A Not So Scary Trip Report! Sept 2009-WL!!! Update 2/14

[kmab00]

Great updates Karen!

SO impressed that you got up extra early on your "early" day to boot to go to the gym! That is why you are a marathon runner!

How frustrating though that you weren't initially able to find the health club entrance. Sounds like something that would have happened to me! Very annoying to have gotten up early only to have wasted 15 mins of gym time (or even sleep time) looking for the entrance.

You must have started the day really feeling good about yourself having gotten that run in! I have brought my gym clothes and runners along with me on more trips than I care to remember, with the best of intentions of doing a workout either 1st thing in the morning or late at nite, only to bring them home unused.

I guess that is why you run marathons and I just dream about it!

Those sunrise photos you took while waiting for the boat over to the MK are just breathtaking!

Glad you got to Kona for breakfast! It is my absolute favourite breakfast place in all of WDW!!! I am not a big tonga toast fan, though. It is Big Kahuna all the way for me!

So did you try your Dad's macadamia pancakes???? They really are the best. I always order all pancakes, no french toast because I like them so much!

Can't wait to hear all about your Cali Grill dinner. Was it your 1st time? I don't remember you writing about it before.

Looking forward to your next update!

lol funny about the running! I was actually on a schedule with my running group so I felt kind of obligated to run!! lol I didn't get as many runs in as I should have though! Oh well! I think Jason got the Big Kahuna if I remember right and he loved it! I did taste the pancakes! They were good!!! Cali Grill was our first time there...really good and great view! All coming up! :0)

I could never get up super extra early just to do breakfast. Props to you guys! Loving all your pics and loved the update too! We also like the buffet at Tusker House. We ate there for lunch last Jan and it was awesome! Can't wait to hear more!

We definitely regretted it later...lol!!! Thanks so much! Tusker House is REALLY good!!!!!

I love your faces the morning you were going to Kona...it seems like a great idea when you book but it's another when you actually have to get up and go

FOTLK is my favorite show is all of Disney. It makes me weep everytime.....I love it

Hahha we weren't happy campers! Toooo early!!!! Lol Thanks for following along!!!

Awe, candy looks awesome!

I have yet to try Tonga Toasts!

I heart The Lion King show! If only I hadn't run out of room on the DVD I wwas recording it on! hehe I am missing the finale number. I need to rerecord it.

Girl you need to try it! I read that they offer it as a CS at Captain Cooks in the morning!!! You should one day!!!

Love your trip report! I've always wanted to go in the fall, but haven't made it that time of year yet. Was MNSSHP worth the extra cost?

Your dog is adorable, by the way! My husband and I have a yorkie too and he's a sweetheart.

Thanks so much! Oh yes I loved MNSSHP although MVMCP is my favorite! Thanks so much! I love my yorkie! She's a sweetheart! She's sleeping on my lap right now!

 

[kmab00]

Karen - your AK pictures are gorgeous. I would never be able to get a pic of FOTLK to come out, just too dark in there for my carmera and my photography skills! I love the one with EE in the background! Great update!

Thank you!!! It is really dark in FOTLK and I hate to use flash in there! I don't want to disturb anything! lol

i didn't know you had posted this on here! love your pics from the race, the one of you cossing the finish line is too cute. The weaving in and out of people was definately annoying, but unfortunately for us that is just how its going to be with every big race. maybe we should try doing a half with hardly any people lol!

can't believe our race is a month away!

Hey Heather! Thank you!!! I would love to do a half with no people! that would definitely give me a PR time! Thanks for finding me! Yay 1 month!!!!

Karen-just got all caught up! What a great trip & trip report! Your parents and husband and yourself all seem like such a fun bunch!
What were the dates of your trip? We are looking at WL in Sept. for our next stay, and it seems like ya'll went at the perfect time! Can't wait to read about the rest of the trip!

Thank you!!! We are all crazy and love to have fun! We were there Sept 13-20. It was so nice...the weather was great and there were hardly any crowds! Loved it!!!

Wow, it is amazing that we were at the AK on the same day and had such different experiences! It is the next day in my TR and I am dreading writing about it! We arrived later than you and stayed longer I think that might have been our problem! It was horribly crowded for us and so HOT.

How funny we were there the same day! I'll look for myself in your AK pictures! lol Did you see you guys in any of my AK pictures? I hate AK when it's hot. It's almost miserable! Sorry you guys didn't have a great experience there!

That pic of your morning faces is hysterical!

You got up for a 7:20a ADR AND ran before hand?!

