"...we'll do it live!"

[IheartDDuck]

Of course you woke up excited! I would have too.

Hahaha, where are the bags?!

Animal Kingdom is definitely a great park to impress with. It was a great decision on my trip in January to take Farrell there as the first stop because she was just amazed by it all.

I love the fact that you get your Mom something every time she does a ride for the first time.

"Definitely not our dino". Gotta love it.

What? Captain EO is not on the top of your 4D list?

Seriously I get irritated by the millions of animal pics too. That's why I just show my favorites.

Note to self. Always carry singles.

I love naps in WDW too. I think you and I are like the only people who do. They get me where I need to be and keep me from crabbing out.

Such a lovely armpit view you had on the bus.

Of course the dole whip is the perfect snack.

Our bus for POP during Thanksgiving weekend was crazy like that before. Three buses in a row had to come to get us out of there.

 

[ZehnJahren]

Of course you woke up excited! I would have too.

Hahaha, where are the bags?!

Seriously! I still don't know where they were! It was whatever the resort was after the turn to ASSports. Was that Music? Movies? I have no idea!

Animal Kingdom is definitely a great park to impress with. It was a great decision on my trip in January to take Farrell there as the first stop because she was just amazed by it all.

I love the fact that you get your Mom something every time she does a ride for the first time.

I really really liked AK more this trip than other trips, and liked going through the rest of the park - until Wednesday, but I'll get to that later.

Yeah, we like to celebrate the little things! We're collectors in my family; I always say I'm a four-day weekend away from becoming a hoarder. lol

"Definitely not our dino". Gotta love it.

What? Captain EO is not on the top of your 4D list?

Seriously I get irritated by the millions of animal pics too. That's why I just show my favorites.

I really like Dinosaur; my ex thought it was "stupid" and didn't want to ride it again. He really didn't like AK at all. When I went on my solo trip, I really started to enjoy AK and this trip made me appreciate it that much more.

Captain EO really needs some new film or SOMETHING.

And the animal pics - they're the SAME PICTURES FROM EVERYONE. I get it more now, but they're the same animals you see at the zoo! I had a great pic of a tour group that was STANDING ABOVE 20 CROCS on a ledge, but I can't find it. Looked like dinner was (almost) served...

Note to self. Always carry singles.

For real. It was way too stressful for me, having been in service positions before. Don't know what I was thinking.

I love naps in WDW too. I think you and I are like the only people who do. They get me where I need to be and keep me from crabbing out.

I know! I don't feel like I'm wasting time, because it's so pleasurable and because it keeps me rarin' to go for the entire trip instead of just the first couple of days.

Such a lovely armpit view you had on the bus.

Ugh. So many armpits.

Of course the dole whip is the perfect snack.

And I didn't even know! I had more later that week.

Our bus for POP during Thanksgiving weekend was crazy like that before. Three buses in a row had to come to get us out of there.

That is TOO MUCH. How long did it take??

 

[ZehnJahren]

Before I continue on, lookit what I got today! <3!!

I wanted to buy this on my trip, but I only saw a couple and none with good placement. I finally found one I liked at AK, but it had a big brown stain that looked like chocolate on the front!

I figured I wouldn't buy it, but the Disney Store had a 25% coupon, plus free shipping. So this charm mini barrel purse now joins my princess bucket purse in my Disney Dooney collection!

 

[ZehnJahren]

I woke up at 7:30 a.m. to a too-early alarm. I was so glad that I was just going to walk over to Epcot, because it gave me some extra time to hit the snooze button. I didn't want to hit it too many times and wake up Ma, so I got up as fast as I could, got ready, grabbed a Belvita (which I LOVE), and headed out the door quietly.

It was already very warm out, but it was sunny and pretty clear so I knew we'd be on! When I booked the tour, I asked about the bad-weather cancellation policy. They told me that if it was raining too much to do the outside, WS portion of the tour, they would still hold the Segway training indoors at Innoventions but refund half of the money. I had gotten a great deal with my AP, so I wasn't too too worried.

I got down to the doors when I realized I hadn't grabbed my sunglasses. Crap. Alright, I'll just go on without them; I was already running just a bit late. I soldiered on, starting to pass the sprawl of SAB.

