06/06-06/11 Assault on Disney's Beaches: Update 8/13, Swag Pics on last page

[swwake]

Fun last day so far! It's too bad that Dianna's card wasn't working for Fast Passes and you always had to get help. I love the story of the Splash Mountain ride. I also love Jungle Cruise. I hope BTMRR gets working before y'all leave!

 

[lovegrumpy]

If you do decide to keep your trip to Disneyland just wait Intel you ride pirates there. It is so much longer and better. I love Disneyland.

 

[TinksThree]

Splash Mtn is so much fun. I have nostalgia about so many rides in Magic Kingdom! I still miss 20,000 Leagues adn the Toad Ride, mostly becasue of my memories. I wonder if I would find them lame now or just enjoy them because of what they are (or were) like I do Jungle Cruise??

Last days are always so bittersweet to me! I ahve to remind myself...I will be back!!

 

[SurfinTX]

Fun last day so far! It's too bad that Dianna's card wasn't working for Fast Passes and you always had to get help. I love the story of the Splash Mountain ride. I also love Jungle Cruise. I hope BTMRR gets working before y'all leave!

There is no doubt that Splash Mountain was a pleasant surprise. It certainly isn't an average log flume ride! You have to wait and see if BTMRR is brought up in time.

If you do decide to keep your trip to Disneyland just wait Intel you ride pirates there. It is so much longer and better. I love Disneyland.

Oh I'm definantly going! I just have mixed feelings about going without Dianna. I'm trying to figure out a way to get her there but with the kids in school and the cost...

The good news is that I'll get to see all of the Disneyland versions of the these rides for the first time...including Mr. Toad's Wild Ride!

Splash Mtn is so much fun. I have nostalgia about so many rides in Magic Kingdom! I still miss 20,000 Leagues adn the Toad Ride, mostly becasue of my memories. I wonder if I would find them lame now or just enjoy them because of what they are (or were) like I do Jungle Cruise??

Last days are always so bittersweet to me! I ahve to remind myself...I will be back!!

I miss 20,000 leagues as well. I know a lot of our enjoyment of these older rides are from our earlier memories and getting to recreate some of that experience. Hopefully we have made a few memories for our children that they can look back upon in ten to fifteen years as well!

 

[SurfinTX]

What Do Kids Like? More Pizza!

Ok. So here we are in Adventureland deciding on what to get to eat. Do the kids want burgers? No. Do they want mexican? No. What do they want? Pizza...again... Well the closest pizza spot that I knew about was Pinocchio's Village Haus back in Fantasyland. Luckily there was a shortcut through Liberty Square which made the trip a bit shorter.

On the plus side there is plenty of seating and it's all indoors. This made the place quite popular and it was packed. We found a small table and squeezed everyone around it.

Me and Dianna decided to go for the meatball subs as the kids had more pizza. I found the sub to be equivalent to Subway's. I loved the decorations at this location. This was right behind me.

Quickly finishing up we marched out into the blazing sun and headed over to Space Mountain to use our fastpasses. Notice the red umbrella leading the way.

I wanted to check out all of the new additions to the queue they had added since my last visit. Unfortunately the FP line was very short and we walked all the way up the loading area before having to wait.

Let me say first that I was scared to death of this ride when I was 7 years old. When I rode it at 13 I had a blast. In '07 I realized that this is not a big coaster at all...but I still loved the theme. Looking at the pictures I think we gave it an Alright! on a scale of Zzzzz to Wohooo!

After finishing that off it was now after 1:00 pm. BTMRR was the last must do on our list. It was quite the hike all the way over there and our fastpasses would not be up until 4:15 which would be later than when we were hoping to get back to the resort. The consensus was to head for a shorter line but give our fastpasses away. This did not take long as a group of teenagers happily took them from us near Liberty Square.

This cheeky bird was acting strangely as we walked by. Whenever someone would get close it would spread it's wings and face it's head back at you. It didn't seem threatened. Just oddly curious.

Veering south we ended up at The Magic Carpets of Aladdin. This was not my personal choice on how to finish the park but the line was really short sooo...

OMG it was hot! No shade anywhere. The CM running the ride must have been suffering since she had no shade around the controls as well. After a whirl we were out of there! I knew what could cool us down in a hurry. A trip to Aloha Isle which was just a shoort walk away. Unfortunately it seems that many people had the same idea since the line was over 30 long. I really had a hankerin' for a Dole Whip but I knew I had another chance at Captain Cooks in the Poly.