It was too early....lol We were tired!

Karen, another great update!!! The Kona Cafe looks yummy. I so had that on my list of things to do in Dec.,really wanted to try that Tonga Toast and just never made it over there. Now, I really wish I would have, it is making me super hungry this morning. Love the shots of the animals, they are beautiful and turned out so well. Also love your "funny" poses, they are so cute. Can't wait to read and see more. As always, a bright spot in my day.

Thank you so much!!! You should try the TT next time you guys are there! It was really really yummy!!!! Thanks again girl!!! :0)

I am looking forward to the rest!

Glad you are on board! Thanks so much!

 

[kmab00]

Wednesday, September 16, 2009 Continued

When I left off, we were at our hotel getting ready for dinner at the California Grill. I LOVED being able to just get on a boat that took us to the contemporary! So convenient!!!

On the way!

I just love Bay Lake! It's so gorgeous!

The Contemporary

We made our way inside and checked in for Dinner. We were given a pager and directed to an elevator that would take us up to the restaurant. I guess they do that so not just anyone can get up there to see Wishes.

Our reservation time was 7:50 p.m. with Wishes starting at 8 p.m. We checked in around 7:30 p.m. to make sure we got up there in time!

We didn't even wait around at all we walked straight out on the observation deck. It's so gorgeous from up there! You can see everything!

The Grand

The Poly

We also took a few pictures

Then it was time for Wishes to start. I got so mad when it first started. I had been standing out on that deck for a while saving a spot for myself and then when it started, this little short man just started pushing his way inbetween me and my parents. He bent down and squatted and literally PUSHED my legs out of his way. I told him that I had been standing here and I was with my parents and all I got was a funny look from him. He never moved but I also didn't bugde. He kept pushing on my legs and I stood there without moving. I think he finally got up and went somewhere else. I hate it when people do that kind of stuff! Ugh...anyway...

Here's a few pictures from Wishes on top of the Contemporary!

After Wishes, we went back inside and sat down to wait on our table. I remember feeling as if we had waited for forever to be seated. I think my dad finally asked what was going on and we were given a table not too long after that.

For an appetizer, my dad had Sushi.

We had the flatbreads

Everyone had the Filet for an entree.

This was my dessert...dont' remember what it was called but it was YUMMY!!!!

Up next: The MK and my birthday celebration!!! :0)

 

[kmab00]

Thursday, September 17, 2009 - Karen's Birthday Celebration!

Thursday morning, we woke up and walked over to Roaring Forks for breakfast to use a few snack credits! I got the apples/caramel as usual!! lol

I took a few pictures along the way...

Then it was off to the boats for a trip to the MK!

We saw these ladies on Main Street! I had only ever seen the Mayor before!

Love all the decorations!!!

We decided to finish up Tomorrow Land first so went there first!

I made Jason ride Buzz with my dad this time and I rode with my mom. About half way through, my dad hit Jackpot so Jason quit trying! lol

See what I mean... Goofball!

We also got on the TTA!

It was neat seeing SM all light up!!! I know this is gross but I noticed that there was a bunch of gunk on the ceiling tiles inside of SM!! I know it's hard to clean up there but some of it almost looked like mold! Eww...I had mold in my house after Hurricane Rita...not pretty!

Construction areas

After getting off of TTA, I decided to get a smoothie from Auntie Galaxies or something like that. I jus remember Heather saying they were good and she was RIGHT! YUM! Thanks Heather!!! :0)

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[kmab00]

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We went to Toon Town after hanging out in Tomorrowland!

Up first: Minnie's house!

This is in Minnie's house...I thought it was really cute!

On of our TV's is a Westinghouse!

I loved looking around here without a ton of people and getting to pay attention to details! It was fun!!!

Mickey's House...

I totally remember that cartoon!!!

We decided to see Philharmagic next!

I found a hidden mickey!

Jason's favorite!!! lol

By this time, our PS was ready for CRT!!

This way the place I chose to celebrate my birthday!

We waited in a small line to sign in. Once signing in, we got a card to get in line to take a picture with Cinderella!

After taking our picture, we headed up the stairs for lunch!

We were brought an appetizer plate first...so good!

Confetti to celebrate! YAY!

Our waitress brought me a wand since I was celebrating. As she walked away, Jason noticed she had swords in her hand. He said (just to me) "Hey! I didn't get a sword!" Well, because of where we were seated, we didn't know there was a CM standing behind us so she went and got Jason a sword! He's such a kid...lol

Ummm...I don't think that's quite how it works!