I got to the area under the pool slide and thought "what am I THINKING?!" Of COURSE I needed my sunglasses; it was a bright scorcher out here!

I literally ran back to the room, grabbed them as quietly as possible, and sprinted out the door again. When I got out of the lobby, I settled into a jog. What was interesting is that there were (insane) people out actually jogging at this hour, and they all nodded at me like we shared some sort of fitness secret. No, people, just running late for the tour. I'm glad I jog in real life, because I had to hotfoot it on the path!

I finally slowed to a walk once I got past the crest at BC. Joggers stopped nodding at me. Snobs.

This was my absolute favorite morning at Disney. Ever.

The park was still sleeping, and here I was, tiptoeing through its dreams. As I headed towards IG, completely alone in the absolute silence, I caught people getting the park ready for the day.

These guys were painting every single fence surface, making everything shiny and new again. I smiled at them as I strolled past; they nodded. Besides them, I was completely alone.

It felt like my very own park as I made my way up to the IG. The security guard said good morning, and I told him I was heading in to the 8:30 Segway tour. He smiled, checked my bag, and waved me in. I headed to the turnstiles, where they took my name, searched me out in a BIG list (that thing had to be 15 pages, and I was on one of the last sheets!), and scanned my AP.

I was in!

The morning sun was throwing so many magical shadows in my path. I knew it was almost 8 already, but I slowed down and really took in the silence and solitude at one of the most beautiful theme parks in the world.

See how happy I am?

Here and there were workers preparing for their day or moving towards their station in the park. I passed a man in a chef's jacket and big french chef's hat; I passed a woman who said "Cheerio!" to me with a big smile; I passed two CMs in dress clothes who both nodded and said "Good morning" to me. Other than that, I was soaking in this amazing atmosphere, knowing how rare it was.

I couldn't help but stop for this picture:

It was 7:59 a.m. at this point, and I was heading towards GR; but I wasn't rushing anymore.

As I neared the FW entry area, a steady stream of people started to appear.

It took me a moment, but I finally figured out that they were ALL people for early morning Akershus reservations! Wow; there were a LOT. I've never been to Akershus, but I wouldn't mind trying it out one of these days. Still, I felt like I had a secret path in Epcot that no one else could see.

Time to wake up, MouseGears!

I headed to GR and stopped for this picture.

Then I turned around and headed in the doors. I was sweating already, and I had definitely just been strolling for the last 10 minutes; it was going to be nice and warm today!

There were already some people in GR, but I didn't hear anyone talking about the tour. I heard a woman complimenting the GAC system and saying how much it had changed her and her sister's trip, and I heard a man verifying his reservations for the day. A CM was training another, and giving positive feedback to his questions. So far, the morning had been ALL positive.

I waited in line; a couple of women came in after me, chatting amongst themselves. Outside, a steady but slow stream of people headed in to Akershus; little girls dressed as Belle and Cinderella danced in circles around their parents, who were smiling as widely as they were.

A CM called me forward; he was "earning his ears," and when I said I was there for the Segway tour at 8:30, he ushered over Marianne. She came over and took my name, telling me I was the first to arrive. She looked up at the women behind me, who immediately said they were there for the tour as well; she called them up to stand beside me and checked us all in at once.

We got the run down; tour starts at 8:30, meal and drink provided, pictures will be taken at a midpoint in the tour. Helmets required. She showed us the menu choices for breakfast; I picked the platter with eggs, potatoes, french toast, biscuit, God knows what else. There was also a continental breakfast with a croissant and plenty of fresh fruit. I ordered a diet coke as well.

Marianne gave us all our name tags and told us to please meet in GR at 8:15, but we were free to run to the bathroom or take a few pictures if we'd like. People were starting to line up behind us; more members of our tour were arriving. I was excited and nervous; I ran to the bathroom and splashed some water on my face. I also couldn't resist a picture.

I took it in a hurry; I didn't want anyone coming in and seeing me taking a PICTURE OF MYSELF IN THE BATHROOM.

