1 crazy family+2 resorts+5 parks+1 snake+1 surprise=A Mickeystoontown report 4/3x2

[mickeystoontown]

I know I have some catching up to do, but I enjoyed your last update. Boma is so yummy and I got to enjoy a few Zebra Domes on my October trip.

We enjoyed Boma so much that we are going back there next May.

Ewww to the snake. I am NOT a fan and I am glad a snake didn't cross my path while we were just staying there.

It scared me almost speechless. Notice I said almost.

So glad that every one had a nice evening hanging by the pool. Too funny about John tipping the chair over and not even knowing it. You're right - you totally needed a picture of that. Although it was probably a little scary at the time.

It would one of those moments where you go "What the Heck?"

bummer about mom's panel. You would have been great, but at least we all know you and still can use your expertise here! More time for these great TRs!!

Thank you! I'd love to have been chosen but there's always next year.

Glad Jesse and Lacey got there early with more time to enjoy! We did that once, deciding to keep driving through the night instead of stopping and ended up booking a room at the Swan for a night while we were somewhere in Georgia or northern Florida. I'd happily (well, maybe not happily...) drive all night for an extra day at WDW. In fact, we usually do it that way.

We drive all the way home but have never driven all the way there. I've never even thought about staying at the Swan before but it does look like a nice resort.

We really like Boma and AKL too. We've stayed there a couple times, maybe 3 now. Lots of good food options and an amazing beautiful resort.

So nice that you got to spend some quality family time and had so much fun!

I know that I'd love to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge but John probably wouldn't. He's more of a laid back beachy kinda guy.

First off that you weren't chosen to advance to the Mom's Panel. You would be perfect!

Thank you!

I had quite a few updates to catch up on.

I love your Illuminations pictures. The closeup ones are GREAT!

Believe me when I tell you that I have many more that were awful.

What a fantastic family photo. And nice that you have a connection to the people who took it for you.

It was pretty neat to know where the guy lived.

I know what you mean about the cold busses! We had one of those on our last trip. Oh my!

I hate the cold buses. Makes me have to go potty every time.

What a flirt that Hunter is!

Heck yeah and proud of it!

That is awesome that Lacey and Jesse arrived early and the solution to their late/early arrival was a great one.

They were happy to be there even if they did arrive in the middle of the night/morning.

Your lunch at Wolfgang's place looked really good- we have never been.

We always walked right past Wolfgang Puck and were glad that we stopped a couple of years ago. It's a bit pricey though if you're not on the dining plan.

on a tour of CSR on it being too hot to really explore.

It was really hot that day and we didn't get to see as much as we wanted to.

Boma! Boma! Boma!

My favorite Disney restaurant. I'm glad you loved it. And you all worked up an appetite getting there!

It's one of our top restaurants now.

So was that your first visit to AKL? It really is beautiful!

Yes it was our first visit there. It's gorgeous!

Congrats on surviving your snake encounter.

It's funny now but it wasn't when we ran across him.

A poolside family gathering is a great way to end another magical Disney day!

It was the perfect way to end the day.

I am truly surprised that you were not selected for the Mom's Panel. Keep trying, I know that they wise up sooner or later

Thank you! I'll make it one day.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Shucks! All they would have to do is check out some of your TR's and see how knowledgeable you are and what a following you have to know you would have been perfect on the Mom's Panel. Oh well, we would rather ask our questions to you directly, anyway!! They are just missing out on a good thing.

Thank you! I'll just keep on writing the trip reports and helping out on the CBR thread. It'll happen one day.

Just wanted to say how sorry I am. I sure don't know what it is they are looking for. Would love to hear from someone that made it past the video selection about what it is they did or said.

I appreciate the kind words! I saw a couple of videos of those who made it to round 3. They were good but they did speak more of a schedule or specifics. I just went with my gut and what my family would do.

Just wanted to say hello - I read through a lot of your TR on my lunch break here, and just saw your post about Boma. Do you remember if you tried the Babotie? My mom and I make a version of it, since we were both born in South Africa, but I'm curious what theirs was like. We didn't do Boma last time (and even we did, we're Jewish & keep kosher, so we wouldn't have had it) so I was wondering.

Loving your report - so much fun. Sorry about the Mom's Panel silly people, don't they know you already have an audience that loves you??

