17 Days of Wishes Come to Life- A Sept. 08 WDW and DCL Adventure 3/27 new link posted

[jaycns]

Hi Jay! You will laugh at me but when you asked what we ate at the Brown Derby I was so happy to go get my photo album and know I could look it up! No one outside of our family asks me about anything in there so I was like a little kid grabbing my book!
Dh and I both had the filet mignon, dd had grouper and ds had salmon. Dd and I had chocolate flouless cake with berries and chocolate drizzle. Dh and ds had banana foster with banana mousse. It was all so good. (I am noticing that I had written more detail on dessert! )
When we finished dinner the park was closing so it was pretty empty and we felt like we had the whole park to ourselves. The nightime lighting, the old Hollywood music and the warm evening made it all so magical. A really nice CM took our picture on a bench looking towards TOT. It was one of my favorite nights there!

I am not laughing, I am proud of you for having those pictures! I know just what you mean. My own family listens for about 10-15 minutes about our vacations...and then their eyes start to glaze over. Seriously, they want a quick recap, to look at a handful of pictures and then they are good. I think that's a big part of why I am so addicted to the DIS, I can talk Disney for as long as my fingers can type without cramping and someone is always here to want to discuss it!

Did you happen to try any of the grouper? I think I would like to try that next time. Do you have a picture of it you might be willing to post?

That sounds like a really neat picture of you guys on the bench looking off toward TOT. What a special evening indeed to feel as if you had the entire park to yourselves! Magical I am sure!

Thanks for the ideas. You are excellent at surprises. Unfortunately we do not have a Disney store close so I will have to see what I can find at trusty ole Wal-Mart. His favorite movie is Toy Story. Hopefully that won't be to hard to find something for. I wish it was Cars though, I see Cars merchandise all the time. I'll let you know how it works out.

I was curious about the Block Party Parade. We just missed it on our DHS day. I guess we didn't miss too much. I am glad LP liked it.

I'll have to remember Art of Disney Animation next time. Both of our DDs love to draw.

Great update! Can't wait for the next installment!

Yes, please let me know how the surprise turns out. I bet he will be so excited with whatever you end up doing. You are so sweet for doing that for him.

The Art of Disney Animation is great. Our entire family rates it up there with the rides at WDW as far as attractioins go! If your daughters like to draw, they will love it!

My husband would have loved the starwars ride with the storm troopers. LOL. It sounds like a great day. I love unplanned stuff like that. Great updates once again Jay!!

My dh was upset that he missed seeing the boys see the storm troopers or that he didn't get to see Stitch telling the storm trooper how 'not scared' of him he was but dh said he would rather have missed it then ride Star Tours. Motion sickness is a big bummer sometimes.

Wow, my boys would have absolutely flipped out if Storm Troopers rode Star Tours with us! That's very cool! The Yoda backpack is so cute - I do remember one of my boys picking it up when we were there. Sounds like your day at DHS went very well, despite the LP's aversion to Mickey Ears!

I am still laughing over him and Mickey ears. We didn't even have the little chin strap on or anything. I think all of us who got to take a ride with the storm troopers did flip out! It was a lot of fun!

 

[jaycns]

Absolutely!! Start a Planning Journal on the wedding board!! your TGMR reception will be so cool! And it's just a great way to organize all your thoughts! So when are you planning this for??

Our 15th anniversary will be in 2010 so Sept. 2010 is when I was aiming for...but after reading your planning journal and following the links there to a few other planning journals/wedding *or vow renewal* reports, I am unsure of what I want to do. Actually, after seeing some of the other land options described with pictures, I am interested in those now as well. I guess it's too much to hope for that dh would let us do both a land renewal and one at sea. Goldeelox's pictures on the beach at Castaway Cay have me dreaming of a set of those myself. That was such a beautiful ceremony. I am tardy in my trip report update because of all of the time I spent yesterday reading over there. HA HA HA. I spent HOURS reading reports by clicking links from one to the other over and over again.

I am restraining myself from clicking over there again until I have finished writing this trip report. I think I could lose myself over there for weeks on end. What a magical board...it's so full of happiness, love and magic.

Wonderful updates!
What a great surprise for all of you at Star Tours!
Stitch is an incredible kid!! I'm proud of him for standing up to that Storm Trooper! That Yoda is just the nuts!

I think Aladdin has good taste in food. That appy at the Brown Derby looked and sounded so tasty! All the food looked grand! This restaurant and the Great Movie Ride are musts for me and the DH when we go next time!

I can't wait to read about the kids' reaction to TSMM.

I have to tell you, your user ID reminds me of my old neighbor. When I was growing up we had a neighbor who had dauschound (I know I butchered the spelling,sorry). The dog's name was Clara. But you wouldn't have known that. Almost every night we would hear the neighbor letting the dog out to go to the bathroom before bed. And then you would hear "LAZY DOXY...get your lazy hot dog self back in the house!" Every night the dog would go out and do her business and then promptly lay down and refuse to move to come back in. I know this is totally off topic, but your user ID was a blast from the past for me and made me giggle. We used to borrow that phrase and say things to each other like "Lazy Doxy..get your lazy hot dog self back to your school work!" or whatever other fill in the blank worked at the time. It's sort of an inside family joke.