I went back to GR and had a seat. A man came out and asked us all to write down our addresses; it seemed that there was supposed to be a new pin for this tour, but it hadn't arrived yet. They were going to give us the old "Around the World" pins and then mail us the new ones. The man sitting next to me was not on the Segway tour, but he actually asked if he could transfer to it; I think he was on "Behind the Seeds".

They passed out some water bottles for those of us waiting to be taken to Innoventions; we all started to get to know each other. There were people from all over on our tour; we even had two friends from Japan, who were giggling like schoolgirls and chatting in Japanese but also engaging with us as best they could.

Finally, Marianne came over and introduced herself. It turns out that SHE was one of our two tour guides this morning! She and Lamont would be teaching us to navigate on our Segways and showing us the World; I was definitely glad to hear this, because I'd read reviews with Lamont's name in them and they were ALL good. She took us all outside; the tour had officially begun at 8:30 a.m. SHARP.

 

[nancy155]

How COOL to walk through EPCOT WS (my favorite Park) with no one else around just the solitude and beauty! I wish I could figure out a way for us to park over there for our Segway Tour and enter through IG... I will have to do some figuring on that one..

I am so excited to hear more about your wonderful trip. LOVE the photo of the reflection of the Ball... It just is so peaceful and serene looking.

 

[ZehnJahren]

How COOL to walk through EPCOT WS (my favorite Park) with no one else around just the solitude and beauty! I wish I could figure out a way for us to park over there for our Segway Tour and enter through IG... I will have to do some figuring on that one..

I am so excited to hear more about your wonderful trip. LOVE the photo of the reflection of the Ball... It just is so peaceful and serene looking.

It was really something to walk through with everything so relaxed. I worked in a theme-park-that-shall-not-be-named for many years as both a teen and adult; those early morning and late late night hours hold so much happiness for me in my own park, but to be at a Disney park during those times (and not be working!) was great. I'd have paid half of what I paid for the Segway tour just to be able to walk through Epcot like that!!

You could do some creative things to get to YC/BC to walk in for the Segway tour. Personally, I'd take a taxi; if they asked at the front I'd say I wanted to come look at the resorts. They were tough on parking, however; unless you're staying at another deluxe resort, and then they didn't even stop you but waved you on through!

 

[ZehnJahren]

We all listened to Marianne's spiel about Walt's love of bringing everyone together and bringing new and exciting technology into everyone's view, and how he hoped to make a cohesive "world" here in WDW. Though he hadn't been able to see the development of Epcot through (aw), the Imagineers hoped that they had done him proud at Epcot. She discussed how they wanted to bring the newest modes of transportation into this "Future World," and that the Segways were an extension of that desire.

Lamont had shown up on his Segway at this point; I felt kind of funny taking a picture.

But I did.

They told us we'd be heading over to Innoventions to hop on our Segways and learn how to navigate. We headed over.

I had never had the chance to ride a Segway, so I was really excited to try these out!

First, Lamont instructed us to pick a helmet and get them on securely. You'd think this would be a quick and easy task, yes? There were sizes ranging from medium to extra big head; I took a medium. But, in spite of me being one of the first to grab a helmet, I could not for the life of me figure it out!

I thought maybe I got a "broken one," so I switched it out for another medium. Nope, I can't figure this out.

Now, everyone else in the room has their helmets on and are waiting for Lamont to come back. Except me; I'm starting to laugh. I went to college, people! I am not one of those people who could hire a trained monkey to fill in for me at work when I'm off - I do a tough job! And I couldn't get this ever-lovin' helmet on my ever-lovin' HEAD.

I switched out one more time, but no dice. Yes, I now had proof I was possibly an idiot.

Finally, someone took mercy on me and came over to assist. He (quite easily) got this thing on my head. Lamont came back in and brought us all out to where the Segways were now lined up, waiting for us.

Our group consisted of ten people; me and another man were the only singles (his wife was still sleeping back at the resort, he said). Otherwise, there were two sisters, a married couple celebrating their anniversary, another married couple who had been on the tour before when it was "Around the World," and two Japanese women. Because I was alone, I figured I didn't want to be in the back of the pack so I walked up and took one of the two front-row Segways. One of the Japanese women took the other; everyone else picked Segways and waited by them.

I put my purse in the front of the Segway and then kicked off the kickstand like Lamont instructed. Then he hellped us all up onto the personal vehicles.

