A Croc For All Seasons - It's done! Epilogue, p. 52

[PrincessV]

Index:
Pre-Trip Reporting - Just keep scrolling...
Day One - The Real Trip Begins!!! - still on this page, more scrolling please
A Trip to the Watering Hole. Or Two. - p. 9
The Moon Made Me Do It - p. 13
The Moon's Still At Work - p. 16
A Little Taste of the South Pacific - p. 19
Water Water Everywhere - p.22
'Cause This is Ladies' Night - p. 29
We Become Them - p. 34
To Heck With The Plan – We’ll be Pirates! - p. 37
Soarin' and Yakkin' - p. 40
Soarin' and Yakkin' Part 2 - p. 43
And Then There Were Three... - p. 44
Rotating Rodents Ravage a Rutabaga - p.48
Time to Say Au Revoir - p. 49
Epilogue - p.52


Welcome to my new Trip Report! For those who may have missed out on the fun that was the Pre-Trip Report, I'm starting this new thread out with the Pre-Trippy, sans the chit-chat, hijacking, karaoke and general shenanigans. Which were all very fun, BTW. Start right here and get to know me and my traveling partners…

OR, if you’ve already read the pre-trip and are ready to get on with the show, follow me to Post #10

________________________________________________________________
For those I’ve not yet met – Hi, I’m V. and I’m a writer. By profession and by hobby.

But.

I have a problem. Beginnings and endings don’t come easily to me. My traditional approach is to conduct my research, pull it into some categories, write the entire body and then go back and see what I’ve managed to say. Hopefully I’ll have made a point of one kind or another, (I’m not real picky on that – I’ll argue anything), thereby providing fodder for an introduction and conclusion.

Clearly, this approach will not work for a pre-trip-report. The trip in question having not yet started and all.

I could skip the pre-trip-report altogether…

 

[PrincessV]

BWAHHAHAHAHA!! Had you going there, didn’t I?!

No, no, I seem to have promised several lovely DISers I’d get this ball rolling, so roll, (or write), I must. LY/MI!

So, I’m back to Square One. Back to the beginning. Back to the Future. Back to life; back to reality. How do I start this thing, anyway?


Oh look – I already have!

_______________________________________________________________


Yeah, okay – that was lame. I’ll do better, I promise.

So.

It’s time for yet another Week in The World, V-style. We live here in sunny Florida, near enough The Mouse to visit for a day here and there, but we (I) discovered a few years ago what most of you already know: staying at WDW for a few days or more is an entirely different experience. Being onsite means being in the magic for the length of your trip, flitting here and there to park or resort with nary a care in the world. Taking the time for a table service meal, knowing you can always do more rides later. Your kids knowing that "If you don't stop right this minute, we'll leave the Magic Kingdom and you won't see Mickey today!" can actually happen. I love our day trips, but I relish our extended trips.

I now subject my family to at least 4, preferably 5 or 6, nights in a row at Disney each year. For the past few years, that trip was scheduled for early December, when the crowds are low and the decorations are high. It’s been great - terrific even! - but we’re ready for a change. And we’re ready to spend some quality Mouse time in warmer weather. YES – December is a tad chilly for us! We want to actually use those resort pools. The choice of when was easy: not only are crowds fairly manageable in early May, it also happens to be my favorite little guy’s birthday week. A perfect time to schedule a WDW trip, no?!
We’re on for May 1-6.



Wait just a second…. Who’s “we”? And just who is this “little guy” with a birthday coming up?

Oh yeah, I guess I should make some introductions.

INTRODUCTIONS, Part A.

PrincessV – aka V.

Thirty-something single mom, loves all things French, works creatively, creatively works the budget to get her Disney fixes. Known for her Fuzzy Disney Math skills, shoe addiction and ability to rationalize anything. Will do most anything for SweetTarts.

Leo – aka DS.

Turning 5 this May, loves Little Einsteins almost as much as Mickey, math whiz, fascinated by all things mechanical. Known for his passions for coasters and pirates, but frightened by dark theaters. Will do most anything for mac & cheese.

Gramma – aka my Mom.

Turning 60 this May, home health care nurse, avid reader, has never watched a Disney movie all the way through, would rather vacation anywhere other than WDW. Known for being a night owl, a slow riser, and for her hatred of noise and crowds. Will do most anything for cookies.

We make an interesting little travel group. Poor Gramma’s kind of stuck with us, as she moved into my condo a couple years ago. I’m grateful to have a second adult around to lend a hand, but our personalities clash often. Gramma’s a keep-it-all-inside-and-give-em-the-silent-treatment kind of gal, while I’m all about saying what you think when you think it. The two don’t mix well. And we’ve been known to snap. At each other. In The World.

But the last trip was surprisingly drama-free. (As far as family relations go, anyway. Let's not even think about the Boardwalk incident again, okay?) Gramma was given the option of skipping out on this May trip, but decided she’d really like to join us. She wore a lime green Baggallini last trip. She’s even been supportive of my latest WDW project…

Buying into DVC! I won’t go too far into that here, as we won’t be utilizing said membership for this trip. Suffice it to say I took the plunge, hope to close just before our May trip, and will start our DVC stays in August. Yippee!!

My point is, I think Gramma’s making a turn toward Disney. She may even like The Mouse, though she’ll never admit it.

Oh, there is one other member of our household who may or may not join us. That’s right, our Pal. Pal Mickey, that is.

Readers of my last TR will remember that Pal was not a hit with my family. In fact, he spent much of the trip locked in Gramma’s suitcase, a victim of his own lousy jokes and Leo’s strange intolerance of his giggle. Whether Leo or Gramma will relent and allow Pal to accompany us is anyone’s guess. I may just smuggle him in and see what happens.

Or.



I may pass him off to a nice-looking family that won’t stick their Pal in an airless, padded coffin-disguised-as-a-suitcase for days at a time. You’ll just have to tune in to find out.

 

[PrincessV]

With introductions made, it’s now time for everyone’s favorite party game: How Many Resort Changes Will V Make Before May 1st???

The answer is… 2! Not bad, eh? Here’s how it all played out….

As soon as our dates were set, Gramma and I had a little chat. Which translates into I babbled on to Gramma while she tuned me out, but made sure to insert an occasional “Oh?” and “Yeah…”. I explained how much I really, really want to stay at the Poly, but May is not Value season and I just can’t swing the rack rate. And my chances of scoring an Annual Passholder discount were slim and none.

I went on to say that I’ve always been able to get a good AP rate at the Wilderness Lodge, and hey – we’ve never had a chance to use their fancy-schmancy pool. Lo and behold, Gramma responded with “We liked the WL, didn’t we? Why don’t we stay there again?”

