is such a difference in the picture of her looking into the mirror and then after its styled. It looks really great.

 

[flafan]

Great report. I can not wait to hear more. Your kids are adorable and what a nice thing for your daughter to donate her hair to Locks of Love

I love your photo's especially the one of your son on EE priceless.

I am trying to convince my family to wear matching shirts on our upcoming trip. What kind of stores carry the supplies for that kind of project? Thanks

 

[quiltymom]

I purchased most of the supplies for my t-shirts at craft stores, and the tees themselves at clothing & department stores (Old Navy, Target, JC Penney, etc.).

Tie-dye shirts. Here are the directions I used, the Tie Dye Instructions for Spiral Mickey T-Shirt thread. The non-spiral tie dye thread is here. You'll need 100% cotton tees for these shirts.

Other custom tees. The designs were made through the generosity of the the designers on the Creative DISigns board. I used dark transfer "paper" for all of the designs. You can read more about how to do this on the Design Tips thread. The how-to's are near the bottom of the first message.

The rest of the tees I purchased at the Disney Store.

I hope this helps!

 

[Hedy]

Sweetie girl looks soo pretty, but that first face is just adorable.

 

[Sleeping*Beauty]

I love her new hairstyle!! I also had my hair cut for locks of love.

 

[quiltymom]

Thanks for all of your comments on DD's hair. She really loves the new look. This morning she came down for breakfast laughing (a sound that I've rarely heard in the past few months) because her hair was too easy to brush now. What a change it has made in her, and now our mornings are soooo much more pleasant!

She just came home from school and her teacher gave her an "Eagle Pride" sticker - something they give kids who have done something good - for doing the Locks of Love. She was thrilled. Anyway, on with the TR!


When I last talked with you we had just visited the

And were on our way

to

to nab our priority seating for

One of the things that I adore about Disney is that you never know just what you will come across next. Like this steel drum band:

They were great!


We arrived and went to the priority seating area to check in and … they didn’t have our name on the list. Hummm… Shame on them. We got that look of “Uh-huh – you have priority seating” and “Who gave you this voucher,” etc. etc. We were told to stand by and they would let us know what would happen.

I get nervous about the craziest things at the most inconvenient times. Really nervous, as in I can’t sit still and get all worked up over nothing. And this was no exception. I was actually starting to get a bit miffed about this until I realized that this whole priority seating thing was a gift and all would be well. So I made myself calm down and we just chilled out on a bench (one of the few times I actually sat that day!). And after about 15 minutes our names were called and we were ushered into the theater

And where did we sit? IN THE FRONT ROW! Woo hoo! (Okay – I’m trying not to brag now, but it’s really hard not to when you have the best seats in the house without having to wait an hour for them!)

Earth to QuiltyMom – time to come back down to reality.

While we were waiting for the show to start, the pre-show began. (That just sounded like the biggest “Duh” statement of the year, didn't it?) Handsome was chosen to show our section just how to do a Warthog. This is the only shot that turned out, but it was quite funny! I got a few good jokes in at him after that.

“Handsome, the Warthog.” I’m so mean!

Then the show began. I had forgotten just how wonderful it was! All I kept on thinking was that I didn't care if we didn't get a Year of a Million Dreams Fast Pass Lanyard after all. This was above any dream we could've received. (I would come to eat my words a few days later, but that story is for another day.) Unfortunately, my camera didn’t do so well, but I was able to get in some video clips that I’ll try to post them in here! It was a new camera and I was still trying to learn how to use it. Shame on me. I should've learned all about how to use it before we left. Lesson learned.

Intro:

(Click on the photo below and it will bring you to a photo clip.)

Let's hear it for the Warthogs!

Tumble Monkeys - my favorite part of the show!:

Photo Clip:

Later on that day I met a CM at the Conservation Station whose son is one of the Tumble Monkeys, and has been for the past 5 years. She keeps telling him that he's so very lucky to get paid for playing around all day! I also told her to pass along the message to him and his buddies that they were my faves!

Fire Dancer:

Photo Clip

Finale:

I wish that I could show you some of the other clips that I took, but they’re too large to download on Photobucket & I don’t have that feature on my SmugMug account. But if I ever do upgrade, I’ll let ya’ll know!

By far, this is my favorite event in WDW. It will always be on our "to do" list for AK, even though we know we'll never get front row seats again!

And if you've never seen it, you must!

 

[mkluvsmickey]

Your pictures of Lion King were great! That is something we haven't seen but really want to on our next trip.

 

[sunlver]

I just found your TR today, and loving it. Cant wait to read more

 

[DisneyJo]

Your seats were awesome, glad you loved the show

 

[jwwi]

Enjoying your TR, thank you for sharing everything with us. Your daughter is so cute, what a special memory to donate her beautiful hair to locks of love. What cute pictures of her haircut day. I really love FOTLK, and have been in the front in handicap section when we went with my mom and aunt. It is a great place to watch the show. I really don't think there is a bad seat in the house. Did you go to Nemo?

 

[quiltymom]

Enjoying your TR, thank you for sharing everything with us. Your daughter is so cute, what a special memory to donate her beautiful hair to locks of love. What cute pictures of her haircut day. I really love FOTLK, and have been in the front in handicap section when we went with my mom and aunt. It is a great place to watch the show. I really don't think there is a bad seat in the house. Did you go to Nemo?

No, we didn't get to see Nemo. It's one of the reasons we've decided that we'll spend at least two, if not three, days at AK our next trip (whenever that may be). There's so much to do and see there and although we saw a lot, we never got on one of the trails, or even to the Safari.

But since there will be a "next time", I'll see it then.

And you're correct - there's no bad seat in the FOTLK house. Our last trip we sat near the back and loved it just as much. We had been to see La Nouba the night before, and we loved FOTLK just as much! What fun it is.

 

[CW4DW]

Just found your report today and am loving it... I am thinking of going this coming October ~ just curious about the crowd size? Any comments...

 

[quiltymom]

I thought that the crowds were very managable everywhere we went. The only crazy busy day we had was our last day, a Saturday, at Epcot during the Food and Wine Festival. It was a zoo!

I am pointing all of our success to the Unofficial Guide and a subscription to it's "Touring Plans". I planned our days around the crowd level calendar and the chart of the best days to visit which park. Then we followed the individual day's touring plans almost to the letter, only skipping those items that we had already done and not chosen to re-visit so we could get to see those things that would be new to us.

For example, the day we went to MNSSHP. It was a Tuesday and the crowd level calendar put attendance at a 5 for that day. We got there for a 1:00 apt. at the BBB and there was hardly anyone there! We literally were walking on rides, although we had not gone there for rides, but for the BBB and photo appointments. And the day we went to Disney Studios, we saw EVERYTHING we wanted except for being able to draw with the Disney animator.

I'll get into this more as the trip report goes along, but I just wanted to say that we got to do just about everything we had on our daily plans by following the UG & touring plans. We were totally shocked at how much we were able to accomplish. Other people have said that they hit bad crowds the same week, so I'm feeling that we got our money's worth with the UG!

I hope this helps!