First thing first - I'm glad I was in the front row. It meant I had the most time to learn to balance on the Segway. I didn't have much trouble at all, which was awesome. The Japanese woman next to me had a TIME; she started laughing and I started laughing along with her.

Finally, we started learning. It was a little tough at first, but easy to get the hang of. I was the first to run over a cone, of course. Lamont came up and looked at me disapprovingly, then loudly told me this was "just between us." I could NOT stop laughing. We went back and forth (no going backwards, however; it wasn't allowed) between the cones, and then headed to a ramp to practice going up and down. There were cones set up on the ramp; you had to attempt not to hit those too.

Finally, we did a drill of weaving in and out of cones, and learned how to get ourselves in a circle (which we'd be doing on the tour quite a bit).

Lastly, they gave each of us a power pack and earphones so that Marianne could talk to us on the tour and we could all hear her clearly.

We headed out the door (some a little more confident than others) and made our way to the Land Pavilion. We went in a back entrance near Journey into Imagination and parked the Segway against the wall there; then we entered some backstage doors (you've probably seen them; they're across from the bathrooms by Soarin') and walked over to Sunshine Seasons.

They had sectioned an area off for us over by the LWTL ride; we all sat and they served us our drinks and food. Only one person got the continental breakfast, but she still had a ton of food! We all got to know each other while we sat to eat; I sat with the guy who was single this morning, while everyone else paired up. We all chatted about where we were from and about Disney in general. I ran to the bathroom after finishing up, and by the time I returned, Marianne and Lamont were waiting to take us back to the Segways and into WS!

Sunshine Seasons was PACKED by this time, and we were being watched by everyone as we left together.

We made it back outside to the Segways (no one on our tour got Soarin' FPs; what a great idea, though!), got on (no problems this time), and headed back out the way we came in! We were on our way!

 

[IheartDDuck]

I'm so jealous of the Dooney you just got. It's so so pretty.

Hahaha, the jogger nod. Yes, you do share a secret.

Look at you being all prompt and being the first to arrive.

Wait, helmets were required for breakfast?

Nice. Your bathroom photo is right in front of the feminine products.

Extra big head. That would be my size.

Running over a cone. Nice. Makes me proud, because that's something I would do.

 

[ZehnJahren]

I'm so jealous of the Dooney you just got. It's so so pretty.

Hahaha, the jogger nod. Yes, you do share a secret.

Look at you being all prompt and being the first to arrive.

Wait, helmets were required for breakfast?

Nice. Your bathroom photo is right in front of the feminine products.

Extra big head. That would be my size.

Running over a cone. Nice. Makes me proud, because that's something I would do.

I love my new Dooney!

Seriously, that nod is something they must teach in high school track.

Ha, Lamont said he makes people do the helmets first because it takes so long. lol!

As for my bathroom photo, I was in a major hurry. I didn't want ANYONE to catch me taking a picture of myself in the bathroom - but then I turn around and post it on a major Disney site. Go figure.

 

[ZehnJahren]

We headed towards Mexico, scooting right along. The park was open to guests, but WS was still closed and that's where we were going!

We easily made it through Mexico (I LOVE that pavilion; best one if you ask me); crowds were low. They were higher once we got to Norway and near Akershus, but there was a rope up at the outskirts of the pavilion with a CM manning the post. When she saw us coming, she opened the rope, crossed in front of us so the rope would be out of our way, and let us though.

At every pavilion we stopped in a circle and heard more about it from Marianne; the microphone she was wearing was nice and clear in our earpieces. Lamont kept up the back of the pack. I stayed at the front behind Marianne for most of the trip, but from time to time would lay back so someone else could be up front.

In China, we went up to the gardens and did some fancy maneuvering through the area with the koi pond and some trees - I didn't even know that was up there! We then went to Germany and got to hear some information on the architecture while we all stood in a circle and turned back and forth to see what she was talking about.

In Italy, we had weaved in and out of the pillars in front of the store (that was fun!) and then back and through some of the architecture there as well. We were given a bit of a free ride and Lamont and Marianne took our pictures. My feet were burning a bit, but I just lifted them up one at a time whenever we were stopped and gave them a bit of a rest.

