A Girl's Trip Becomes So Much More! My Trip Report is Posted!! 6.8.11

[TinksThree]

Well, I am getting closer and closer to the 3 month mark which means our plans are getting more and more detailed...or nailed down. I hope my ADRs are fixed for good! Things seem to be falling into place and the shopping has begun...for the very few things we need!

It is also getting close to spring and with spring comes tons of activities so I know time will fly! Between soccer and family reunions and end of school activities I will find plenty to occupy my time. Plus we have a road trip coming up for Spring Break so lots to keep me occupied!!!

Speaking of Spring...I have some serious Spring Fever going on! After days with highs in the 20's (unusual for us here in central Mississippi) it has been in the 70s this week!! It is all I can do to work and concentrate!!

I finally got a picture of my parents uploaded to Photobucket...so I will introduce you to Mom and Dad (although he still isn't going )!!...

Also, we celebrated a birthday and my little girl is getting WAY TOO BIG!

Madison turned 15 and had a movie/sleepover party. A few pics from the weekend:

Madison and her cake

And the girls had fun at the movies and doing pedis and facials

I am about to do my last installment of my Disney Memories...this one from 2009. I will warn you I had over 2000 pictures that trip!! But I am not posting them all....aren't you relieved? And then it will be time to discuss all the plans I am currently finalizing!! I can feel it getting closer!!!

 

[pinkxray]

Happy Birthday Madison!

It looks like she had a nice birthday party and a cute cake. Time starts flying once you have a kid doesn't it? It seems like just yesterday Caitlin was a baby, before I know it she'll be 15.

Glad to hear your plans are getting nailed down. I think my planning is getting a little tighter. Just need to work out a few details.

 

[creativeamanda]

That cake looks absolutely beautiful! I also like the mani/pedi idea.

 

[ksl5f123]

Happy Birthday Madison! I love the cake. It was beautifully decorated.

 

[TinksThree]

Happy Birthday Madison!

It looks like she had a nice birthday party and a cute cake. Time starts flying once you have a kid doesn't it? It seems like just yesterday Caitlin was a baby, before I know it she'll be 15.

Glad to hear your plans are getting nailed down. I think my planning is getting a little tighter. Just need to work out a few details.

The times goes way too fast. It seems like when Madison turned 6 it has been nothing but a blur since! She is actualyl getting ready to get her driver's permit since she has to take Driver's Ed this coming fall! I keep telling her to not expect to be driving though because the traffic in our area scares me!

That cake looks absolutely beautiful! I also like the mani/pedi idea.

The mani/pedi is a great way to occupy them at late hours! I am just glad that they are old enough to entertain themselves. Keith on the other hand was not too happy with the giggling at 2:30am!!

Happy Birthday Madison! I love the cake. It was beautifully decorated.

Madison said "Thank you!" for the Happy Birthday wishes! That cake had to be one of the best I have ever eaten...and I ate way too much of it! I wish I could take credit for making the cake. The place we got it from had the most creative designs. There was one with Ariel that I tried talking Madison into but she refused!

I had hoped to post over the weekend but our internet is being uncooperative so hopefully tonight it will be functioning properly again!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Just got caught up again......you know why I've been lagging. Tell Madison I said happy late birthday! Our kids grow up waaaaaay too fast don't they?

 

[creativeamanda]

LOL--the 2:30am giggleing. He would hate it in my house--we have little girls up all night just about every weekend!!!

 

[TinksThree]

Just got caught up again......you know why I've been lagging. Tell Madison I said happy late birthday! Our kids grow up waaaaaay too fast don't they?

Yes, you have had some very challenging times!! They grow up way too fast...before I know it I will be doing what you are doing right now! I do not even want to think about that!

LOL--the 2:30am giggleing. He would hate it in my house--we have little girls up all night just about every weekend!!!

I keep telling him it is a girl thing! He is male and just can't understand! I think he secretly likes it but he doesn't like losing sleep!!

 

[TinksThree]

Here's a mini-TR from our Spring Break Trip in 2009! It will be slighty longer than my previous walks down memory lane. I hope you do not mind! This trip was basically a dream and one I wish I had done a TR on....only I wasn't brave enough at the time to tackle that challenge! I took over 2000 pictures but I will not bore you completely. I think I may have taken pictures of every inch of the Disney Parks!