Look how easy that was! We had our resort chosen in about 10 minutes flat.

Next, I had to decide what to do about reserving it. Pre-DIS, I waited for the AP discount codes to show up on Mousesavers, called WDW and took whatever hotel had a discount and sounded desirable. But that methodology was completely messed up by my DISing. I couldn’t possibly wait another few months to make a reservation… How would I plan our transportation to the parks? How would I choose meal locations? How would I research every nook and cranny of the resort before arrival? HOW would I start a pre-trip-report??

And. I was worried that I’d miss out on the AP discount, since I wasn’t on the computer until 10am the day codes came out for my last trip. By that time, all my resort picks were gone. I was hit with a brilliant idea…. make my ressie through Dreams Unlimited!

That’s exactly what I did, and the fantabulous Rhonda assured me that she’d be on the horn first thing in the morning when codes came out, trying to get my room rate adjusted. It was perfect! I had my ressie and a safe bet that I’d get a discount without babysitting the computer for days on end.






Know what? “Perfect” never happens, even in the Land of Mouse. It was a great plan. It was beautiful plan. It was a plan ripe for changing.

I happened to be home with the flu when the AP discount codes for early May came out. And I fidgeted around my house, sending all the pixie dust I could muster to Rhonda in the hopes that she was scoring me a terrific deal on my beloved WL reservation. I emailed her to check in and see if she got it…..




Nope. Nein. Nada. Not for lack of trying, I tell you – Rhonda was on the phone at 6:58am working her magic! But. The Mouse had other plans for me, I guess. And they did not include a discount at the WL.

I pondered the situation for a day. (Possibly two – remember? I had the flu. I take no responsibility for anything I may have said or done during that week.) There was just no way I could rationalize paying rack rate for the WL. I really, really love the place, but Disney’s idea of “deluxe” and my idea of “deluxe”, relative to price, bear little or no resemblance. For the record, I wouldn’t consider myself a hotel snob; I’ve enjoyed stays at Red Roof, La Quinta and Motel 6. But. I’ve also stayed at the Park Plaza and Four Seasons in Toronto, and THOSE are some “deluxe” hotels, baby! Worth every cent in amenities and luxurious room décor. (Of course, it wasn't MY cents paying for them, but still...) Disney deluxe? Not so worth every cent, IMHO.

What I’m trying to say is, there was no way in heck I was about to pay rack rate at the WL. So I got online to see where I could stay with an AP discount. And as I sat there, I realized this may have been a blessing in disguise. Thanks to being ill, I really needed to cut my trip down a day, and saving some money at a moderate would really help the bank account. Discounts were available at every Mod, but it was a pretty easy choice for me: POR in winter was lovely – I had no desire to see what the imitation bayou felt like in the heat of May; we’d just done POFQ and I wasn’t ready for a return yet; CBR wasn’t getting the best reviews and I’d heard bad things about their noisy AC units… I was all over Coronado Springs! I stayed there for one night last Food & Wine Festival and it was terrific – quiet, relaxed, beautiful, and with central AC.

So I booked online and sent an email to Rhonda apologizing profusely for having to cancel my WL ressie and asking how this would affect the ADR’s she’d already made for me. (Never fear – I’ll be covering the ADR circus in gory detail later in the TR…) Well, no problem canceling WL, but I’d lose all my carefully-planned ADR’s. But I could transfer the CSR reservation I made to Dreams and Rhonda could still be my agent, AND I’d get to keep all my ADR’s! Honestly, I was more worried about Rhonda losing out on a commission than losing my ADR’s, so I’m so glad we were able to work this out. I’m not so sure how Rhonda feels, though. Let’s just say my ADR changes far outnumber my resort changes. And they’re still in motion.

Anyway, if you’re keeping count that’s one resort change made. And here’s something really interesting… I wasn’t feeling badly about my downgrade at all. In fact, I felt rather relieved. Which was strange. For me. I wasn’t sure what to make of it. A few days later, I did.

To be continued...

 

[PrincessV]

I know, you’ve been patiently waiting to hear why I was so unnaturally okay with downgrading from the WL to CSR. And I promise to get there. But first, the ADR’s…

Rhonda at Dreams Unlimited had offered to make my ADR’s when I initially booked through them and I took her up on it. I did my research and came up with a good smattering of table service (TS) locations. I’d been wanting to try Biergarten, despite my distaste for sausage-type products, and we’d never been to Ohana. I haven’t been back to Artist Point or the Hollywood Brown Derby in ages. Gramma’s never been to the Rose & Crown. We took Leo to Chef Mickey’s for his 2nd birthday and enjoyed the buffet, so that sounded good for a return, too. Rhonda got me all set up!

All was well in my Disney world. I had some nice ADR’s, and I was strangely happy with our new hotel choice. What was up with that, anyway? Any other trip, I’d have been devastated.




If you’ve gotten to know me at all on the DIS, you’ll know that I’m a mostly upbeat person. I like to laugh, I enjoy amusing others, and I tend to keep the drama to a minimum. (Here, on the DISboards, I mean. In real life, I’m a total diva. FYI.) But. This trip, about which I’m writing, took a big change about a month ago. And that change results from a less-than-upbeat event.

This January, my dear friend lost her husband to cancer. They were both in their young 30’s. He was diagnosed last April, two weeks before she gave birth to their first child. His passing came out of left field – he’d been battling the cancer with chemo and all seemed to be going fairly well – and it didn’t come quietly or easily.

Back in December, I had talked with them about my idea to take a WDW trip in early May. I knew they were planning to get AP’s and bring their new boy for his first visit to The Mouse around his first birthday, which happens to be early May, just 3 days apart from Leo’s. When they heard about my trip plans, we all decided it would be fun to go at the same time and explore The World together.

With her DH gone and her grieving only beginning, I wasn’t sure if she’d even want to go with us still. So I put off asking and did what I could to help her get through those first few weeks.

When the AP discounts came out, I expressed my dilemma to Gramma: if I don’t ask my friend and she really wanted to go, she might miss out on the hotel discount; if I do ask, I risk causing her further pain. Gramma advised that I should ask my friend and let her know, particularly, how much Gramma would love for them to join us.

So I did. As kindly and gently as I could. And I passed along Gramma’s personal message.

Guess what? My friend said “I can’t think of a time I could more use a trip to Disney! Would it be okay if we tagged along with you guys? Whatever you want to do, we’ll come along – don’t worry about us at all.”