Sorry for going so off topic. I just had to share.

That is sooo cool, Jay! I have never heard of that happening; I'm so glad it happened for your boys!

Isn't the Brown Derby yummy? I think we sat at the same table.

The Brown Derby is VERY YUMMY! I am so glad we tried it. It's going to be on our list of 'musts" from now on. It's great to see you here Jamal! You can see just how much eating we did using the deluxe dining plan like you guys did! Combine the deluxe dining plan with the club lounge and you have a great big eating fest pretending to be a vacation!

these are the realy adventures one would like to discover in life...
great findings..i wish to congratulate you and your family for such a wonderful discovery...

Thanks! And welcome!

I have been sucked in on Page 1....Great now I will get NO WORK done today! LOL

I read your entire planning journal and wedding report last night LATE into the night. I couldn't stop myself. Your dress was so beautiful. I loved your Castaway Cay pictures and the links of the songs you posted led me to this song...which I am currently playing for the 18th time in less than 24 hours. HA HA HA.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe5p1BXNCQM&feature=related

I told dh that I had a song I wanted him to listen to so that maybe we could work the song into our vow renewal somehow. While I was playing it for him last night, he asked me to dance and we turned off all of the lights except the lights on our Christmas tree and danced with them sparkling in the background. It was a very romantic moment (dh is NOT a romantic kind of guy who is given to asking me to dance all that often so this moment was very special to me).

I have so much more to say about your wedding, but I will make my way back and post them on your thread. Thanks for hopping over here. I hope you enjoy my trip report even half as much as I enjoyed reading your planning journal and cruise wedding report!

 

[jaycns]

Day 8...DHS Part 5

I forgot to mention that before drawing with an animator and going off on our diaper hunt we picked up fast passes for both TOT and RnRRC. We were able to pick up passes for both of those rides at once because dh knew he couldn't ride RnRRC with his motion sickness and I knew that I am a chicken and I would opt out of the TOT. Also, we only had one child interested in riding RnRRC and two interested in riding TOT.

After our Little Prince was freshly diapered and we were done visiting with the Streetmosphere players we made our way over to the 'big rides' (that's what Goofy calls them). The one we chose to do first was RnRRC.

The only child who wanted to ride this one was Stitch. He is totally fearless and had been waiting to ride this ride in particular for two years. The first year he wanted to ride it, he was too short (thank goodness for me). Last year he once again requested it, but being pregnant,I couldn't take him on it even though he was finally tall enough (thank goodness yet again). Finally this year, I had no excuse not to take him and he was tall enough...so I had to gather my own courage and face the 'scary upside down ride'.

You know how you sometimes see parents trying to talk their kids into riding something they don't look overly excited to ride (or they are downright terrified to go on?)...well think of that scene except imagine the seven year old leading the terrified mom by the hand. I was pretending to be brave for his sake, but literally he was pulling me along behind him as he high tailed it toward the line with a look of pure glee. Stitch lives for things that are faster, higher, more extreme. RnRRC was right up his alley.

Every cell in my body was begging me to chicken out and not ride the 'death trap'. As I climbed in, I tried to remain calm, smile and look like we wee about to have fun instead of be killed at Walt Disney World. Let me just say that I was totally sure I was never going to be able to breathe again (let alone walk) after the take off on that ride!

I think the only thing that kept me from screaming like a baby was trying to make sure that my little Stitch was doing okay. AS IF, he was NOT in need of any reassurance for me. He was laughing, screaming with joy and shouting for "MORE!!!" Stitch is a thrill ride junky for sure.

As it turns out....his screams of "MORE!!!" were answered. The CM unloading asked Stitch if he would like to ride again. He gave her a huge smile and two thumbs up and before I had the chance to politely decline she told the CM loading that we would be riding again (WTHeck?!). Stitch's delighted smile and cackle of glee kept my mouth plastered shut. But I think I deserve the mom of the year award for remaining strapped into that death by limo instead of hopping out and running off of the ride. YES, I was still thinking it just might kill us to take another ride on that crazy limo.

I will now admit something...I actually had fun the second time through. I think if I would not have remained strapped in for a second ride, I NEVER would have gotten on that death by limo again! By the time the limo was once again loaded, I forced myself to relax and breathe (knowing the air would be knocked from my lungs momentarily). But knowing what to expect, I was able to open my eyes ( a small slit at least) and enjoy the ride a bit (instead of running the lines "You probably won't die, death by limo is highly unlikely, OH CRAP!" over and over through my head). Stitch once again loved it. When we climbed out at the end of our second ride, Stitch HUGGED the CM who had let him ride again! He is NOT the type of child who normally do that. He is very reserved with his affection with everyone but his immediate family and his two dogs (and I think he showers more affection on the dogs than us humans ). I think he was just so overcome with joy over the whole RnRRC double ride that he couldn't help himself. He walked right over as we exited and said "Excuse me, but can I just hug you?" (my mouth dropped open at that point), gave her a HUGE hug and then said "Thank you for the best extra ride ever!" and walked away without looking back. I did however look back and the CM's smile was huge. I am happy that he did that. It seemed to have really made her smile.