So when was this trip? It was March 14-21, 2009. Initially the trip was only for 4 days. We would do one park per day. I booked through Dreams Unlimited who I highly recommend if you want to go a Travel Agent route! I booked in September 2008 and then in November I get an e-mail that Disney was about to release some great deals.....the deal? Buy 4 get 3 free. Well, by adding only $190 to our package we got 3 more days! To me this was a no brainer! Then my planning really began and we went wild making ADRs (including one to T-Rex--a new restaurant that opened in November 2008!).

I let the kids choose where we would stay since it was "their" trip and after much consideration, they chose All-Star Sports. I used to love scrapbooking and while I still do, I just don't find the time! So maybe this will inspire me to complete that project that is now 2 years old! Thankfully I still have the "story" saved on my computer so I am going to copy and paste. The original story part will be in Green and any added commentary from my thoughts today will be in Purple (in honor of 1. Mardi Gras season and 2. Our near future trip stay at POFQ!!!)

So.....let the story begin!!

We started our journey to Walt Disney World very early on Saturday (March 14, 2009) morning~~leaving at 4:30am in torrential rains. But the trip was fast and fun as we made our way to Florida and all of the adventures before us! We counted down the miles and finally crossed into Florida. But when we went through the toll booths….we knew we were very close to “the World”!!

And, finally….the sign we had been dreaming of appeared!

We were bursting with excitement as we navigated to our home away from home (at least for the week):
All-Star Sports Resort!!!!!

We had requested a room in the Touchdown! Building but instead we got Surfs Up! It was still a pretty cool building, and as it turned out, we spent very little time at the resort so it did not really matter which building we were in! We were on the third floor in room #1337. It overlooked a garden area and was quiet.

A Mickey Towel awaited us as we entered our room!

There were a lot of cheerleaders, dancers and senior trippers in our resort so it was loud and crowded…I did not mind missing out on the luxuries of the resort so much! Even the crowded parks were more relaxing than our pool area and the lobby/food court!!!!!!!!!!

After getting to our room and resting for a brief (very brief) time we headed for our first adventure:
DOWNTOWN DISNEY and our dinner reservations at the new T-REX restaurant.

We hopped on board the Disney bus transportation and let Disney do the driving!

Waiting on the bus:

Our first bus ride

We made it to Downtown Disney with only minutes to spare and rushed to T-Rex (an adventure in itself since we had NO IDEA which direction we needed to go!!!!!!).

But we found it and got in line (thank goodness for a 5:45pm ressie because the stand-by wait was over 2 hours!!). Moments later they escorted us to our table in the Ocean Room.

We went with an appetizer sampler platter and mozzarella sticks….really good!

And Madison and Chris got a lava slushy! While we ate the dinosaurs roared and meteor showers were all around us! Thankfully we escaped from the restaurant without being too seriously injured and we were very full! So, it was time to explore the area!!

I still think the bathroom signs are too cute!!

I love this guy...too cool!! And not scary at all!!

First stop: the World of Disney!!

This place is HUGE~~~we wandered around looking at all things Disney and decided to wait until we had explored the parks before making any purchases.
We made a stop at Ghirardelli for an ice cream treat. Milkshakes and ice cream to top off a fun night!

But then it was time to go back to the room to prepare for our first full day at WDW and to start it off we headed to ANIMAL KINGDOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And that concluded the first day of our Awesome Spring Break Trip!!! Next up will be Animal Kingdom....a first for all of us!

 

[mickeystoontown]

I love the feeling you get when you know you are getting close to Disney. It makes me want to just squeal with delight. The Surfs Up building looks pretty cool even if there were lots of cheerleaders, seniors, etc. around.

Yay for getting to your T-Rex ADR on time. Call us crazy but we really like the food there.

 

[TinksThree]

I love the feeling you get when you know you are getting close to Disney. It makes me want to just squeal with delight. The Surfs Up building looks pretty cool even if there were lots of cheerleaders, seniors, etc. around.

Yay for getting to your T-Rex ADR on time. Call us crazy but we really like the food there.

I think I get that feeling just thinking about going to Disney...at least here lately! I was really glad int eh end that we got the Surf's Up building because none of the cheerleaders or dancers were in our building. So, while the pool and food court was madness, our building was pretty peaceful! That may also be why we did not get the building we had requested!

We like the food at T-Rex also. I know some people say it is terrible (or not great) but we have eaten there 3 times and each time it has been good. And I now have to make reservations for this upcoming trip or else I will have one disappointed daughter and hubby!!

 

[creativeamanda]

I have never been to Ghiradelli. That is something I really need to do!

 

[TinksThree]

I have never been to Ghiradelli. That is something I really need to do!

It is so good!! They also give out free chocolates!! You do need to check it out!!