For the record, my first reaction was joy – joy that she sees how much fun is still out there for her; joy that I’ll get to be there for her sweet little boy’s first encounters with our pal (not Pal) Mickey; joy that I then knew for certain she was going to make it through this.

And. Yes - joy that I was given full reign to create our trip of dreams. Oh yeah, she gave me that awesome power, and I promised to wield it wisely. She received my assurances that I would take care of everything and she could have as much or as little say as she wanted. I insisted that she do what she needs to do on our vacation and not worry about messing us up if baby needs to call it a day or skip out on a TS meal. I promised not to bother her with 101 questions and comments about my trip planning. And, so far, I’ve mostly been true to my word. Mostly. You’ll see.

I provided her with all she needed to get the discount and room request and she booked her room at CSR. We both had them make a note to place our rooms close to each other. Past that, she was off the hook. V. was making a plan!

But. Now, our little trio had become a quintuple. Which meant…. ADR Change #1! Not only did I need to change everything to a party of five, I wanted to cancel Chef Mickey’s and add Garden Grill, (a fave from Dec.), and a new one for us – Coral Reef. Rhonda was able to change all but Ohana. Darn, I really wanted that one.

Back to the drawing board, I suggested switching around a couple days, canceling Artist Point and adding Concourse Steakhouse. It worked! And that, for those keeping track, is ADR change #2.

I was, and am, looking forward to this trip more than ever. My friend and I used to work together, and she was there for me every single day when my ex walked out on me. I can only hope that I’m providing the same support for her now, in her time of need. I know better than to expect perfection, but I do want to make this the best possible trip for them – they deserve at least that much. And I’d like to think her DH might find a way to join us in spirit and take great joy in watching his son experience WDW.


I know that we’ll be carrying him in our hearts the entire time.

 

[PrincessV]

Moving on… Now that my dear friend and her baby boy are joining us, it’s time to introduce them:

D: aka my sweet friend. Fellow Aquarian, shares my stubbornness and opinionated-ness, totally practical thinker, writes a thank you note for every gift. Takes my passion for all things Disney in stride and completely understands my need for vacation spread sheets. (Taught me all about the wonderful world of spread sheets years ago. TFI.) Will do most anything for dark chocolate.

B: aka D’s son. Soon-to-be 1 year old, big fan of Baby Einstein, any toy with wheels and Cheerios. Shares Leo’s passion for figuring out the mechanical aspects of things, likely to be an engineer. Enjoys trying to walk and rides in the stroller; hates car rides and naps. No idea what he’d do most anything for yet – the world is his oyster!

With this being B’s first foray into The World, I knew immediately I had to do something special for the occasion. I checked out the Walt Disney Florist first. They have a cute little package that comes with Mickey ears, an autograph book and pen, pretzels and a chocolate bar. Okay, D could eat the treats, but the autograph book would be lost on B and the ears are child size, i.e. no elastic strap to keep ‘em on a busy 1 year old. I emailed to see if things could be swapped out…. They could replace the autograph book with a photo album, but they don’t stock infant ears. They did tell me I could buy those ears in the parks.

Huh? I know I’m close, but I’m still almost 2 hours away. They’re, well… there, as in ON Disney property. No one can get a set of infant Mickey ears from the MK to the Florist?

Apparently not, so I moved on. I checked out some other purveyors of fine Disney basketry, but everything was pretty pricey.

In the end, I decided on a DIY method. Ordered a couple personalized items through Gifts of a Lifetime, did a little Disney Store shopping, and spent some time in the Zazzle custom shop. I’ll put it all together in a nice little gift bag and leave it at the front desk for when they check in!

(Sorry - you’ll have to wait to see just what I included in there. How else to keep my readers coming back?!)

On to the other birthday boy. Now, neither of their actual birthdays fall within our trip. But, thanks to a new schedule, this will be the first year Leo will be spending his birthday with his Dad and not me. I’ll admit to some bitterness on my part about this, selfish though it may be. I can’t imagine not being with the most important person in my life on the anniversary of his first appearance! I’m thinking I might truly celebrate Leo’s birthday during the trip with a cake at one of our meals and a little gift-giving at the hotel. Pro: I’ll have a chance to do his birthday up with him. Con: he’ll, in effect, have two birthdays this year, which may be a bit much. I don’t know – we’ll see on that one.

Meanwhile, true DISer that I am, I just couldn’t help but keep checking in on AP rates for the WL. I know, it makes no sense – we were at CSR with my friend, why would I want to change anything? I didn’t.

Really.

But I could add another day. Remember how I’d shortened the trip to 4 nights after missing so much work to the flu? Well, it turns out I was left with more vacation time that I’d figured. So, my Fuzzy Disney Rationale said, there was no reason not to try adding one more night at the front.

Alas, still no AP rate for the WL.

But.

There was one for AKL.
Only $20 more than I was paying for CSR.
It wasn’t available for 5/2 – 5/5 – just 5/1.

I haven’t stayed at AKL since Dec. 2002 and it was much too cold then for swimming. If we stay there 5/1, we could spend the day at the resort, swimming and animal watching. Thanks to the car seats and eight million accessories our guys need, (not to mention Gramma’s 36 outfits for a 6 day stay), D and I would be taking separate cars anyway. We could just meet up the next day, when they arrive.

Before I knew what was happening, my fingers were typing, filling in the blank spaces and clicking on Submit. Resort change #2 complete!

And, since we’ll be right there in the building…. “Gramma, you really enjoyed our Boma dinner in Dec., didn’t you? Should we eat there again, since we’ll be right there?” Yes, please! That would be ADR change #3, if you’re keeping track.

Things settled down at this point. I already had our parks planned when I made the ADR’s, so that was all settled.









Or was it?

Stay tuned…. I’m just getting warmed up!

 

[PrincessV]

I can’t remember exactly how it started. It did not start with a mouse. That much I know.

But something set the wheel in motion. And once started, it has yet to stop.

What “wheel” you may ask? Why the Dining Roulette, wheel, of course! The one I spin almost daily in an attempt to better my previous ADR’s.

Somewhere along the way, I got the notion that, with two Einstein fans along (Leo with his Little E’s and B with his Baby E’s), we all might enjoy lunch at Hollywood & Vine more than the Brown Derby. Once again, the wonderful Rhonda was able to score me an ADR and we canceled the Brown Derby. That makes ADR change #4.

Not long after – it may even have been the same day – D hit me with some exciting, yet anxiety-inducing, news: her sister, E, *might* be coming down and joining us at WDW.

Okay, for the record, I really like E. I met her when D and I were just getting to know each other and E and I totally hit it off. I haven’t spent a lot of time with her, but I know she’ll make a fun addition to our group!