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[kmab00]

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Snow White saw my mom's shirt and said, "Ooh look! It's my friend!" lol!

Sleeping Beauty's smile reminds me of Rizzo's smile from Grease...lol

For the most part, we all got Major Domo's Favorite Pie...except my mom but I can't remember what she got. I LOVE THIS STUFF!!!!

When they did the whole wishing ceremony overhead, Jason took my magic wand and started wishing for more drinks. Well, it worked (because our waitress saw him) and we got refills! Yay!

I got a card and a special dessert!

We walked around a little after lunch to take pictures...

After walking a little, we decided to go back to Epcot to see more of the countries! We had about 4 hours before we had to be back at the MK for our dinner reservations at LTT. We didn't have anything to do for 4 hours there, so Epcot it was!

Up next....more WS!

 

[kimsue68]

AWESOME THANS!!! LOVE IT!!!!!

 

[PopArtGal]

Your b-day celebration sounds awesome!

I'm gonna celebrate mine at 1900 parkfare.

What are your tips for a great b-day at WDW?

You are right about Sleeping Beauty's smile. And Belle looks like an actress. She's so beautiful.

 

[MeLaNie9]

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your MK pictures - the ones of the castle are wonderful! You have a real gift for photography!

Y'all look so nice for your CG dinner - what a view indeed! Sorry about the pushy guy. Unfortunately that kind of thing seems to happen every so often - sometimes we say something but those type of people never really seem to care, which I guess is why they do stuff like that in the first place!

The Halloween decorations are cute - I was really impressed with the decorations at DLR too!

Thanks for the pics of CRT - I don't know that we'll ever do this with 2 sons! Neat for me to see what it is like inside.

We discovered Auntie Gravity's smoothies 2 trips ago -the tropical with mango is now the top MK request of our DS5. Yummy!

 

[jnjusoioa]

Another great update Karen!!! Amazing pictures!!! I love all the pictures you took in Minnie's House, there are some really cool ones, things that I never noticed before. I really love the one of that package that says from Peter Pan, very cool. It amazes me how much they put into the decoration of those houses, and to think Toontown won't be there anymore, that is kind of sad. Oh well. Your Birthday celebration at CRT sounds awesome, love your photos from there, I ate there once and totally loved it, it is so beautiful in there. Can't wait to read and see more of your trip. Great job girl!!! Thanks for being the bright spot in my days with your trips.

 

[Jennifer48]

Besides the incident outside during Wishes, how would you rate the California Grill? I've always wanted to eat there but with it being so expensive, I haven't yet. TIA!

 

[Girldreamer02]

CRT is a excellent place to celebrate your birthday! Thats where dh proposed to me. Loved it! We're going to be in disney for my birthday in dec. I'm not sure of breakfast or lunch, but I know we are eating at Cali Grill for dinner with our friends and their daughters who are also going to be there at the same time as us. Actually met here on the dis. We met up with them last trip. Very fun! I love all your pictures...can't wait to hear about LTT b/c we are thinking about eating there. I'm on the fence right now. So I need to hear some reviews.

 

[kmab00]

AWESOME THANS!!! LOVE IT!!!!!

Thank you so much!! :0)

Your b-day celebration sounds awesome!

I'm gonna celebrate mine at 1900 parkfare.

What are your tips for a great b-day at WDW?

You are right about Sleeping Beauty's smile. And Belle looks like an actress. She's so beautiful.

Thank you! Ooooh I bet 1900 PF will be a great place for a birthday!!! Great tips...hmmm...just wear that button so people can see it! You'll get LOTS of "Happy Birthdays!!" lol

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your MK pictures - the ones of the castle are wonderful! You have a real gift for photography!

Y'all look so nice for your CG dinner - what a view indeed! Sorry about the pushy guy. Unfortunately that kind of thing seems to happen every so often - sometimes we say something but those type of people never really seem to care, which I guess is why they do stuff like that in the first place!

The Halloween decorations are cute - I was really impressed with the decorations at DLR too!

Thanks for the pics of CRT - I don't know that we'll ever do this with 2 sons! Neat for me to see what it is like inside.

We discovered Auntie Gravity's smoothies 2 trips ago -the tropical with mango is now the top MK request of our DS5. Yummy!

Thank you so much! Isn't it ashame about pushy people at parades? Really..learn some manners!!! lol I think that CRT is fun for everyone...there were boys in there but mostly because they were there with their families who had girls. Don't know if they would enjoy it a whole lot! lol I'll have to try that tropical mango smoothie! Thanks!!