Continuing on we approach Main St. USA and enter Casey's Corner to get out of the heat and do a last bit of shopping before we leave. As we start to browse around we notice the Mayor walking up. I wish I could have had my camera on video record to capture what happened next! He greets us and notices our hats and buttons and congratulates us on our wedding. He then continues to say that he has had the honor of being married 3 times and is currently on the market. Dianna, without batting an eyelash, says "Why I am on my third as well!" The Mayor turns to me and I have a kind of a rolling eyes look with yeah, she's right shrug mixed in as well. I have never in my life seen a Character at Disney look so uncertain of what to say next! I think he reset to the standard script and just congratulated us again and then moved on...quickly.

Eventually we end up in the Main Street Confectionary to use up our remaining snack credits.

I was still holding out for my Dole Whip so I didn't get anything here. Dianna picked up some chocolate coins to give to her nieces and nephews back in Utah. Back on Main Street and nearing the exit we happen to see the start of A Dream Come True Parade coming right at us. We had forgotten the time and it was just past 3:00 pm. Pausing a bit we catch one last event.

and with that we said our final goodbyes to Magic Kingdom.

Up Next: Wrapping Up Our Magical Vacation

 

[swwake]

Hooray for getting to ride BTMRR! I hope you get your dole whip. I haven't seen that afternoon parade, but it looks really good. I can't believe how much that guy with Mary Poppins looks like Dick Van **** - must be the eyebrows.

 

[TinksThree]

We had to miss out on a much deisred ride down to it being down also. My kids were very bummed about it! I guarantee it will be one of the first they try to get on next time....and funny thing is it is one you did not care for!

I remember Space Mtn from when I was around 8 or 10 and thought it was THE. MOST. AWESOME. RIDE. EVER.. I did nto get to ride it again due to always having a little one. When I rode it last year I was so excited and then when it was over....it just wasn't what I remembered! I still love to ride it but I think mostly due to the nostalgia I talked about earlier. It isn't bad or terrible but after riding RnR and EE, well.....

Fun catching that parade at the end!!

 

[SurfinTX]

Hooray for getting to ride BTMRR! I hope you get your dole whip. I haven't seen that afternoon parade, but it looks really good. I can't believe how much that guy with Mary Poppins looks like Dick Van **** - must be the eyebrows.

The 3:00 parade is well done and does not take more than 10 minutes to watch the whole thing. I felt really sorry for the cast members who had to be in those costumes. It was blazingly hot in the sun that day! I agree about Dick Van ****, must have been the timing of my shot. I believe Mary Poppins has my vote for Most Useful Accessory!

We had to miss out on a much deisred ride down to it being down also. My kids were very bummed about it! I guarantee it will be one of the first they try to get on next time....and funny thing is it is one you did not care for!

I remember Space Mtn from when I was around 8 or 10 and thought it was THE. MOST. AWESOME. RIDE. EVER.. I did nto get to ride it again due to always having a little one. When I rode it last year I was so excited and then when it was over....it just wasn't what I remembered! I still love to ride it but I think mostly due to the nostalgia I talked about earlier. It isn't bad or terrible but after riding RnR and EE, well.....

Fun catching that parade at the end!!

I think the biggest problem of the day was the heat. Magic Kingdom, for us, is much more fun at night or when it's cooler. I think the the day was wearing on the kids who were paying the price of the heat but not getting big thrills. Your also right about Space Mountain. After EE and Rockin Rollercoaster it's a bit of a letdown for the kids who were riding it for the first time. If I could have changed the plan I would have had a full MK tour before AK and DHS...but with SWW that wasn't possible.

Now it's time to finish this trip report up!

 

[SurfinTX]

Now It's Really Time to Say Goodbye

After finishing up with the parade it was just a short boat ride back to the Poly. We had planned ahead for this afternoon and left one bag in the car with our bathing suits. The lounge on the third floor has this very convenient bathroom that locks.

Quickly heading down to the pool we soak in the lovely area one last time. I think I went down the slide three or four times.

All too soon 5 pm rolls around and we head back to the lounge to change back to fresh clothes. The evening service starts and I finally see Chef Dick! He is the head chef at the Poly Lounge and is a big hit over on the Poly thread. I didn't get any pictures at this time since I had discovered my cards were full. Anyway, we said Hi and I mentioned the DisBoards and how we we knew he was retiring soon. Service was great, as usual, but with him there everything seemed just a bit better.

Finishing up we walk out to the parking lot and start our van for the first time all week. No problems there and we were off. A quick stop at the Hess and we waved goodbye to the most Magical Place on Earth...until next time.

The kids were pretty tired and our first leg was just to Tallahassee which was three hours away. Priceline gave us a nice room at the Holiday Inn and we had no complaints since we arrived around 9:00 pm and booked out of there at 6:00 am Central. A few hours later we arrived at Pensacola Beach.