But.

Remember ADR change #2? The one in which Rhonda was able to switch all my ADR’s to tables for 5? Join me now for a little arithmetic:
V = 1
Leo = 2
Gramma =3
D = 4
B = 5


E…… 6!

I’ve done my time in the restaurant biz. I know 3 adults, one child and a high chair will fit at most four-top tables. Sometimes, that same party is seated at a 6-top. But only if the 6-top isn’t needed for a party of six.

However, a party of six will not, under any circumstances, be seated at a table for four. Not at WDW, anyway.

So what was I to do? This was only a couple weeks ago, so a bit over a month from our trip. From what I could see on the DIS, ADR’s were flying off the shelves for early May. If I waited to know for sure that E was coming, there might not be any more ADR’s left for our (my) restaurants of choice. If I changed all our ADR’s for 5 into ADR’s for 6, and E didn’t come, would we lose our spot in line? Just as bad – would our party of 5 be stuck at the cruddy 6-top in the back, next to the restrooms?

And. I was NOT about to embroil Rhonda in all of this craziness. I’d given her enough already and whatever commission was coming her way was definitely not worth dealing with my Dining Roulette.

So I took matters into my own hands. Get ready with those flame throwers – I can take it…

Firstly, I decided the safest bet was to make some new ADR’s for a party of six. And keep the existing ADR’s for five, until further information came in about E.

Next, I worried that if I made new ressies at the same restaurants in my name, then canceled the old ones, the wrong ones might get canceled inadvertently.

Third(ish), I figured I could make the new ADR’s under Gramma’s name and cell number, thereby separating the ADR lists. This way, I could cancel from either list without affecting the other.

ADR change #5 complete.

Brilliant, no?! Okay, okay, I felt a smidge guilty about tying up precious ADR’s. But Gramma, who can out-rationalize even me, put it this way: I was merely securing some tables for those poor folks who don’t know they need an ADR and try to walk-up. She’s right, by Lime! Guilt assuaged, I continued planning the trip.

Until Gramma announced that she needs to attend a training class on one day of our trip. No big deal – it’s only a 2 hour drive, so she’ll just be gone for the day and we can have fun without her. Good thing I kept the ADR’s for five, huh?!

But she did mess up my itinerary. Gramma loves EP, hates MGM and AK, and doesn’t have much to say about MK. I had us scheduled for EP the day she’d now be gone. A few changes to the master spread sheet and all was well again. Except that it royally messed up the ADR’s for a couple days.

Are you still with me?

We were now a party of 3, 4, 5, or 6, depending on the day and whether or not E comes. My head is spinning now just thinking about it.

Again, I was afraid to mess with the existing ADR’s with everything so up in the air. Any idea how I handled it?

I’m betting some of you have me figured out. Yep – I made some new ADR’s in D’s name, under her cell number. Really, flame away – I deserve it. But, gosh-darn-it, I’m GETTING my dining on! And. That’s ADR change #6. In case you were wondering.

I had to call D and let her know what I’d done, on the off-chance that WDW Dining chose to call her about “her” ADR’s. She actually asked me: “Do you have all of these written down so we’ll know which is under whose names?”

Oh c’mon – she knows me better than that! I informed her that I, of course, had an entire spread sheet keeping track of all this. To which she replied, “Sorry, I forgot. Of course you do.”

Okay – so at this point, I have ADR’s every day for parties of 5 and 6, half in my name, half in Gramma’s. I also have a couple random ADR’s in D’s name. I had no choice but to sit and wait it out while E made her plans.



Don’t worry – this one’s not a cliffhanger! Are you even still reading this mindless drivel? Hello??

A couple days ago, I got the call… E is coming, but not until May 3. I made a beeline for the spread sheet and felt the smile spread across my face, warming my entire being. This was PERFECT! The only ADR I couldn’t get for 6 was Ohana. But with E not arriving till 5/3, the remaining 5 of us could use the ADR I’d kept for a party of five on 5/2. And, for everything else, I’d made ressies for 6.

Something told me not to cancel anything just yet, and I’m glad I didn’t. D called last night: E really, really wants to go to AK, the one park I wasn’t planning. No problem – they decided to do it on our last day, while Leo, Gramma and I hit the MK and EP.

Uh, YEAH, problem…. that’s the day I booked the Garden Grill for lunch! And the CM specifically told me they put a party of 5 at a different table than a party of 6 there. And the 6-top wasn’t in a great location. Guess who was on the phone this morning, making an ADR at Garden Grill for 3? Uh-huh – ADR change #7.

I also canceled some of the no-longer-needed party of 5 ADR’s in my name. Tomorrow, I’ll cancel some more in Gramma’s name that we opted not to use. That’ll make ADR change #8.


Sure hope I don’t regret it.

To end this ridiculous post, I present to you…… our dining:

Dinner at Boma
Lunch at Hollywood & Vine Play & Dine
Dinner at Ohana
Dinner at Concourse Steakhouse
Lunch at Biergarten
Possible dinner at Coral Reef – if we’re hungry and not too tired
Lunch at Garden Grill

Now, on to other things.

 

[PrincessV]

Before I get into this one, I must comment on what I’ve been reading while writing this. Seems like every TR and pre-TR I’ve read recently, the writer was at the same stage I’m at now – Pre Trip Shopping! I’m at once heartened and a little disturbed that we’re all in the same boat. I mean, how is it that Disney has us so well-trained that we begin emptying our pockets MONTHS before entering those gates?! Has Mickey infiltrated the public water systems across the nation? Anyway, here’s my version…



Seems we all have those “must-buy” items to pick up before our pilgrimage to The Mouse, and I’m no exception.

Yes. Despite living less than two hours away from said Mouse. And. Visiting him several times a year.


I know.



I should have everything I need by now, right. Sadly, I can always find something new, or more accurately, a new “need” to fill. And this trip seems to have more than the usual amount of “needed” accoutrements… as evidenced by the number of dollars each fine retail establishment has charged to my Disney Visa. (Gotta get those points! ) Just for kicks, I’ll list them with one $ per item…

Gifts. No, not souvenirs to bring back for family and friends. To be honest, I’ve done away with that. I mean, really, I’m there like 2-3 times a year minimum. How many Mickey tea towels do my co-workers really need, right?