Wow life has thrown some curves so I have not updated like I wanted and I am very behind on other reports I have been reading, so....sorry guys!!! My boss has had some issues arise meaning her being out of the office and since I am 2nd in charge I am now doing 2 jobs. Busy, busy!! So I hope to try and catch up and keep up with this PTR and the others I have been following!! Please be patient! And now I am going to attempt another walk down memory lane to 2009.....

 

[TinksThree]

As in the last update I have my original thoughts in 2009 from my scrapbook in green and thoughts from today in purple!! Also, I thought I had resized all of the pictures...these are a little....well, big! I'll try to do better!!

I left off with Saturday night concluding. It was our first night in WDW and we had gone to T-Rex and DTD. So moving to our 1st full day:

Sunday, March 15, 2009
Animal Kingdom

We woke up and got an early start on Sunday morning. We got to Animal Kingdom at 8:15am and waited for the 9am rope drop. Now I had done a lot of research online and had the Unofficial Guide to WDW as well as a Passporter and felt fairly confident in the game plan but while waiting for the gates to open, we met a wonderful family from Texas. They told us to follow them to EE and they would get us to the Fast Pass quickly! That really was awesome!!

First we had a welcome show with Minnie, Goofy Pluto and Mickey Mouse.

Then…the rope dropped! We walked quickly to Expedition Everest to get Fast Passes. By 10am we had ridden Expedition Everest twice plus DINOSAUR, Kali River and met Pluto and Goofy! We were off to a great start!! (We also come back later in the week to see the Lion King Festival on Thursday afternoon.)
Some pictures from touring that morning:
Dinosaur!!

We left Dinosaur and saw Pluto and Goofy. While Madison and I got in line, Chris decided he needed an autograph book and ran to find a gift shop!

Then we headed back to Expedition Everest to use our Fast Pass (we had rode stand-by first thing!)

After our extremely productive morning, we headed towards Asia, slightly wet from Kali River. We made a brief stop for PhotoPass pictures in front of the Tree of Life and to watch dancers in Africa perform. Then we got Fast Passes for Kilimanjaro Safari.
I simply love the imagiantion and efforts put into Animal Kingdom! It is such a detail oriented park. I wonder how many people probably do not appreciate the details!

Continued in next post......

 

[TinksThree]

After lunch at Pizzafari,

we made our way to the Tree of Life and It’s Tough To Be A Bug!

I had been reading a TR before our trip and the girls writing the trip had "taken" their husbands along. This made me think...I could "take" Keith along and show him he really did love WDW!! So we have these from each park!

The Tree of Life is so awesome!! We kept finding more and more animals carved into the tree. And, It’s Tough To Be A Bug! is hilarious!! So much fun…and a bit “stinky” as well!!!

These signs are so great!!

In our bug glasses...

Our Fast Passes for Kilimanjaro Safari were at 2pm so we headed that way to take our little excursion into the African Savannah. We boarded our safari vehicle all loaded up for a two week trip. We saw hippos, giraffes, flamingos, a lions’ foot as well as other African species and termite mounds.

And then we went to the Pangani Trail"

Then it was time to head to the bus stop to make our way to the Boardwalk Resort.
Just as we exited Animal Kingdom, we saw Flik, Timon, the raccoon from Pocahontas and Simba signing autographs so we lined up and joined the fun!! Then it was off to the bus stop!!

Next up will be our very first ADR at a Disney restaurant! Wonder where that will be?!?!

 

[sassyredhead]

Subscribing! It is awesome to see a family with older kids who enjoys Disney like I do! I'm glad your girls trip morphed into a coed one, too.

We are also going back earlier than planned because of free dining. So happy!

 

[TinksThree]

Subscribing! It is awesome to see a family with older kids who enjoys Disney like I do! I'm glad your girls trip morphed into a coed one, too.

We are also going back earlier than planned because of free dining. So happy!

Welcome!! I feel lucky that my teens still enjoy doinf things with us! And I am glad I have someone to share my Disney enthusiasm with!!!

 

[ksl5f123]

I am enjoying your walk down memory lane.

This line:

There were a lot of cheerleaders, dancers and senior trippers in our resort so it was loud and crowded…I did not mind missing out on the luxuries of the resort so much! Even the crowded parks were more relaxing than our pool area and the lobby/food court!!!!!!!!!!

had me . I can just imagine.

I love the "picture" of Keith at the Tree of Life.

You were just made to be a DISer - taking pictures of your lunch.

Nice giraffe picture. It must have been pretty close to the vehicle.