Hey and welcome! Glad to have you! We did try the babotie and I liked it. I'm not sure about the others but I do know that there were very few things that we didn't care for. How neat that you make your own version!

Thanks for the kind words! I'll make it to the panel one day. They haven't seen the last of my applications yet.

I hope that you'll continue to post. I love making new Dis friends.

 

[kaoden39]

Thanks! You're getting close to moving in your new home!



Yes! We start moving on Wednesday. The majority of the furniture will be delivered on Thursday. I can hardly wait to get moved in.

 

[DisneymoonJess07]

Hey and welcome! Glad to have you! We did try the babotie and I liked it. I'm not sure about the others but I do know that there were very few things that we didn't care for. How neat that you make your own version!

Thanks for the kind words! I'll make it to the panel one day. They haven't seen the last of my applications yet.

I hope that you'll continue to post. I love making new Dis friends.

I hope I continue to post too - when I didn't have a Disney trip on the horizon it was really difficult. I hope my trip with my friend ends up happening - I will so do a PTR and a TR for it! And if it doesn't, I guess I can at least stick around to finish my (old, old, very old) TR from our honeymoon!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Thanks! You're getting close to moving in your new home!



Yes! We start moving on Wednesday. The majority of the furniture will be delivered on Thursday. I can hardly wait to get moved in.

I know that you have GOT to be ready to settle into the new home and just in time for Christmas too!

I hope I continue to post too - when I didn't have a Disney trip on the horizon it was really difficult. I hope my trip with my friend ends up happening - I will so do a PTR and a TR for it! And if it doesn't, I guess I can at least stick around to finish my (old, old, very old) TR from our honeymoon!

We go to Disney every Spring/Summer and the trip reports are the only thing that keep me from getting the Disney "funk". If you start a pre-trip report, please let me know!

 

[mickeystoontown]

I'm going to apologize ahead of time that the next installment is short. I was going to write more but this is as far as I can get today. I need to move some things around on my desk a bit before I leave for the day. I'll write another update tomorrow.

 

[mickeystoontown]

You’d think that they’d dust this place every once in a while!

We were up bright and early the next morning because we were off to another park! Mama had let us know the night before that she’d be sleeping in and would meet us later that evening. Off we went to the bus stop, hopped on the bus and were at or destination in just 11 minutes. Where were we headed?

Hollywood Studios! Home of some of our favorite attractions!

I still can’t find the “missing” pictures so I’ll have to go on my memory which, at times, can be a bit sketchy. We were through bag check and the turnstiles and in the park in no time at all. This is where I’m a bit confused in what we did first. I’m thinking that we went to Toy Story Mania because this is the first picture that I took.


Wait, I’m wrong, this is the first picture that I took:



This is the second picture that I took and makes me think that we went to Toy Story Mania first:



If we didn’t ride it right then, we got a fastpass. Just one picture that I took along the way to our next destination:



Where exactly were we headed? To one of the scariest, most creepy places in all of Walt Disney World:



Hunter does not like Tower of Terror and I understand why. It took me over 15 trips before I stepped foot inside that scary tower. The first time that I rode it, my children sat in the lobby and, literally, prayed for me the whole time. They thought that I would freak out and have a heart attack since I don’t like heights and I don’t like drops. You can imagine their surprise when John and I came to the lobby and I told them “I’m going again!” Hunter takes after me on the drops and the heights so Tower of Terror isn’t his favorite attraction. However, he was bound and determined that he was riding it this trip.

Every time that we have ridden, the line has been short and we’ve walked almost all the way in. This time, however, the line snaked outside and we all had plenty of time to take pictures and chat.









Gee whiz! You’d think that they’d dust this place every once in a while!







Bless Hunter’s heart, he kept telling us that he couldn’t believe that he was riding and that he was nervous. I can’t say that I blame him ‘cause my heart gets to racing every single time that I ride too. We entered our elevator and were soon plunging from top to bottom over and over and over again. Fun but scary! Scary but fun!

Our stomachs were telling us that we hadn’t had anything for breakfast and that we needed sustenance and soon. Last trip, we had given ABC Commissary another try and it had been pretty good so we went there thinking that we’d at least have air conditioning even if the food was just okay.