No, I’m talking gifts for my fellow travelers. I already mentioned wanting to do something special in recognition of B’s first trip to The World. I put together a gift bag with all a one year old needs to properly experience WDW:

It includes his very first Mickey ears, (personalized, of course) and a 2007 official name badge. A trip to the Disney Store brought back a toddler-appropriate stuffed Mickey and a set of Pooh snack containers. I ordered a onesie with the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse gang on front and “Magical Memories” on the back. And teeny, tiny sunglasses to protect B’s sparkling blues.

$$ Gifts of a Lifetime
$$ Disney Store
$ Disney Shopping.com
$ Babies R Us

I couldn’t very well leave Leo out, now could I? He’ll also receive a 2007 official name badge and a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Tshirt. And, while I was at it, I had a tiki Minnie Tshirt made for me, too.

Since we’ll be celebrating Leo’s birthday at WDW, I went about getting some gifts for that, too: Little Einstein’s CD and Tshirt, Hot Wheels watch, Toy Story video game, two books and a tube-o-pirates.

$ Gifts of a Lifetime
$$$$$ Disney Shopping.com
$$ Target
$$ Borders
$ FL Aquarium

Shoes. Okay, here I’ll admit I have a problem. I looooove my shoes.

Carrie Bradshaw is my hero. I have a Shoe of the Day desk calendar. I fantasize about the day I can afford a pair of Manolos. If or when I ever evacuate, my shoe collection gets packed first. I really love my shoes.

But, here’s the thing – all my really good shoes are work shoes. That’s where I spend most of my time. And. Let’s be honest, the cutest shoes are usually the least comfortable. Since I sit at a desk all day, I can get away with my cute little foot-torture-devices.

What I mean is this… I did NOT have cute shoes for Disney. My weekend shoes are flips. Cute, but not good for walking an area equivalent in size to San Francisco - for a week straight. I did have my one pair of lime green Crocs. Not so cute, but always comfy. I wound up wearing them most of our December trip. I really did try to convince myself that one pair of Crocs and some flips for evenings would be sufficient.

And I would’ve gotten away with it, too.
If it weren’t for you meddling kids! Zoinks!

Oh, sorry.

I’d have been just fine, had I not entered the Crocs store, (conveniently located a block from my house, TFI), in search of Mickey Crocs for Leo. While he tried on his choice – lime green! – I perused the Nile model. Hmmm. They were a lot cuter in person than online. Leo saved me that day – he was in a foul mood and we left as soon as I got his Crocs paid for.

$ Crocs store

Leo showed off his new Mickey Crocs to D the next weekend. She commented on how cute they were and how she’d seen them on a little girl B’s age and thought about getting him some when he started to walk.

Yep, I went back to my local Crocs store the following weekend to get B a pair of tiny little Mickey Crocs. Alone. Unsupervised. All by myself… don’t wanna be… all by myseeeelf…

I left with a pair for B.
And. A pair of Niles. And a pair of Mary Janes.
For me.

They were sooo cute, I just couldn’t resist. And I rationalized it like this: flips really aren’t very good for my feet, so I’ll wear these Crocs all summer instead! The Crocs store lady helped with that thought process. TFI.

Here they all are, in their glory:

$$$ Crocs store

Clothes. Now, Disneyland_Mama asked in her pre-trippie recently if anyone buys a new wardrobe for their WDW trip. And I admitted, that, yes, I kind of did this time. Again, despite already living in Florida. I’ll blame work once more for this.

Technically, I do own some shorts and Tshirts. Exactly enough for a long weekend. ‘Cause the rest of my time is spent at work, in an air conditioned office. And I did already own a couple swimsuits, but they’re two years old – down here, that’s a looong life for a swimsuit and they’re both pretty worn out.

So when Old Navy had a sale, I stocked up on new T’s. 2 for $10? I stocked WAY up.
Yeah, and I got Leo a couple T’s too. And the one pair of Bermuda shorts they had left in my size.

Target helped me out with two more pair of shorts, a surfer T for Leo, and a Hawaiian short for him to wear to Ohanas. And some new pajama bottoms for V. I like new PJ’s for vacations, too.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Old Navy
$$$$$$ Target

I also did some swimsuit shopping. For the 5th straight year I bought a cheap(er) suit at Target and hated it after wearing it once. I finally smartened up and dropped the money for two good suits that are cute AND will cover all rear-view parts, AND will last through more than 3 months of salt, chlorine and sun.

$ Macy’s
$ Dillard’s

DIS Stuff. This part actually wasn’t so bad! I liberated some LGMH’s from Home Depot for free and bought a couple Team Focker Watch lanyards. That’s it! I already had my LGMH cutouts for windows, strollers and backpacks.

$$ some lanyard factory in China

Bags. You read that right – bags. Plural. Because my Baggallini from last September is the pits. No good at all when I have to hyperextend my shoulders to get it on and off for each ride.

I found the perfect mini backpack while in Buffalo this January. Compartments for everything, water bottle pocket, secret pocket for, well… secret stuff. And. Bonus… it was on sale!

Then I went to WDW for a day and saw a woman carrying one of those Vera Bradley-style quilted bags. It, too, was a mini backpack style. Just the right size and shape. And. It was lime green. With little periwinkle flowers.

I had a mission. After much Googling and searching, I found it and – voila! – I now have two bags from which to choose each day!

$ Eddie Bauer Outlet
$ Heirloom Gift Bazaar

That is IT – I’m finished with pre-trip spending. Let’s see whose pockets I’ve lined and by how much, all in the name of Mickey:

$$$ Gifts of a Lifetime
$$$$$ Disney Shopping.com
$$$$$$$$ Target
$$ Borders
$ FL Aquarium
$$$$ Crocs store
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Old Navy
$ Macy’s
$ Dillard’s
$$ some lanyard factory in China
$ Eddie Bauer Outlet
$ Heritage Gifts


Next: Final preparations are under way.

 

[PrincessV]

With less than a week to go, I’ve been busy with all those last-minute, pre-vacation preparations: Setting up the cat sitter. Checking the 15 day weather forecast. Scheduling my workload immediately before and after the trip. Packing what I can.






Stressing about my hair.




Yes, again. Remember, I did chop it some more.
And it looked great.

For 2 days.

Now, it’s back to an okay-but-sort-of-Momblobby-not-at-all-edgy-not-crying out “Beneath this suburban mom exterior lies an artsy, urban rockin hot chick!”-bob.

I called my stylist. Nope. Can’t get in till’ May 15.

So now I’m faced with making a few cuts here and there on my own or letting my mother have a go at it. Or leaving it be and wearing a hat for the next week. None of them ideal choices. Really, this isn’t intended to be a cliffhanger. I truly have no idea how it’ll pan out. I’m waiting right along with you all for the results.