My legs were very wobbly under my body as we made our way out but I was happy to have had that experience with Stitch. He is such a great little guy. I am so proud of him for remembering to say thank you. By the time we made it back to dh, I was a bit more stable in my walking and even able to eat few bites of the lemon freeze he had used a snack credit to get us. Here is a picture I took of Stitch after he conquered the ride. I know it's sort of far away, but you can almost see the smirk on his face. He had now been on a ride both of his big brothers were too scared to attempt.

Up next for Stitch was the TOT. I was more than happy to let dh ride this one while I sunk down on to a bench to let the last of the wobbles fade away as I fed our Little Prince a bottle. Aladdin chose not to ride this one at the last second, so it was once again a ride that only Stitch chose to ride. And he practically strutted over to the TOT after both of his brothers declined to use the third fast pass. My fearless seven year old.

When they made their way back out, I could tell by the smiles on their faces that both dh and Stitch had loved the ToT. I am glad that the two of them got to experience it together for the first time. Stitch rode every single thrill ride in all of Walt Disney World at seven years old. I know that plenty of other kids do it...but neither of his big brothers got around to doing it at that age, so for him, it was a big thing.

With those two rides under our belts it was time to head over and experience the ride we had been waiting for all day (all vacation really...heck, all planning period too), Toy Story Mania!

By how busy the Pixar portion of the park looked, we had found where all of the crowds were this day!

 

[29apr00]

Our 15th anniversary will be in 2010 so Sept. 2010 is when I was aiming for...but after reading your planning journal and following the links there to a few other planning journals/wedding *or vow renewal* reports, I am unsure of what I want to do. Actually, after seeing some of the other land options described with pictures, I am interested in those now as well. I guess it's too much to hope for that dh would let us do both a land renewal and one at sea. Goldeelox's pictures on the beach at Castaway Cay have me dreaming of a set of those myself. That was such a beautiful ceremony. I am tardy in my trip report update because of all of the time I spent yesterday reading over there. HA HA HA. I spent HOURS reading reports by clicking links from one to the other over and over again.

I am restraining myself from clicking over there again until I have finished writing this trip report. I think I could lose myself over there for weeks on end. What a magical board...it's so full of happiness, love and magic.

Lisa's pictures are gorgeous! I can't wait for mine!! 1 year and 1 day until we sail!! Well than hurry up and finish this TR so you can do more research on your VR!! There are so many great options available you are really only limited by your own budget! (yeah, that may have factored into DCL vs WL! )

 

[jaycns]

Day 8...Toy Story Mania!!

We left off last time with me having figured out where all of the crowds at DHS were...near TSM! I loved the details that were everywhere in this area of the park. It is so well themed. Spectacular (if you are a Pixar lover like myself). I will let the pictures do the talking (I only wish I had taken more) as we made our way to the ride.

The entrance to the ride itself.

Even though we had fast passes, there was still a wait. I took these pictures as we made our way through the fast pass queue. Again, I fell in love with the theme. I loved entering into the world of toys (you become 'toy sized' as you enter the line).

They were so excited to almost be on Toy Story Mania!

A picture of a ride car.

And now for our reactions...WE ALL LOVED IT! It was such a fun ride/game. Dh rode with our Little Prince, Stitch and Goofy rode together and Aladdin and I experienced it together. None of us wanted the ride to end when it did. We were having so much fun competing against each other. I loved the 3-D aspect. It was great. TOTALLY GREAT! Every single second on that ride was fun. Fun! FUN! F-U-N!

The only downside was I hadn't been able to read up on any "score big" tips and so dh's score trounced mine. Actually I bet most people ended up with better scores and accuracy ratings then I did. I guess it's just more reason for me to return again and again for more practice!

Aladdin and I actually both scored the same total score and had very similar (and bad) accuracy scores.

 

[disneydusted]

Looks like another fun day at Disney!! I love Stitch! He makes me laugh! He sounds like quite a character and the more you write about him the more I like him! Do you just wonder what he will grow up to be? Hopefully not a skydiver!
I don't have a picture of the grouper at The Brown Derby. I did try it and it was very good. It was all good!

 

[jaycns]

Day 8...The Last DHS Installment

I wish we would have had another set of fast passes for TSM. Sadly, we did not and with four kids (one of them under a year) there was no way that we were waiting in the 90+ minute stand by line for another go at it. Here are two last pictures I snapped of the Pixar area as we made our way out of it.

This is not the only picture I will get of Stitch being a monkey this vacation.

Instead, we made our way back over to the Magic of Animation and in the back way to once again draw with an animator.

As we sat waiting (just for the group that was currently drawing to let out), I snapped a picture of Goofy's new watch. It's actually Goofy's very first watch and he was (and in fact, still is) so proud of it. Sorry it's so blurry, but you can still see just how cute that little Mickey Mouse watch is!