We were having a great time!

After this, we headed to America and got to learn about the forced perspective used there as well as the turkey (make sure to ask about the turkey when you go. ). Japan was next; we really went deep into this pavilion and I was surprised at how much I HADN'T seen. We talked about the Mitsukoshi department store, the world's oldest department store - and also about the fact that this was a REAL Mitsukoshi!

Next up was my favorite part of the tour - Morocco. We learned about the architecture and why it was built the way it was (plus how it hides Tower of Terror!!!) and went way back into the pavilion where I truly believe I have NEVER been. We saw so much on this tour! We talked about why it was built the way it was, and how each individual tile is "ruined" by hand so that it is not perfect - you won't find a perfect tile among all those in Morocco! There was more, but that's all I'll divulge for now.

We did some fancy footwork in France, and then headed across the bridge to a garden area where we got to weave gracefully in and out of the planters there. WS was now open, and people were starting to mill about.

We stopped in the UK and again in Canada. We were in a circle in Canada, chatting, the crowds were thicker here and really paying attention to us. I had let everyone go ahead of me and took the last spot in line as we started to head back to Innoventions. Everyone was feeling very at ease on the Segways now, and THAT'S WHEN IT HAPPENED.

The two men in front of me were goofing around - going fast and then stopping suddenly, and repeating. The man who was in front of the guy directly in front of me stopped suddenly, and the guy in front of me ran right into him - LOUDLY. I was right behind him, and I tried to stop so that I didn't hit them both, but I couldn't stop in time and in my panic I twisted too far to the left. I heard Lamont shout "uh oh! look out!" before I fully made the turn - and headed straight for an elderly couple standing RIGHT THERE. I saw I was going to hit them - they were too shocked to move, I was too shocked to correct - and I decided to try and jump off... but the angle I was at was too great and I couldn't get off the Segway due to the wheels (this seemed to take a good ten minutes in my head but in reality it couldn't have been 3 or 4 seconds).

Out of nowhere, there was Lamont. Somehow he had gotten in front of me (in mere seconds!) and had ahold of my Segway and moved it away from the couple. I did end up jumping off once it was stable and not about to plow old people over, but I got right back on and apologized (along with Lamont) to the scared couple standing right in front of me. Lamont made a comment about the guys horsing around and asked if I was ok, but I was already back on the Segway and zooming to catch up.

We had a straight path back through the crowds to Innoventions, with cast members stopping the flow of traffic where needed. Lamont headed in front of us at one point and stopped people from walking in front of us as well. Once we got back to Innoventions we stood the Segways up against the wall and gathered anything we left in the room, and then we were free to head off on our own!

Personally, I texted my mom to tell her I was done and find out where she was. She was in Epcot, near the fountain, so we met up.

We decided to head to SAB and relax at the pool. We strolled to IG and back to YC.

Back in our room, we found this friendly fella hanging out.

After all I read about SAB, I was ready to see it for myself, so I grabbed my waterproof camera pouch and got changed. Mom did the same, and away we went!

 

[ZehnJahren]

We were at the pool. We came, we saw, we swam, we chilled, we slid, etc.

Enjoy the following SAB pictures.

It's sad that Hurricane Hannah's was closed.

What a gorgeous day!!!

This duck did NOT have a wristband!!!!

Kick 'em out!

We search every inch of SAB to really take it in.

After awhile, we decided the time had come to get dry, dressed, and over to HS. We'd been at SAB for an hour and we had something we really needed to do at HS. What was that, you might ask? Well, ToT was calling us from afar and we HAD to answer the call!

 

[ZehnJahren]

We made it to HS and headed in. I loved that boat!

It took no time to get a boat and head to HS. We were kind of sort of contemplating Fantasmic tonight - neither of us had seen it.

Next thing we knew we were here:

Aw. yay. It was 22 minutes between those two pictures, so you can see how fast everything went!

We went in and went right, heading towards ToT. BatB was starting, and I'd never seen it; I conferred with Mom - did she want to see it? She said yes so we decided to head in. I always LOVED the BatB movie, so I was a little apprehensive on seeing this show.