Looks like we had some Darth Vader cupcakes:



A parfait of some sort:



And........and......what? No pictures of the other foods? Probably because we four of us ordered burgers and Lacey, being the odd man, err woman, out, ordered the fish and fries. Nothing to look at so I guess I didn’t take pictures?

**Up next: I see nothing but gangstas up in here! Oh and an alien!

 

[PhoenixStrength]

What did Hunter think of ToT? My sister hates heights and drops, but decided to try it when we went in 2008, and wound up loving it.

Those Darth cupcakes are cute, and sure look chocolatey!!

 

[mickeystoontown]

What did Hunter think of ToT? My sister hates heights and drops, but decided to try it when we went in 2008, and wound up loving it.

Those Darth cupcakes are cute, and sure look chocolatey!!

This was actually his 2nd time riding it. He was too scared to know if he liked it or not the first time. This time, he said that it wasn't that bad.

The cupcakes were super super chocolatey.

 

[Kathy Jetson]

That was so nice of Lacey and Jesse to have the decorations up for you when you got back to the room

You hand me laughing with your snake story. Last night I heard one of my cats growling and thinking they were about to fight I turned the light on and walked towards them. One of them was chasing something on the floor and it was a SNAKE! Now it was a baby snake and I picked it up and put it outside BUT it was a snake in my house! The cat kept snake hunting in that area the rest of the night

I can just picture John falling over in the rocking chair and you coming out in the morning to find him asleep in that position That must have been some good sleep.

I'm so sorry you didn't make it on the mom's panel. They don't know what their missing.

I've done ToT twice but I can't stand drops. River loves it but I don't know if I can force myself to go on it again. I made River do it by himself this last trip. I walked him through the line and when he was on I took the chicken exit and waited at the bottom.

 

[veraletta]

Thanks for sharing your trip, I enjoyed reading and looking at all your pictures, your report was awesome ...

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

I'm not much of a Tower of Terror fan I've only ridden the version in Disney California Adventure. I think it's only been 3 times, and only with at least two others. It's not really something I want to go on on my own.

 

[nolacindy]

Caught back up again!
So sorry to hear about the moms panel, they don't know what they are missing.
ToT is a favorite with us, we get a kick out of laughing at the grown men screaming like little girls (yes we are twisted people!).
That cupcake looks fantastic!
Dang John must be a heavy sleeper, glad he was okay but that is too funny!

 

[mickeystoontown]

That was so nice of Lacey and Jesse to have the decorations up for you when you got back to the room

You hand me laughing with your snake story. Last night I heard one of my cats growling and thinking they were about to fight I turned the light on and walked towards them. One of them was chasing something on the floor and it was a SNAKE! Now it was a baby snake and I picked it up and put it outside BUT it was a snake in my house! The cat kept snake hunting in that area the rest of the night

You picked it up! With you hands? I'd have passed out right then and there.

I can just picture John falling over in the rocking chair and you coming out in the morning to find him asleep in that position That must have been some good sleep.

Poor man was so drugged up that he didn't even realize that he was sleeping on the floor.

I'm so sorry you didn't make it on the mom's panel. They don't know what their missing.

Thank You!

I've done ToT twice but I can't stand drops. River loves it but I don't know if I can force myself to go on it again. I made River do it by himself this last trip. I walked him through the line and when he was on I took the chicken exit and waited at the bottom.

It took me years before I got up the nerve to ride it. At least, River can still ride and you can walk all the way through to make sure he got on.

Thanks for sharing your trip, I enjoyed reading and looking at all your pictures, your report was awesome ...

Thank you! I have lots more to come! Hope that you'll stick around and feel free to post.

I'm not much of a Tower of Terror fan I've only ridden the version in Disney California Adventure. I think it's only been 3 times, and only with at least two others. It's not really something I want to go on on my own.

Yeah, I can see how it would be a little bit of a bummer riding it on your own. I have to have somebody to scream with me.

Caught back up again!
So sorry to hear about the moms panel, they don't know what they are missing.
ToT is a favorite with us, we get a kick out of laughing at the grown men screaming like little girls (yes we are twisted people!).
That cupcake looks fantastic!
Dang John must be a heavy sleeper, glad he was okay but that is too funny!

Thank you for the kind words! I'll keep on trying until they tell me that they don't want to see my ugly mug during the application process.