I was very excited to try my hand at drawing a different character this time (no offense to Tinkerbell or her fans but she sure is a hard character to draw!). As we walked in, I saw that we had a different animator.

Guesses of which character we might be drawing were running through my head. I was hoping for Stitch or one of the Chipmunks or maybe even Figment.

Those guesses/hopes were off target. The character we were to be drawing was once again, TINKERBELL!

I will now share the second attempt I made at drawing Tinkerbell. I don't claim that this version of her looks any more like Tink than the first one I did, but I am willing to share it because I think it at least looks more like Liv Tyler than her father. You may begin laughing now.

Okay, that's enough laughing at my lack of Tinkerbell drawing skills.

The boys didn't fair any better. In fact, you will note that Stitch's picture is already crunched up into a ball of trash. But he does look so proud of it, doesn't he?!

Trust me, it's better that the glare sort of blanked out the drawings. Those images might have frightened young children (but they were still WAY better than my first attempt earlier in the day).

After that failed attempt, we were all getting very hungry and tired. We had canceled our dinner at the Sci-Fi about an hour earlier and instead headed straight over to TSM. We thought long and hard about staying to see Fantasmic. We enjoy the show a whole lot and although we had missed it last year due to me running out of steam early, we still decided against it. We would be departing for Port Canaveral early the next morning and we still had some packing to do. We also had four meal dining credits left each. Being as we could only possibly fit in two more meals before we left, we figured we should make them two credit each meals. Room service fit the bill perfectly. We could head back to the WL, relax, pack and use up two of our remaining meal credits each by ordering in to our room. It sounded like a great plan.

As you can see, our Little Prince was still wide awake after a full day at DHS and in a good mood. He was also still in the middle of teething. He was starting to remind of Mini Me with that finger near his mouth the entire time.

Before we executed that plan, we made one final stop, in two different places. Dh and the three youngest headed in to see The Voyage of the Little Mermaid (it was starting within five minutes of us walking past it).

While they did that, I took Aladdin over to explore an attraction that he had been looking forward to exploring all week. One Man's Dream. I was sad to be missing The Little Mermaid show...I love it, but I was not going to disappoint Aladdin (he really does ask for very little and give so much of himself that I couldn't deny him) and I do enjoy One Man's Dream as well.

Once we all met up for the last time, we made a quick beeline to the parking lot and our van. Along the way we saw Shrek. Apparently he got confused and couldn't find his way to Universal Studios so he made his way to DHS instead.

 

[SoonerGirl]

What a great day at DHS!

I'm so proud of you, riding RnRC!! I thought I was going to die the first time I rode it too I did enjoy it though, and I don't have to be shamed onto it anymore, I go of my own free will

Stitch sounds so much like my youngest, a mischevious little thrill seeker! My DS had just turned 6 the first time he rode RnRC, I swear he had me measure him daily leading up to that trip, he wanted to ride it so badly - and he JUST made the height requirement!


Wasn't TSMM a blast! My entire family loves that ride!


Your Tink doesn't look that bad, better than anything I could do I'm sure


I'm looking forward to the cruise portion of your trip, keep it comin'!!

 

[Goldeelox9]

I read your entire planning journal and wedding report last night LATE into the night. I couldn't stop myself. Your dress was so beautiful. I loved your Castaway Cay pictures and the links of the songs you posted led me to this song...which I am currently playing for the 18th time in less than 24 hours. HA HA HA.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe5p1BXNCQM&feature=related

I told dh that I had a song I wanted him to listen to so that maybe we could work the song into our vow renewal somehow. While I was playing it for him last night, he asked me to dance and we turned off all of the lights except the lights on our Christmas tree and danced with them sparkling in the background. It was a very romantic moment (dh is NOT a romantic kind of guy who is given to asking me to dance all that often so this moment was very special to me).

I have so much more to say about your wedding, but I will make my way back and post them on your thread. Thanks for hopping over here. I hope you enjoy my trip report even half as much as I enjoyed reading your planning journal and cruise wedding report!

Thanks....I finally finished your TR...or caught up I should say. I need to finish my TR and stop reading. I knew as soon as I started this morning that I was not going to get ANY work done today! LOL

That is so Sweet...My husband (ekkk still sounds weird) and I practised dancing to all the songs to help us pick one. The line that sealed the deal was the "I want to Honor your Mother, I want to learn from your pa". With my mom not being there honoring her was something that was important to me.

I can't wait to read the rest of your trip!

 

[Goldeelox9]

Lisa's pictures are gorgeous! I can't wait for mine!! 1 year and 1 day until we sail!! Well than hurry up and finish this TR so you can do more research on your VR!! There are so many great options available you are really only limited by your own budget! (yeah, that may have factored into DCL vs WL! )

Thanks Jennifer....I can not wait to see your pictures!!!!

 

[brookelizabeth]

I was behind a couple updates, but I have to say I laughed out loud at Stitch's comments to the Storm Troopers! I told my DH and he cracked as well. So cute!!!!!!!!!