 

[TinksThree]

I hope to get this show on the road so I can begin talking plans!! I called Disney today to make a few minor adjustments (like taking Dad off the reservations and HDDR). The man I spoke with was so cheerful he fueled my excitement (like I needed more fuel for that fire!!!). And my Disney home page says I have 88 days today!!! I believe they may fly!!!

So continuing with Sunday afternoon...we were leaving Animal Kingdom, heading to Epcot and our first ADR.....

Epcot
We made several trips to Epcot. The first was on Sunday afternoon after Animal Kingdom and a walk around the Boardwalk Resort. We also visited Epcot on Tuesday morning and Friday (practically all day). This park has so much to offer and is easily one of my favorites!

We left Animal Kingdom on Sunday around 2:30 or 3pm and headed to the Boardwalk Resort’s bus stop. Probably mistake #1 of this trip! The bus took forever to get there!! After a 45 minute wait the bus finally arrived and whisked us off to the Boardwalk. What a fabulous resort! This is on my “to do list”!! It is fashioned after the early 1920’s resorts along the Atlantic Boardwalk. Very stylish and the boardwalk is fun. I had wanted to rent a surrey but alas time did not allow this! A few pics at Boardwalk...

After looking around the resort a bit, we boarded a Friendship boat to Epcot. The Friendship boat takes you to the International Entrance between the UK and France. Upon entrance to Epcot we headed straight for France

since we had a little bit of time before our 6pm dinner reservations at the Restaurant Marrakesh. As we were looking at the gardens in France (a little maze actually) a Cast Member approached us and asked if we knew who was from France. Uhmmm…Belle? No, well she is but not what he was thinking! So, as we searched our brains for a character he told us to hold on a second and we would find out. Then Aurora, or Sleeping Beauty, appeared and we got our 1st Princess picture and autograph!

Then we wandered around France for awhile. This was one of our favorite countries on the trip but most of the shops are full of expensive perfumes and wine…not much for kids. We saw Impressions de France which is a 360 degree movie that takes you all over the France countryside.

Madison trying out the berets in France:

After leaving France we headed towards Morocco but chose to by-pass it and head to Italy since we would be back shortly for our dinner reservations. First we stopped to meet Aladdin, Jasmine and Genie!!

Italy is fabulous, of course! We took a few pictures and breezed through the stores with intentions of heading back here later in the week.

Continued in the next post.....

 

[TinksThree]

Then it was time to head back to Morocco and our 1st ethnic meal of the week!

The Restaurant Marrakesh is a fun restaurant. While we ate, we had a Moroccan band play (right next to our table!) and a belly-dancer came out to make me feel guilty about eating….I mean to perform for us!! We ate chicken baklava and couscous among other Moroccan specialties and left very stuffed!
Our Entertainment:

And some food porn. I never would have ever taken pictures of my food if I had not read TRs prior to going! Keith thinks I am crazy for this!

After eating, we wandered around Morocco a bit

and then headed out across the English Channel. The United Kingdom is mostly made up of shops and gardens so we looked around here a little.

We also stopped and listed to the Beatles tribute band British Invasion play a few tunes.

Then it was off to Canada! Again, we mostly looked around. We did not get to see O’ Canada this trip on any of our visits, so maybe next time! As we were leaving one of the stores, we noticed people standing around staring into the sky. After asking what everyone was looking for, we found out (and saw!!) the Space Shuttle lifting off for the Space Station! It was pretty cool!!

Some shots in Canada:

After watching this, we decided to head out to Future World and we went to Spaceship Earth.

There was no wait so we jumped right on and went up, up, up into the big ball!! This was a pretty interesting little ride and it was nice to sit down for a while! Spaceship Earth features audio-animatronics scenes that depict the story of human connection and collaboration over 40,000 years—from the dawn of recorded time to the 21st century's internet age. You are able to see prehistoric man's first words the hieroglyphics of the ancient Egyptians, follow the advanced system of roads amidst Rome, and journey through the Industrial Revolution and the Age of Information. Our “time machines” were equipped with touch screens that ask questions about how you would like to live, work and play in the world of tomorrow.

Then our picture was taken and at the end we were able to have a glimpse of our potential future self at the end. I was able to capture mine and Chris’ “future” but they took Madison’s down too quickly.

We left Spaceship Earth and headed towards the gate. It was about 8pm or 8:30 by this time and our day had been very, very long! We made one quick stop at a souvenir store and tried on different hats before making our final exit.

And one last glimpse of Spaceship Earth:

The next day was devoted to Magic Kingdom and our wake-up call was going to come pretty early!!!