But enough of that. I actually have been doing more than obsessing over my hair situation.

After all, I’ve got some exciting new things planned for this trip! I’m in line to host one of our infamous Focker Crocs during my stay; Fritzie von Crocker Focker, to be precise. And I’ll be getting him from puggymom at MGM, in person on May 2! No way – none of this leaving the Croc at the front desk avoidance for us… we’re making it an official Team Focker Watch meet! And we’re hoping a few other TFW members will be able to join us as well.

I have gotten the packing started and am pleasantly surprised at how little luggage Leo and I need this trip! It’s been so long since we traveled in warm weather, I’d forgotten how much less room T’s take up compared to sweaters. Between us, we’ve got two carry-on sized wheeled suitcases, a small overnight bag for our one night at AKL, and the beach bag with towels for Typhoon Lagoon.

Oh my – have I even mentioned Typhoon lagoon yet??? Guess it’s time to talk itinerary.

I knew a couple things I absolutely wanted to do from the very start of my planning.
A. I don’t want to go to Animal Kingdom (AK).
2. I’d love to take Leo to his first water park.

As for AK, well… we live mighty close to Busch Gardens Tampa. And IMNSHO, AK is a sad attempt to cash in on the wonder that is Busch Gardens. Don’t get me wrong – Disney does a lot of things right at AK! I mean, those have to be the happiest darned lions in captivity, right? But Disney completely missed the boat on crowd control at this park. Its crowded, narrow pathways are the antithesis of Busch Gardens. I’ve been to BG in July and, while expectedly hot, the wide open spaces kept the breeze flowing and the people separated… niiiice! I went to AK in August and nearly wound up with heat stroke. And it never fails to give me a pounding headache.

My point here is that I can live without AK. But Leo likes the animals. That’s why we’re staying at AKL for a night! Leo gets his animal fix and Mommy gets to skip out on AK.

I’m very excited about Typhoon lagoon, though! Readers of Where’s the Lime? Might remember Leo’s tendency to sink like a stone. Guess what? He still does.

But. TL has this awesome little kiddie area with slides just his size and only 2 feet of water. Not only can Leo have a good time, I’m hoping he’ll get more comfortable in the water, too. And. I have fond memories of my previous trip to TL. Where I spent the afternoon at that nice little beachfront tiki hut that serves icy-cold grown-up beverages!

Also on the agenda is a Girls’ Night for D, E and me. Gramma offered to babysit so we can get out for an evening and we gratefully accepted! We’ll decide just what we’ll be doing once there, but have it narrowed down to one of these:
*EP for drinks and Illuminations, followed by some Boardwalk time
*Downtown Disney for drinks and shopping
*Drinks at the Poly beach, watching the Electrical Water pageant and Wishes

Anyone see the common theme throughout?

So our days look like this:
5/1 MK morning, then hang at the AKL pool before dinner at Boma
5/2 meet up with D at MGM, then head to CSR before dinner at Ohana
5/3 Typhoon Lagoon, followed by some down time and Girls’ Night
5/4 MK baybee!, then some pool time and dinner at Concourse Steakhouse
5/5 EP all day, lunch at Biergarten and dinner, maybe dessert instead at Coral Reef.
5/6 our last day… my family will start out at either MK or AK (Leo’s choice), then head to EP with lunch at Garden grill. D and family will go to AK all day.

I, of course, have my daily touring plans all worked out. I’ve got this handy-dandy system for keeping track of them: rolodex cards! Yep, I print out the days’ plans, glue them to rolodex cards, insert into rolodex plastic sleeves, tape em’ shut and string them onto a keychain. Low tech you say? Absolutely. But darned affective – I can pull the cards out and change things as needed! Look for yourselves…

Notice how the itinerary’s already changed since I took this pic?!

As for Gramma.... Gramma likes to pack at the last minute, bringing enough clothing to last 3 weeks. She also brings a ton of food. As if we might starve at WDW??? I don’t know, but when we went to Paris, her bag arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport with a giant tag warning that it was extremely heavy. When we unpacked at the hotel I discovered why: she’d packed 2 6-packs of soy milk, 2 boxes of South Beach bars, and a 12 pack of peanut butter crackers. I always leave plenty of room in the car for Gramma’s luggage.

I guess we’re ready to go! Now, to get through the next 3 days… 3 days using V’s Fuzzy Disney calendar, that is

 

[PrincessV]

Well, it’s almost time to blow this Popsicle stand. Get outta Dodge. Take the money and run. Hit the road Jack. Make our way in The World.

What I’m trying to say is this: We’re going to Disney World!!!

Everything’s ready for car-loading Monday night and we’ll leave at the ridiculous hour of 6am Tuesday.

I know what you’re thinking: “But V – you live less than 2 hours away? What would possess you to leave so freking early???”



Oh, that’s not what you’re thinking? Too bad, that’s what I’m answering.

See, we have possibly the nation’s worst Interstate system round these parts. No loop. Only one Interstate flowing North-South to serve the most populated area in Florida. It’s the only means of getting to I-4, (otherwise known as the Road to Mickey), yet another straight-line Interstate that funnels an insane amount of traffic between Orlando and the Tampa Bay region. Come 7am, both Interstates are total log-jams. Being stuck in that is NOT my idea of a vacation. And leaving later is not an option – that’s half a day of touring down the drain! So V and Family shall set out at 6am. ish.

I’ve been talking with D regularly and she’s getting ready, too. Yes, she has a list, though not a spread sheet. She felt mine was plenty. Smart lady. I’m still trying to sell her on the comfort that is Crocs. She’s shopping even as we speak, so time will tell.

D and B took a little trip to Ohana last week to have breakfast with an old friend. D called me from there to report on B’s reaction to Pluto and Stitch….. NOT good. He was “okay” with Mickey and Lilo, but was not at all impressed by the others. I reassured her that character interaction will be limited on our trip, and only at the willingness of our kiddos. Leo only has eyes for the Mickster, too.

E, I suspect, is a tad worried about all this. Though she’s logged some WDW time, the fact that a spread sheet even exists for this is a tad off-putting to her. It’s okay. That was my reaction the first time I read an Unofficial Guide. We all learn as we go.

Leo has gone from excited, to elated, to frustrated. The days on the calendar (real, not Fuzzy, TFI) haven’t been moving quickly enough for him. But he, too, has been planning: just the other night, he rattled off his “favorites” while in the bath tub – BTMRR, Buzz, Pooh, Barnstormer, Dumbo, Jungle Cruise. No problem – I’ve got them all in The Plan!