The Pier area has restrooms and several places to eat. There is also tons of parking which can be a problem at other beaches along the Emerald Coast. I pull out some snorkle gear since the sea was flat today and see a stingray, a pufferfish and several large schools of fish. The water was very clear with visibility around 15 feet. At this time we did not see a trace of a tarball or sheen from the oil spill at all.

We splash around for a few hours and then we eat at a beachside bar with the original name of The Dock. You can walk right in from the beach into shade in your suits and order. The food was so-so with choices from burgers to fried shrimp. The price isn't bad at all and if you come at night you can play pool, darts or whoop it up and get your drink on.

Changing back into our driving clothes we head off again around 2:00 pm and make our way to Lafayette, La. where Priceline gave us another good deal at the Crowne Plaza near downtown. My original plan was to stop on the way at Grosse Tete and eat at a very nice cajun place with live music. It was an old red barn that had been converted into a huge restaraunt.

Dianna, however, just wanted to reach the hotel so that's what we did. I was not very familiar with Lafayette itself and there seemed to be only chain restaraunts nearby and they were all packed. Looking around I did see a small mexican place that had another original name...El Tequilla. The place had great atmosphere, great service...but the blandest mexican food you can imagine. It wasn't bad...just very bland.

Here is a pic of our room. Michael wanted a picture of the crazy orange pillows.

The next morning we wake up late and grab a to-go at McDonald's and start making our way home. After only about 90 minutes Dianna wanted to take a break so we stopped in Alexandria. Filling up and grabbing some cokes we come back out and notice our rear left tire was going down. We had some fix-a-flat but after we tried to reinflate the tire it gave way completely.

I put on the donut and get directions to a local Wal-Mart to get it replaced. So, after about a two hour delay we get back on the road again. Thinking about it later we thanked our lucky stars since normaly we would drive 3-4 hours at a time and if that had happened halfway between Alexandria and Shreveport it would have been a lot harder to get it fixed...not to mention a possible blowout while traveling at 70 mph.

The rest of the drive was uneventful and we arrived home around 6 pm safe and sound.

Whew!

It looks like my thread was moved over to the completed reports. That's what I get for waiting so long to finish it up.

Here are a few pics of the Swag we picked up along the way as well as some momentos.

First up is Dianna's lanyard.

And then mine.

Madison's Kidcot mask.

My birthday card from Donald and the Poly welcome card.

The inside of the welcome card.

The light cube from my Glowtini (Yuck!), some H2O products, my birthday pin and a big lollypop from Main Street Confectionary our last day.

The pictures of Belle before we were seated at Akershus.

The license from Sci-Fi, a chart to identify sharks at Coral Reef and some unused fastpasses over several days.

So this truly brings this report to a close. I hope everyone enjoyed a peek at our trials and celebrations while visiting the Happiest Place on Earth!

 

[TinksThree]

I am so glad to see you went down the slide!! I was the only grown-up going down the one at POR but I had so much fun!!

What a great way to end the trip! We love going to Pensacola Beach! My sister lives there...sad about the oil all around though... I have been to some great cajun resaurants in Lafayette!!...bland Mexican?? That sounds like an oxymoron!

I have got to get to work...you are home and I am only about to begin Tuesday morning!!!

I have really enjoyed reading your TR!!

 

[jake&samsmom]

Awww...the last day at Disney is always the saddest
But it looked like y'all enjoyed the beaches on the ride back

 

[SurfinTX]

I am so glad to see you went down the slide!! I was the only grown-up going down the one at POR but I had so much fun!!

What a great way to end the trip! We love going to Pensacola Beach! My sister lives there...sad about the oil all around though... I have been to some great cajun resaurants in Lafayette!!...bland Mexican?? That sounds like an oxymoron!

I have got to get to work...you are home and I am only about to begin Tuesday morning!!!

I have really enjoyed reading your TR!!

It's a sad state of affairs when we visit the heart of cajun country and find a way to eat mexican food. These trip reports do take a lot of time to work on but I think they pay off for others to plan their trips as well as documenting what you were able to do.

Now that I'm done with this I can spend more time looking at everyone else's TR now!

Awww...the last day at Disney is always the saddest
But it looked like y'all enjoyed the beaches on the ride back

Coming back from Disney is always hard. I think we managed to saturate the kids with the Disney experience that they felt like they had enough for now. Pensacola is a great stop-off since it's less than 20 minutes off I-10. It helped settle the kids and I think you can tell that we were splitting the trip back into small chunks to keep them from getting too antsy.