Did we like it? YES! I actually saw grown men wiping away tears; couldn't believe it. We really loved it and enjoyed our show.

We just sat down; decent seats for the fact we walked in VERY close to the show!

The costumes were WONDERFUL.

It was definitely worth the delay for ToT.

So since we were first heading to ToT, it was time to fulfill that promise.

I take this crappy picture every time. LOL!

The line was very short. Next thing we knew, we were here:

RRP!!! (we're the second row, on the far left, Ma's in the green!)

Alright, let's go see if we can get on TSMM.

Man, I love this ride.

Not bad!!

We'd done BatB, ToT, and TSMM. We strolled and shopped for a bit, and then decided that we were both beat and wanted to head back for a relaxing night at the YC. We were going to do MK rope drop in the morning and wanted to be CERTAIN we got there on time, so we went back to YC via boat.

The next day was super busy; I'm so glad we decided to get to bed early!

 

[reyasmommy]

Loving your TR.... I laughed so hard when I was reading about your ALMOST segway accident. Sounds like something I would do.

Looking forward to reading more.

 

[ZehnJahren]

Loving your TR.... I laughed so hard when I was reading about your ALMOST segway accident. Sounds like something I would do.

Looking forward to reading more.

Thanks for saying hello! I know people are reading because I watch my count go up and up, but otherwise I feel like I'm writing to myself. That's ok though; I really write these so I can go back and read them myself.

Once my legs stopped shaking I did start to laugh about the almost-accident. Those older folks' eyes got HUGE but they didn't move; there were so many people around watching; it was surreal! I was zipping around on that thing too, by that time, but I was making sure to stay away from the person in front of me. I couldn't believe those two whacked into each other!

 

[reyasmommy]

Thanks for saying hello! I know people are reading because I watch my count go up and up, but otherwise I feel like I'm writing to myself. That's ok though; I really write these so I can go back and read them myself.

Once my legs stopped shaking I did start to laugh about the almost-accident. Those older folks' eyes got HUGE but they didn't move; there were so many people around watching; it was surreal! I was zipping around on that thing too, by that time, but I was making sure to stay away from the person in front of me. I couldn't believe those two whacked into each other!

I know what you mean........ But you're right, I mostly do my TR's so I can go back and read them.... As a matter of fact I've been reading my first TR all morning. ((2007)) I love to see how things have changed since then, and I just like reliving it. SOOOO Fun.

Well I'm glad you didn't get hurt or run over any old people. Even though that would have made the story even more interesting.

 

[nancy155]

I love reading your trip report! You do a great job of describing things as well as photos to help those of us reading, feel like we are there with you! Thanks!!!

3 more weeks until our Segway Tour!!! I will have to warn my 17 year old son he better not be goofing around like those two men as I can see him pulling some stunt like that and I will be the one almost running over people!

 

[ZehnJahren]

I know what you mean........ But you're right, I mostly do my TR's so I can go back and read them.... As a matter of fact I've been reading my first TR all morning. ((2007)) I love to see how things have changed since then, and I just like reliving it. SOOOO Fun.

Well I'm glad you didn't get hurt or run over any old people. Even though that would have made the story even more interesting.

Wow, I bet there have definitely been a lot of changes since 2007! I do go back and read my other ones too; it's nice to see the pictures and remember. I need to download these so that I have them in the off chance this site ever goes down!

I'm telling you, I was less than a foot away from them - I have no clue how Lamont stopped my Segway from smashing into those people.

I love reading your trip report! You do a great job of describing things as well as photos to help those of us reading, feel like we are there with you! Thanks!!!

3 more weeks until our Segway Tour!!! I will have to warn my 17 year old son he better not be goofing around like those two men as I can see him pulling some stunt like that and I will be the one almost running over people!

Aw thanks for reading and for saying hello! How cool that you're going on this tour! I would ABSOLUTELY do it again, for sure. But I was pretty irritated with those guys horsing around - it could have caused me to run into a regular park guest, made me feel terrible, and possibly hurt those people (or me) as well. No pulling stunts on the Segways!!

I couldn't help looking into how much those Segways cost, though; they were fun! I would totally get one if I had the kind of life that could use them; however, my commute is too far to ride to work, and I like strolling through the mall, and I don't have a lot of parks by my house, so it would just be useless to me in my everyday life.