What a neat idea about having dinner on The Great Movie Ride! The only other rides I can think of that are big enough to hold a lot of people would be the TTA (might be a bit of a challenge though!), Ellen's Universe of Energy or The Carousel of Progress. You could eat dinner with the dino's at Ellen's.
The Shrek pic in the car is hilarious. How strange!

I loved your Castaway Cay pictures and the links of the songs you posted led me to this song...which I am currently playing for the 18th time in less than 24 hours. HA HA HA.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe5p1BXNCQM&feature=related

I told dh that I had a song I wanted him to listen to so that maybe we could work the song into our vow renewal somehow. While I was playing it for him last night, he asked me to dance and we turned off all of the lights except the lights on our Christmas tree and danced with them sparkling in the background. It was a very romantic moment (dh is NOT a romantic kind of guy who is given to asking me to dance all that often so this moment was very special to me).

My cousin just got married and she walked down the aisle to this same version of this song. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!! A perfect love song.

How very romantic of your DH to ask you to dance!


ETA: I've said it already, but I have to say it again, I love all the pics of LP smiling away. In some of those I can almost hear the baby glee! I love his little scrunched up nose, so sweet! He's so adorable!!!!

 

[jaycns]

Looks like another fun day at Disney!! I love Stitch! He makes me laugh! He sounds like quite a character and the more you write about him the more I like him! Do you just wonder what he will grow up to be? Hopefully not a skydiver!
I don't have a picture of the grouper at The Brown Derby. I did try it and it was very good. It was all good!

He is very much a character! He never fails to provide good entertainment. He was just telling me he wanted to take up skydiving today. I laughed out loud and tried to explain how he would need to wait until he was over 18 cause I was never going to sign a release for that. He just looked and me and said "We will see." What am I going to do with that kid? I sure am loving finding out!

What a great day at DHS!

I'm so proud of you, riding RnRC!! I thought I was going to die the first time I rode it too I did enjoy it though, and I don't have to be shamed onto it anymore, I go of my own free will

Stitch sounds so much like my youngest, a mischevious little thrill seeker! My DS had just turned 6 the first time he rode RnRC, I swear he had me measure him daily leading up to that trip, he wanted to ride it so badly - and he JUST made the height requirement!


Wasn't TSMM a blast! My entire family loves that ride!


Your Tink doesn't look that bad, better than anything I could do I'm sure


I'm looking forward to the cruise portion of your trip, keep it comin'!!

HA HA HA. I am so glad I wasn't the only person who was sure that death was mere moments away when they first rode RnRC. I don't think I will need to be dragged in the future, that second ride was fun. I am so glad my experience didn't end after the first ride...I was still trying to figure out if I was breathing again.

And thanks for the kind words, but I know my Tink IS really freaky...I am proud of her freakishness.

Thanks....I finally finished your TR...or caught up I should say. I need to finish my TR and stop reading. I knew as soon as I started this morning that I was not going to get ANY work done today! LOL

That is so Sweet...My husband (ekkk still sounds weird) and I practised dancing to all the songs to help us pick one. The line that sealed the deal was the "I want to Honor your Mother, I want to learn from your pa". With my mom not being there honoring her was something that was important to me.

I can't wait to read the rest of your trip!

"Our song" is Remember When by Allen Jackson. When it came out a few years ago, it really touched us. The lyrics just fit us to a 't'. It's almost as if the song was written for us. When it came out (long after we were married) it just sort of eclipsed every other song for that special place in our hearts. Anyway, the line in that song, "Remember when, old ones died and new were born" really touched my heart for the same reason. Soon after we had our first son, we lost my mom. That line never fails to remind me of her. Okay, enough mush.

I will be writing more very soon. It's great to have you here!

I was behind a couple updates, but I have to say I laughed out loud at Stitch's comments to the Storm Troopers! I told my DH and he cracked as well. So cute!!!!!!!!!

What a neat idea about having dinner on The Great Movie Ride! The only other rides I can think of that are big enough to hold a lot of people would be the TTA (might be a bit of a challenge though!), Ellen's Universe of Energy or The Carousel of Progress. You could eat dinner with the dino's at Ellen's.
The Shrek pic in the car is hilarious. How strange!



My cousin just got married and she walked down the aisle to this same version of this song. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!! A perfect love song.

How very romantic of your DH to ask you to dance!

Thanks for all of the suggestions! I was laughing so hard at that Shrek in the car. I have no idea why someone would leave him in there...but it sure did crack us all up!

I was thinking that song might make a good first or last song to dance too.

UP NEXT: Our return to the WL. A surprise. And room service.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Great update!

Good for you for riding RnRC not once but twice!

Love Toy Story Mania, you score wasn't bad, I didn't do much better myself.

 

[CoP Luv]

Great update. RRC is one of my FAVORITE rides. Glad you enjoyed it the second time. I am really looking forward to hearing about your cruise. I haven't been on DCL yet but would love to go one day.

 

[Nora03]

Hi Jay - I've read all your reports and love them. What a sweet family you have. That Little Prince is such a happy bundle of joy! The boys all look so much alike - all so handsome.