Gramma…. I have no idea what page she’s on. She seems to be excited about a vacation, but not delighted with the venue. Will this be the trip in which she makes the turn to the Disney side? Stay tuned to find out!

And that’s it! I have no further drama (yet) to speak of. We’re just plain ready already.

 

[PrincessV]

Before I get started on this report, I should warn you: it’s not all pixie dust and magic. There’s some not-so-nice stuff, too.

Some call me a pessimist – I prefer realist. I don’t see the glass as half-empty or half-full. I wonder who the heck left the glass out to spoil in the first place. And, in my reality, some bad always tempers the good. It’s like yin and yang. Good and evil. The Captain and Tenille. You really can’t have one without the other.

So it is with life, and so it is also with a trip to Disney. Much as we’d all love to escape our problems and enter the fantasy Walt designed for us, reality has a way of sneaking in the back gates and weaseling its way into our carefully-laid vacation plans. Most trips, I’m prepared for it. But sometimes it catches me by surprise. This trip was of the latter variety.


Ready to turn back and find someone else’s TR to read? Something that starts out a bit more upbeat and perky? Yeah, well, me too.
But I’m here.
And.
You’re here.
Doesn’t that make it our trip report Mr. Hand?

Yes it does, so stick with me folks – I promise you plenty of smiles to temper the frowns. And. If that doesn’t work, there’s always chocolate. TFI.



Day One
The V’s journey begins on the West coast of the great state of Florida, where V, Leo and Gramma were set to depart at 6am. By the time the car was loaded and all were buckled up, it was 6:30. It’s okay – I always pad our time deadlines, knowing that Gramma’s chronically late, so we were actually leaving right on time. Heh, heh.

The drive across I-4 was uneventful, which is always a pleasant surprise. Those unfortunate souls who’ve been stuck on I-4, (wehich I like to call Dante’s Tenth Circle of He-double hockey sticks), know what I’m talking about.

After successfully navigating our way to The World, we headed into our stop for the night, the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Who’s that Croc on the dashboard, you ask? Thanks for asking! That’s Felicia von Crocker Focker, proud twin of Fritzie and pinch-hitter for the Team Focker Watch Croc mascots. See, Freddie, the first and original Croc, went missing a mere week before our trip. We had an APB out, but there was no trace of the poor guy by the time I left. Felicia agreed to step in and take Freddie’s place and I had the honor of transporting her to her first foster parent. But first, Felicia would spend the day with V and family and whet her appetite for WDW!

Back at AKL, the check-in process was easy and we had a room right away. It was a parking lot view, but I wasn’t too disappointed; I always get the worst rooms when using my Annual Pass discount. And, really, the view wasn’t so much of a parking lot as of tree-tops. And we weren’t planning to be in the room much, anyway. See, no pessimism there at all!

But. We (I) did have a quandary. Should we go up to the room right away and put our overnight bags away, or leave everything in the car and get ourselves to the Magic Kingdom post-haste?


I KNOW!!! I can’t believe it was even a question. The MK was set to open in 20 minutes and there I was wondering if I should spend half an hour moving bags??

And this, my friends, is why I make spread sheets and touring plans. Seriously – when I pass under those mythical Disney gates, I lose all ability to think clearly. And. I forget all the preparing and training I’ve done in advance of the trip. If it weren’t for the written plans, I’d be certain of doing something foolish.

Like moving bags into AKL.

Which we did NOT do. A look at my notes told me to get my hiney in gear and shake a leg over to the MK before all of “Them”, in Tour Guide Mike speak, showed up.

So we quickly found the AKL bus stop and the very next bus took us to that most Magical place, the Magic (duh!) Kingdom!

Knowing that we had two more days of MK fun ahead of us meant that we took some time to really look around Main St.

Normally, we book right in and get back to Dumbo without so much as a sideways glance, so this was a nice change of pace. And just one of the changes I intended to implement this trip. More stopping to look at things, more new experiences, more pictures. That was the plan. Stan.

Which reminds me… I kept saying that. “That’s the plan, Stan.” And Leo really got a kick out of it. So I called him Stan regularly throughout the rest of the trip. In case it wasn’t confusing enough when a fellow DISer called him by his fictitious name – Leo – now I was calling him Stan. Heh, heh – that’s just the kind of fun I like sometimes. But I’m getting ahead of myself…

Back to the MK, we walked through Main St. and headed on over to Tomorrowland for V’s first taste of Leo Andretti.

Leo talked Gramma into the Tomorrowland Speedway last Dec., but this was my first run as the lucky passenger.

Gramma reported that Leo did a fine job steering in Dec. – nary a bump nor budge. So I was looking forward to a leisurely turn about the Speedway, wind blowing in my hair and soft sunlight on my face.

What I got was this:
“Look Mommy!” BAM “I driving!” BAM “I do it…” BAM “…all by myself!” BAM BAM BAM

Clearly Gramma was either insane or had a warped sense of humor. As I described our little car-wreck-waiting-to-happen, Gramma looked confused. “Didn’t you hold onto the wheel and help him steer?”, she asked me.

Right.

Our next stop was the obligatory round of Buzz Guns, followed by Winnie the Pooh.

Moving along, we headed over to Frontierland, where I had us slated, (not s’earlied), for Big Thunder Mountain Fast Passes and Tom Sawyer Island while we waited for our return time.

Leo hadn’t been to TSI since Dec. 2004 and he’d had a lot of fun then, so I just knew this would be a welcome diversion.

Or not.

This kind of started when I took Leo to WDW solo in January, but was much worse this May. All of a sudden, anything new was absolutely terrifying to him. In January, it was the Carousel of Progress. No joke – when the theater doors opened, Leo began shrieking and trying to run away. I dragged him in anyway. It’s the freaking Carousel of Progress, people! I knew I just had to get him in there so he could conquer this irrational fear. Which he did.

But there we were, facing a similar meltdown over the raft to TSI. No tears or yelling this time, but lots of pouting and telling us he was scared.

We dragged him on the raft anyway. Go ahead, give Lauralee the Parent of the Year Award – I’m definitely not getting it this trip.

On our way over, something exciting happened….

A nice man asked if I DIS and pointed to his wife’s LGMH! There we were, standing not 3 feet apart and never noticed each other’s LGMH’s. We all talked a bit and I really tried to remember her DIS name, but my memory’s not what it once was and now I’ve got nothing more than a C and Disney-something. Nice DIS lady from the TSI raft, if you see this, Hi!!!