 

[ZehnJahren]

The next morning, Ma and I were adamant that we get to MK for rope drop. On our trip together last October, we just barely missed rope drop after I surprised her with a stay at the Contemporary! It was worth it, but I wanted her to see the ceremony (and I wanted to see it too!).

Like every other Disney morning, we were up at the crack of dawn (and I wonder, how can I bounce out of bed at 6 a.m. at Disney but have to drag myself out of bed at 8 back at home?). We got ready, grabbed a snack, and headed to the bus stop.

See?

MK opened at 9, so we were here at the bus stop at 8:17 a.m., waiting. We didn't want to take any chances!

Hi YC!

Mom and I were giddy, and we when get giddy, we get silly. That means we're jumping around, singing, whistling, whatever... just joking around in general. So when I saw this....

... I started jumping up and down and up again. Mom was singing and I was leaping up and down and when the bus finally stopped to pick us up (yes, just the two of us), the bus driver was cracking up and welcomed us aboard. He said he'd "never seen people so excited to see the bus" - we told him he had the best smelling bus we'd ever been in. He was super friendly and chatted with us until we reached BC, at which point a LOT of people hopped on the bus with us.

Let's go to MK!!!

Look, we're close!

Look, we're closer!!

We got to the park with plenty of time to watch the opening show. We found a spot in the front middle and waited for the train. I videoed all of it, so I don't have pictures. Love that show! <3

When we got in, Ma had to run to the bathroom, but we were still so early that the time it took didn't put us back in our touring. And we were about to do a LOT this morning! Here we go!

First? A much-needed picture!

I wanted to go to a ride I hadn't ridden in at LEAST 10 years, possibly many more: The Jungle Cruise! Mom agreed, so we headed in that direction.

No one was in line at ALL:

We headed straight through.

Even though it wasn't my first ride ever, I still consider it a first. I hadn't been on it in forever, and ever since my surgery it's made me nervous to be on longer rides - especially ones that didn't have an "easy" way out. But I was breaking all those boundaries on this trip, and it really left me feeling very, very happy overall.

We had a great, fun skipper; another 6 or 7 people joined our cruise before we left, and our skipper was definitely making us all laugh even before we shoved off. I took video on this ride, so no more pics. Sorry. =(

I was so happy after this ride! We decided to stop by Pirates.

But it was closed for some reason. So we thought "Splash Mountain!"

Splash wasn't closed!

There was almost no one at all in the line.

Warning!

]

I think morning at the parks is the BEST time to be there. Oh, and also late night.

Look! It's like it's our own ride.

We took a spin.

After a plunge into that briar patch (you think we'd have learned by now!), we waltzed over to BTMRR - but it was down and they didn't know when it would be back up. I told mom we should get FP here, and the CMs told us that they'd honor the FP whenever we returned that day, so we both pulled one and decided to head over to HM while we were so close.

I think I have this picture from every trip I've taken in the past 15 years. I think this is such a great angle!

This is where I first saw the FP+ queue set up. I was kind of confused; it was the only FP+ queue I had seen at the park.

It was set up so that everyone in the regular line had to go through the cemetary, and everyone in FP+ went through the old line. That makes sense, but I really don't care too much about going through the cemetary - I want to get in the MANSION.

After this, we wandered through Fantasyland and rode IASW (no pics) and Peter Pan. We headed towards Storybook Circus, and decided to actually ride Dumbo. This is another "first" since I haven't been on Dumbo since I was very small AND because it was no longer next to the castle.

Mom and I shared a Dumbo. Anyone else think the boarding pass thing is weird? I just didn't get it. But the big top area is SUPER cool; I think parents must LOVE this (although I bet getting the little ones out of here can be a chore!).

Whoa, dark skies!

I liked the new Dumbo; I thought it was truly beautiful and I loved the water features.

At this point, we decided we were hungry. We had great luck with Cosmic Rays in the past, so we headed over there (plus, the promise of the TTA after our meal was too good to pass up!).