I've come out of lurkdom to tell you that I've had a brainwave! I've decided what your DH can get you for your special anniversary gift - DVC!!! Isn't that a great idea? Now, how will we tell him that its a great idea?.....

Looking forward to more trippie and fun on your cruise. Your trips are so much fun and so entertaining for those of us reading along.

Nora

 

[macrosswife]

Hi!
Another addicted reader de-lurking to tell you how much I'm enjoying your report! DH, DS5 and I will be heading to the Contemporary next December, and I've already started my "Dream a Little Dream" Word document on my desktop so that as I get ideas I can tuck them away until I can talk with the IPO!

Two things that I didn't see mentioned yet (although I fully admit to speed reading a bit to get caught up!! )
First, if you have a PF Chang's near you, they have a very similar looking fried green bean appetizer to the one you had at Yak and Yeti! Now, I know that nothing is ever the same "in real life" as it is in "The World", but desperate times call for desperate measures sometimes!

Second, you mentioned in your pre-trip report that you had a countdown calendar of sorts with different activities for each day for the boys to complete...any chance you'd be willing to share those activities with us?? Please??

Trying to stay busy until your next post...
~Kimber

 

[jaycns]

Day 8...Back to the WL

By the time we pulled up it was dark. I think that the WL lodge is stunning when you pull up at night. The lights seem to flitter like real candlelight (some of them). It's just amazing. I wish I was a better photographer and could have captured some of that beauty but I can only offer you my impressions/words. The WL is a place that should be visited in near sunset, that way you can go in while it is still light out and see all of the beauty during the day and then you can come out at night and see the flicker of the lights and the way the resort glows from within. It's such a gorgeous sight!

After taking in the beauty of the glowing lodge, we headed back to our room and discovered one last towel animal. The total count of towel animals was 28! Each and every one of those little animals made his (or her) way back home with us. When I asked the manager of housekeeping if we could keep them (she checked back on us a few times after our rough start) she said that not only could we, but that we should as they were like gifts. She didn't have to tell me twice, I secretly packed those puppies (and birds and dolls and elephants and assorted other creatures) away into space that should have held clothes and other essential items. I figured that dh would always find a way to get our clothes home but he might just be up for leaving the towel animals if space was running low. Turns out I was right...he tried to convince me to just leave our last day's towel animal in the room (we were a bit overloaded by the time we left) but I prevailed and it ended up making it's way home with us as well. Make note of the letter sitting under the towel animal. It was a very special letter indeed. That little sheet of paper was the key to one last great big surprise for the family.

A closer look at the paper...

That's right, we were going to be the Flag Family the day we departed! What a special way to wrap up the land portion of our vacation! Upon check-in I had secretly (didn't even mention it to dh) inquired about Flag Family openings. I had my fingers crossed but I was not holding my breath being as only one family is chosen each day. Another example of great customer service is how Betsy (a CM on the club level) ran down to the main lobby to find us and let me know the days we had a choice of days(FOUR of them in total...we were lucky to have so many days to chose from) and ask me which one we wanted. She tracked us down because she knew we were exploring the resort and she didn't want us to miss out on the chance to have our first choice of dates. She pulled me aside and shared the dates and then mentioned that she had looked for us because what was available then might change at any moment as others checked in and asked about the possibility. WHAT A GREAT CM! She was a stand out among the staff at the WL in our eyes. She always had a smile. She was always friendly. And she went out of her to make sure that we could not only enjoy this special treat (she could have just put us down for a day and let us try and switch later if it was still possible to do so) but do so on the day of our choosing. I didn't write about this earlier because I wanted to keep back one last land portion surprise from you guys as well. I think I have created in myself, a surprise monster!



And then there was the matter of food. We were starving (we hadn't eaten since our lunch at the Brown Derby) many long and hot hours before. I picked up the phone and ordered room service while dh ran down and loaded up on snacks. We had 56 snack credits left! Eight full days times five people (the baby was not on the dining plan) with two snack credits per person per day meant we had started out with EIGHTY total snack credits. I don't know who can eat all of that but we weren't going to let our credits go to waste for the lack of our trying. Dh had instructions to buy things that we could leave in our van while we were on the cruise and eat/drink afterward. We ended up with tons of bottled water, bottled Power Ade, single servings of cereal, single serving packs of pretzels, packets of nuts and some lollipops. Dh had to make three trips between Roaring Forks and our van. He had the valet watch the bags of stuff while he ran it back and forth until he had it all, then they pulled up the van and he was able to load up the snacks and then the valet once again parked the van. He said it was worth giving the guy a tip to not have had to run back and forth to a van that would have been parked out in self parking with those heavy bags full of waters/PowerAde's and other snacks.

More quickly than I thought possible, dh was back. He beat room service by about ten minutes. I was duly impressed with his speed. I know it would have taken me a lot longer (then again, I couldn't have carried as much at once as he had and it would have taken me at least two more trips through the quick service line).

While we were busy with the unhappy task of packing up the rest of our things, the room service arrived. Here are two of the three trays of room service!