Once on the island, Leo was still cranky and worried that the wolf sound coming from the Haunted Mansion was waiting for him on the island. No amount of explaining and comforting was helping, (remember? This was the child who thought we were feeding him to the Country bears in Dec.), but this perked him up:

And especially this:

Yes, I am still a tree-hugging, pro-gun control, bleeding heart liberal. But. If shooting pretend guns on vacation will make Leo happy, let him have at it, I say.

Until he jumped up and down and excitedly exclaimed “Mommy, mommy! Look – I shooting the people on the boat!!”

That was the end of that.

It was time to ride BTMRR, anyway. Every trip since he hit that 40” mark, Leo insists on riding, covers his face the entire time, and won’t ride again that same trip. I don’t get it, but whatever.
Felicia liked it, though…

Dining Report 1
After that, it was on to lunch at my favorite MK eatery, Columbia Harbor House – home to the World’s Best Tuna Sandwich. And I mean “World” in the all-encompassing sense, not just the World that Walt built. TFI. I don’t know what the heck they put in that tuna, but YUUU UUUM!! That’s good stuff, there Gramma and I each had one. Leo had his first of MANY mac & cheese meals. The meal received a unanimous three thumbs’ up.

Coming next… a trip to the watering hole.

 

[lexmelinda]

Great idea to put it all together, V!!

Good call on the check in and straight to MK before "them".

I need Leo's review of TSI....was it a definite thumbs up? DS is likin' the look of it.

Oh...pictures are spectacular like always. Tell me again...do you have a DSLR?

 

[jcc0621]

AM I the first one to find your actual TR YIPEE!

All the ADr changes had me giggling. DH told me if I changes one more ADR he wasn't going

I hope TSi is open when are there in August. We tried to take DS there last year but it was shut down.

Looking forward to more

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

Before I get started on this report, I should warn you: it’s not all pixie dust and magic. There’s some not-so-nice stuff, too.

Good! I prefer the "real" versions anyway!!

But I’m here.
And.
You’re here.
Doesn’t that make it our trip report Mr. Hand?

Why, yes it does Mr. Spiccolli!

Day One
The V’s journey begins on the West coast of the great state of Florida, where V, Leo and Gramma were set to depart at 6am. By the time the car was loaded and all were buckled up, it was 6:30. It’s okay – I always pad our time deadlines, knowing that Gramma’s chronically late, so we were actually leaving right on time. Heh, heh.

I give The Enabler a specific time. 6:00 AM, AIS. For those Raymond fans. AIS= _ss in seat!

But. We (I) did have a quandary. Should we go up to the room right away and put our overnight bags away, or leave everything in the car and get ourselves to the Magic Kingdom post-haste?

WHat??? Are you ok???

And this, my friends, is why I make spread sheets and touring plans. Seriously – when I pass under those mythical Disney gates, I lose all ability to think clearly. And. I forget all the preparing and training I’ve done in advance of the trip. If it weren’t for the written plans, I’d be certain of doing something foolish.

Ok, whew.... everything IS right in the world!

Which we did NOT do. A look at my notes told me to get my hiney in gear and shake a leg over to the MK before all of “Them”, in Tour Guide Mike speak, showed up.

I love that you quoted my luvah!!

Knowing that we had two more days of MK fun ahead of us meant that we took some time to really look around Main St.Normally, we book right in and get back to Dumbo without so much as a sideways glance, so this was a nice change of pace. And just one of the changes I intended to implement this trip. More stopping to look at things, more new experiences, more pictures. That was the plan. Stan.

Hold the phone!! When did this become the Kinder, gentler report????

What I got was this:
“Look Mommy!” BAM “I driving!” BAM “I do it…” BAM “…all by myself!” BAM BAM BAM

I feel your pain. No really, I feel you pain. That's exactly how Maddie drives!!

But there we were, facing a similar meltdown over the raft to TSI. No tears or yelling this time, but lots of pouting and telling us he was scared.

Awww...poor guy! Glad he got over it right quick!

A nice man asked if I DIS and pointed to his wife’s LGMH! There we were, standing not 3 feet apart and never noticed each other’s LGMH’s. We all talked a bit and I really tried to remember her DIS name, but my memory’s not what it once was and now I’ve got nothing more than a C and Disney-something. Nice DIS lady from the TSI raft, if you see this, Hi!!!

Cool! Random DIS sightings are always fun!

Until he jumped up and down and excitedly exclaimed “Mommy, mommy! Look – I shooting the people on the boat!!”

Sorry, but that's funny.

That was the end of that.

Dining Report 1
After that, it was on to lunch at my favorite MK eatery, Columbia Harbor House – home to the World’s Best Tuna Sandwich. And I mean “World” in the all-encompassing sense, not just the World that Walt built. TFI. I don’t know what the heck they put in that tuna, but YUUU UUUM!! That’s good stuff, there Gramma and I each had one. Leo had his first of MANY mac & cheese meals. The meal received a unanimous three thumbs’ up.

Magic tuna, you say. Hmmmmm... I'll have to add that to CS list!

Cute pics, V! Ok, so when's the next installment.....

I'll be waiting....

 

[DisneyJo]

Arrrrh no I thought I was going to be first! Darn you Melinda So glad you've started at long last V

 

[KatInHat]

It sounds like you had a pretty good first day so far. Leo is cute as ever and I love your hair. I can't wait to hear all about the rest of your trip.

 

[KatGarcia]

Yay! Your back and posting! Yee Ha! I was trying to make some ADR's(or PS's as they are known still in DL)and got distracted by your TR...a fun distraction tho! Looking fwd to more of the craziness!

PS I LOVE the tuna sandwiches too!!!

 

[OhMari]

I'm having a blond moment. Do you have 2 TR's going on. Your pre-planning had my head spinning.

If you are having a "cold one" at the Biergarten they are $9.00 I am not a beer drinker, but it hits the spot if you are very thirsty, and if you are sick of "um coke products". Don't worry about the sausage items, there is a ton of other items to choose from.

Is there just one main pool at the Animal Kingdom Lodge? or are there quiet pools. (me and dh bar-pooled hopped).

 

[cmp1111]

I got all worried that there were already 2 pages in the TR that I just saw - and I've been checking in regularly all day - until I saw that you reposted the main points of the PTR. Good thinking!

Can't wait to hear! Your hair is adorable, and so is Leo/Stan.

 

[kona-kraft]

Girl, you had me kun-foozed for a sec....I thought I had linked to your PTR again

I'm so that you came back from the twilight zone and remembered all your planning......THOSE colorful cards are there for a REASON

PS~ I TOTALLY agree about CHH's tuna......YUMM-O !!!!

 

[daisy_77]

Sounds like you all had a great start at the MK!

I look forward to more!