I had the grilled chicken sandwich (good!) and probably the best fries on the planet. I even got some melted cheese, which I would NEVER eat at home! Oh it was all so very good. I might consider eating it RIGHT NOW if someone was willing to bring it all to me. =)

The skies were threatening, but we didn't care. We hopped on the TTA (ah, bliss) and then decided to take our fate in our hands and jump on SM! I was LOVING SM this trip - it was so much fun!

RRP - I kept meaning to buy this and didn't; I'm sorry now.

I literally can't stop laughing at this pic. Seriously. We are GROWN WOMEN.

The skies were still dark but holding on. We saw this:

And headed back across the park. We figured we would go back and ride Pirates if it was open.

Beast's castle! This is going to be so cool when it's all the way open!

Pirates was open now, and so we took a spin. We walked through that ever-maligned right entrance and pretty much walked right onto the ride. When we arrived in the gift shop, we saw what we'd been missing.

if you can't see it, it was POURING. But what did we care? We browsed the shops and found some trinkets to buy. We also managed to stay under cover for quite awhile, even buying a soda at Pecos Bill's and drinking it at a table. But the rain couldn't keep us in and we headed out to play.

By this time it was almost 1 and we'd been in the park since 9. We decided there was no better time to head back for some food and a nap. We were both craving a real "meal" so we decided to head to Miller's Ale House. We got lost a few times with the gps, but eventually we made it. My mom had a salmon plate with a salad, I had grilled chicken with a heap of broccoli. We headed back to the room to sleep it off and get ready for EMH at HS!!

This is really the point where ma finally started saying her legs were hurting. I'd been pushing her to stretch constantly; she has metal rods in her leg from a car accident she had in her 20s, and they don't shrink with age like bones do, so she has some issues sometimes depending on exertion and temperature. But along with the blisters, she was starting to hurt - and my mom has a high threshold for pain, so for her to even mention it meant that she really was hurting. What will end up happening with the rest of our trip, and our last night at YC?

 

[reyasmommy]

Great update! I love that you and your mother are so close. My mother and I weren't close. ((for a million reasons that required counseling)) I was always hopeful that things would eventually work out, but she passed away 4 years ago and we never had the chance. So I'm always envious of people with awesome Moms.... ((Wow, sorry that was depressing)) I just enjoy reading about Mother/Daughter trips.

I'm thinking about attempting a Live TR... I don't think I could pull it off for the whole vacation, but most of it I"m sure I could do. I would make sure to post at least a little something everyday and do a more detailed TR after I got back. I was able to do a live trip report during a DLR vacation a few years ago. Well for most of it anyway.

Anyway....... I'm looking forward to more updates.

 

[ZehnJahren]

Great update! I love that you and your mother are so close. My mother and I weren't close. ((for a million reasons that required counseling)) I was always hopeful that things would eventually work out, but she passed away 4 years ago and we never had the chance. So I'm always envious of people with awesome Moms.... ((Wow, sorry that was depressing)) I just enjoy reading about Mother/Daughter trips.

I'm thinking about attempting a Live TR... I don't think I could pull it off for the whole vacation, but most of it I"m sure I could do. I would make sure to post at least a little something everyday and do a more detailed TR after I got back. I was able to do a live trip report during a DLR vacation a few years ago. Well for most of it anyway.

Anyway....... I'm looking forward to more updates.

I'm so sorry to hear about your relationship with your mom. My mom had a very very bad relationship with her own mother, truly awful, and was blessed enough to start to repair that relationship right before my grandmother died (before I was born). I definitely think that her memories of what her mom did to her influenced the way she treated me while I was growing up; my mom is a very good woman, smart, funny, thoughtful, generous, and very kind. We've always taken time to write each other notes and say how we feel about the other person; when I'm feeling low I can pull out one of those notes and read about how much she thinks of me. Yeah, I'm pretty lucky!

Now, I'm super jealous of anyone close to their sister. I have an older sister that I was separated from in childhood by divorce, and we don't talk at ALL now. Literally, I don't think I've spoken to her in almost two years at this point. I just don't know how to fix it.

Live TRs are HARD! This one started out live, but we were so busy that I just couldn't keep up! That's why I just started over and just did everything again, like you said - the live TR is in the first three pages and it's sad. LOL.