We all pretty much chose the same things we had for our previous room service meals so I won't get into what we picked. Suffice it to say that it was all very tasty, way too much food to ever even pretend to eat in one sitting and we thoroughly enjoyed every bite.

Here are a few more food pictures.

After our bellies were full, I made my way out on to the balcony to sit down and take it all in on our last night at WDW. Very shortly, I was joined by Goofy. We sat there holding hands and waiting for the EWP to start. We heard the fireworks start at MK and imagine my surprise when I turned my head toward the sounds and SAW the fireworks! I had no idea we had a fireworks view from our room (other then the firework vendor's "show off show" we had lucked into our first night). You had to look off to the left side of our balcony and through a few trees but you could very clearly see all of the higher in the sky fireworks! Of course, I snapped a few pictures.

You can see the straight edge of the overhanging roofline and the tops of the trees the fireworks were seen over in this shot.

That is another very special moment for me. All six of us crammed on to the balcony watching the dark sky light up with fireworks one last time at WDW. We were laughing at ourselves not knowing we would be able to see the MK fireworks thus having missed them the rest of our vacation. We had in the past just headed out to see the light parade when we heard it pull up. The big fireworks display we saw that was a "vendor show off" the first night of our vacation had been close enough that it was loud enough to hear in our room as well. Who knew that the more muted booms of the MK fireworks were going off right outside our door?

The bulk of the rest of our evening was spent cleaning kids up, putting them to bed and finishing the dreaded packing. Dh and I did slip outside to hold hands on the balcony for a few minutes and just relax together before we began the next leg our our vacation journey. I knew in those few moments just how blessed I truly was.

To be continued...

 

[jaycns]

Great update!

Good for you for riding RnRC not once but twice!

Love Toy Story Mania, you score wasn't bad, I didn't do much better myself.

Please note I didn't ride either time by choice. Although having done it, I admit, it was not half bad and might have been a whole lot of fun if you didn't think you were dying while riding it. I will ride it again with no reservations. I think my next rides will be even more fun (said fear of death by limo now overcome).

Toy Story Mania is so much fun. An iffy score didn't even put a damper on my love for the ride!

Great update. RRC is one of my FAVORITE rides. Glad you enjoyed it the second time. I am really looking forward to hearing about your cruise. I haven't been on DCL yet but would love to go one day.

DCL is an amazing vacation in and of itself. This was our third Disney cruise and I have plans in the making for our fourth even as we speak. I will be starting in on that portion of our vacation very soon.

Hi Jay - I've read all your reports and love them. What a sweet family you have. That Little Prince is such a happy bundle of joy! The boys all look so much alike - all so handsome.

I've come out of lurkdom to tell you that I've had a brainwave! I've decided what your DH can get you for your special anniversary gift - DVC!!! Isn't that a great idea? Now, how will we tell him that its a great idea?.....

Looking forward to more trippie and fun on your cruise. Your trips are so much fun and so entertaining for those of us reading along.

Nora

I like the way your brain works. I think that would be a smashing anniversary gift. You come up with the way to convince him and I am all for it! Actually, now the sneaky gears in my brain are turning. I really do think that's a wonderful idea!

I am glad you came out of 'lurkdom' stay for a while! I promise not to bite.

Hi!
Another addicted reader de-lurking to tell you how much I'm enjoying your report! DH, DS5 and I will be heading to the Contemporary next December, and I've already started my "Dream a Little Dream" Word document on my desktop so that as I get ideas I can tuck them away until I can talk with the IPO!

Two things that I didn't see mentioned yet (although I fully admit to speed reading a bit to get caught up!! )
First, if you have a PF Chang's near you, they have a very similar looking fried green bean appetizer to the one you had at Yak and Yeti! Now, I know that nothing is ever the same "in real life" as it is in "The World", but desperate times call for desperate measures sometimes!

Second, you mentioned in your pre-trip report that you had a countdown calendar of sorts with different activities for each day for the boys to complete...any chance you'd be willing to share those activities with us?? Please??

Trying to stay busy until your next post...
~Kimber

HELLO! Thanks for coming out of lurk. I think you too should stick around for awhile!

We don't have a PF Chang's near us, however, I will now have to stop in and try that while we are visiting family over Christmas! Thanks for the great pointer!

The countdown didn't have any fancy format or anything. I stapled a manilla folder up the sides to make it into a large pocket. I decorated it with Disney stickers and then wrote the days (backwards) until our trip on the front of it. Each day the boys would take turns grabbing out a Mickey head paint chip with an activity or surprise written on it. Once they completed the activity, I would let them reach into a little bag and grab out a prize. Most of the prizes were little sheets of paper saying "You have earned a dollar good for spending on anything you want while on vacation". I figured we were going to give them some spending money anyway, so this was a fun way to give it to them. Other little things like Disney stickers were also in the surprise bag.