I have told this story before but I'll tell it again 'cause you brought up grown men screaming.

The second time that I rode Tower of Terror, I was still a scared and told John that he had to let me hang on to him when the drops started. We went all the way through the line and there were three teenage boys who were bragging about it not being scary, they were tough, etc. We boarded the elevator and they sat on the other side of John. One of the guys was on his cellphone during the first part of the ride and then John told him that we were going to drop soon and he said "I gotta go!" The drops and lifts started and the boys were screaming louder than I was. When we stopped, I looked over and one of the guys had one leg over John's lap, was wrapped around John arm as tight as he could. When he realized that we had stopped, he immediately sat up straight, looked at John and said "I'm sorry man. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to." The other two guys were laughing their butts off at him. It was hilarious!

 

[mickeystoontown]

I see nothing but gangstas up in here! Oh and an alien!

While everybody else was finishing up the meal, I gathered up everybody’s KTTW cards and hotfooted it over to Rock n Roller Coaster. As I said before, I’m a fast walker and walking doesn’t bother me in the least so I’m usually the Fastpasser getter. Not so sure how that’s going to work once the new system rolls out but until then, I’m the go-getter of the group.

I called the family on my way back and told them that I was almost there and to decide what to do next. When I got back, it was decided that the best thing to do was to follow the yellow brick road. There’s no such yellow brick road at Hollywood Studios, you say? Oh yes there is. It’s right inside this building:



Before entering, we stopped to see some of the famous hand and foot prints:













A couple of pictures of our surroundings before hopping in the line:





Pretty light fixture in the building:



Hooray for Hollywood! Hooray! Hooray! Hooray for Hollywood!



I don’t know why I can’t get decent pictures in the theater but I always give it the old college try:







We got caught up in the gunfire and buildings went up in flames and, suddenly, a robber had taken over our stagecoach, I mean, train or vehicle or whatever it’s called:







So far, we've seen gangstas and cowboys. Who knew what to expect next. What’s that up there? An Alien!



Our robber spotted a precious jewel and stopped the train to get a closer look and wham, bam, thank you m’am, our original guide was back!





**Continued in next post

 

[mickeystoontown]

See, I told you that we were going to follow the yellow brick road!











Watching the film clips at the end of the attraction:



**Up next: It’s unbelievable I tell ya! A total catastrophe!

 

[Tinker_Tam]

Ok, I am guessing it is super HOT, just from the way the water is beading on the chocolate on your cupcake! Although, I don't think the cupcake would have been around long enough to get watery if it were mine!

I so want to do the movie ride this trip. I have no idea why but we never made it there last trip. I think we get to sucked into the Osborn lights!

 

[Tiggerrn2]

Those photos look ohhhhh so familiar. What does your mom do at the resort for the day while you all are at the parks? I've often thought about bringing my mom along, but she could never keep the pace of the rest of us nor could we leave her by herself at the resort.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Ok, I am guessing it is super HOT, just from the way the water is beading on the chocolate on your cupcake! Although, I don't think the cupcake would have been around long enough to get watery if it were mine!

I so want to do the movie ride this trip. I have no idea why but we never made it there last trip. I think we get to sucked into the Osborn lights!

I noticed the sweat on the chocolate cupcakes too. They were really good but super chocolatey.

I can certainly understand why you'd need to skip the Great Movie Ride in order to see the lights.

Those photos look ohhhhh so familiar. What does your mom do at the resort for the day while you all are at the parks? I've often thought about bringing my mom along, but she could never keep the pace of the rest of us nor could we leave her by herself at the resort.

Mama absolutely loves Caribbean Beach Resort. She's more than happy to skip the hotter part of the day and lounge around the resort. She'll bring along cards and word puzzles and, of course, she always calls to check in with her sister and cousin and other family. Over the course of several trips, she's tried a lot of the items on the CBR's food court menus.

At first, I felt really bad about leaving her at the resort but she has convinced us that she's fine and dandy and enjoys being at the resort.

 

[DisneymoonJess07]

Whenever I think about bringing my parents with us to Disney (say when we have kids), I always try to figure out what my mom would do - she couldn't do a full day in a park, but they could afford one of the deluxe hotels...so...we'd see, I guess. If it ever happens!!