The activities were Disney related. Here's the list of what I came up with:
-Sing a Disney song.
-Share with us what your favorite ride is and why.
-Play Disney Scene It.
-Pick out a Disney movie for our next family movie night.
-Pick out the first movie to watch on our way down to WDW!
-Download a Disney song on to your IPod.
-Play Disney Monopoly.
-Play the 3 Guesses Disney style (someone gives three hints and you have to guess which character they are hinting at).
-Tell us about your favorite place to eat at WDW. What do you like about it?
-Act out a Disney character for us. Don't use any words!
-Using only words (no names or places please) get us to guess which Disney character you are (no actions or sounds either).
-Unscramble the words to discover which character it is. For instance, MMSIEE UKOCY (Mickey Mouse)
-Play Disney Trivia
-Draw a picture of your favorite character.
-Write a story about one of your favorite characters.
-Paint a Disney picture.
-Use clay to sculpt a Disney character and then have us guess who it is!
-Dress Sadie (our Shih Tzu/Bischon mix dog) up as a character (yes, we dress our dog sometimes ).
-Write down your top ten wishes for our trip.
-Share your favorite Disney memory.
-Read a Disney book.
-Pack the glowsticks your mom is about to give you. Save a few to use tonight!
-Pick out a Disney shirt for everyone in the family the next time we go to the Disney Store (you cannot pick a girl's shrit for your brothers or dad).
-Pick out a small surprise for everyone in the family the next time we go to the Disney Store (you cannot pick out a girly toy for your brothers or dad).
-Pick out what snacks we should take with us for our drive down to WDW (the next time we go to the grocery store).
-Stay up late watching the Disney movie of your choice.
-Pick out a special drink for everyone to bring with them on our way down to WDW (the next time we go to the grocery store).
-Pick out a new Disney video the next time we are at the store.
-Make a Disney themed collage.
-Bake cookies (whenever mom says it is okay) and decorate them in Disney style!
-Make a cake and write your favorite Disney saying with icing (when mom has the time to help). You will get to place the candles, help light them and blow them out!
-Have the entire family join you on a walk while you tell us what you are looking forward to happening on vacation.
-Make brownies and top them with nuts in the shape of a big hidden Mickey (when mom has time to help).
-Hum a Disney song and let us try to guess which one it is.
-Set the dinner table with our Disney placemats, cups and napkins.


Some of the things took some effort on my part. Some of them took a bit of money. But most of them were totally free and lots of fun.

Hope that helps!

Oh and as far as fun surprises at the CR. Have you read about the chocolate monorail that you can order for an in room treat/surprise?

 

[pmama]

Those are some great ideas. I really think the excitement leading up to the trip just adds more fun to the trip itself. Disney never disappoints. Can't wait to read about the sea portion of your trip.

 

[jaycns]

I forgot (on purpose ) to include a little shopping we did the night we went to the CR to play in the arcade and eat at the Wave. I wanted to take a few pictures to show what we bought before I wrote about it. So here is an update to that night's events.

First up, my finds. I was looking for a Precious Moments Christmas figurine that was one little boy. I wanted one to represent our Little Prince the same way that I had gotten one that reminded me of each of his big brothers the year before. Sadly, not one other boy Precious Moments Christmas figure was to be found. Happily, I did find two others that I liked. I still hope to find a Christmas boy Disney figure that I don't yet have to complete my collection...but that is yet another reason I should venture back to WDW!

Here are the ones I did find. First, a Soccerer Mickey who is getting help from a little boy in filling his bucket. This one was a limited edition figure that was only available at some Precious Moments Disney convention thing (I am so up on the terminology ). It had ended just a few days beore we arrived and they happened to still have a few of these in stock. The lady told me once they were gone, they were gone for good and that WDW was the only place you could buy it.

The other one was smaller but still super cute. I wasn't going to buy both originally but when she turned this one over to check the price and told me it was only $19 (the price was reduced big time!), I just couldn't leave without it too. Who could put back a little Tigger-in-the-box at that price?

While I was busy picking these out, Aladdin once again used his own money to make a "big" Disney purchase. A few years ago he had saved up for an overpriced Indiana Jones GI Joe doll. It was a $40 doll, no way was I footing the bill for that, so he saved until our next trip and then used his own money to buy what he had seen (the Indy GI Joe) on our next trip. Our last trip he had seen a large Mickey Jedi statue at DTD. It was VERY pricey. I was not going to foot the bill for that...so once again, Aladdin spent the year saving his own money. He did extra chores, saved his gift money and didn't spend on anything else that he didn't 'really' want. By the time we came back, he had enough and he was able to buy the huge giant Jedi Mickey statue. He was so proud of his purchase! It was so large that we had to have it shipped back to our home (we would have had no room at all for that jumbo sized box). Here is his treasured Jedi Mickey.

These other items I didn't purchase at the CR, but I did pick them up at WDW. I thought I would thorw them in for fun.

The Bells From Everest ornament. That we picked up at DAK.

A cute Mickey head ornament we found at DTD.

And a beautiful shimmering Cinderella castle ornament that we discovered in the Christmas shop at MK.

And this last picture has nothing to do with shopping but is the certificate they got from Jack Sparrow when they pledged themselves to be part of his crew at MK's Pirate Tutorial.