Another great update Karen!!! Amazing pictures!!! I love all the pictures you took in Minnie's House, there are some really cool ones, things that I never noticed before. I really love the one of that package that says from Peter Pan, very cool. It amazes me how much they put into the decoration of those houses, and to think Toontown won't be there anymore, that is kind of sad. Oh well. Your Birthday celebration at CRT sounds awesome, love your photos from there, I ate there once and totally loved it, it is so beautiful in there. Can't wait to read and see more of your trip. Great job girl!!! Thanks for being the bright spot in my days with your trips.

Thank you! It's funny how much detail they put into Mickey and Minnie's house!! You can almost finds something new every time you go inside! Too bad they are tearing them down! :0( Thanks again!!

Besides the incident outside during Wishes, how would you rate the California Grill? I've always wanted to eat there but with it being so expensive, I haven't yet. TIA!

Cali Grill was great! No problems! We enjoyed the food a lot! I wouldn't have eaten there without the DP though!

CRT is a excellent place to celebrate your birthday! Thats where dh proposed to me. Loved it! We're going to be in disney for my birthday in dec. I'm not sure of breakfast or lunch, but I know we are eating at Cali Grill for dinner with our friends and their daughters who are also going to be there at the same time as us. Actually met here on the dis. We met up with them last trip. Very fun! I love all your pictures...can't wait to hear about LTT b/c we are thinking about eating there. I'm on the fence right now. So I need to hear some reviews.

I remember your story about him proposing there! How cool! Your dinner at Cali Grill sounds like it will be fun!! LTT is good too...I prefer dinner over lunch there! :0) Thank you!

 

[kmab00]

Thursday, September 17, 2009 - Karen's Birthday Celebration Continued!

We left MK and jumped on the monorail for Epcot. We wanted to get as much of WS done as possible!

First we started off in Mexico this time.

We walked on the boat ride since Jason wanted to see Donald...lol

And of course, I found my ensemble in Mexico!

So we left Mexico and continued on our journey to Norway!

The roof made of grass!

A Stave Church

We saw this ultimate pin guy in one of the stores! Talk about a collector!!!

A hidden mickey in the line for the Norway boat ride

I couldn't tell if this is a real hidden mickey or not!

I'm a Viking! We stayed and watched the little Norway video after the boat ride, also!

Next was China!

Look who we found at the front entrance! Mulan!

I couldn't put it on but this is the best I could find!

I had never seen any of this before! Why haven't I visited WS sooner?!

Everything is so detailed! I took this while waiting to watch the video on China

While walking over to Germany, we saw this in the water!

Holy cow!!!!!

Obligational Germany picture

Why is this hat like a soda can top? Or is it a beer top? I'm confused but I wore it for a picture anyway!! lol It was the only hat I could find!

Trainset outside of Germany

After touring Germany, I noticed it was getting close to our ADR time so we walked to the Monorail and it was back to the MK we went!

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[kmab00]

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I love this!

We got inside MK and went straight for LTT for our Dinner ADR's.

YAY!

Me with a giant bowl of Mac and Cheese! I did end up sharing! lol

Jason loves this food!

Clapping along to the birthday song!

After we finished eating, we had no idea what else to do. We had already done everything in the MK that we wanted to do. So we started walking towards Main Street.

We knew we wanted to see Spectro and Wishes that night so we were just going to sit on a bench and wait but the crowds were already lining the streets for the parade! We still had 2 hours before it started! So, instead of sitting on a bench, we grabbed a spot right in front of the castle!

We waited..............

.............and waited............. (getting darker)

..................and waited some more............ (at least it's dark now!)

Then finally, the parade started! Yay!!!

On this magic night,

A million stars will play beside us,

Cast a spell of light,

Glimmering, shimmering, carouselling

'Round the world tonight,

A symphony in SpectroMagic.

Pure enchantment lights our way!

After Spectro, we walked back a little to be able to see Wishes better!

I didn't get very many good pictures of Wishes. I'm not sure what was going on if it was my camera or what. I just got a few...

Another magical ending to another magical day!

up next: Hollywood Studios!

 

[PopArtGal]

Sounds like a magical day. You did a lot in one day!

 

[cdotla]

Great updates Karen!!!

I love your verse-by-verse playback of Spectro. I think you did that for Wishes too on another TR, didn't you? I love that. Takes you right back to the Parks!

Great shots of Spectro and the fireworks!

 

[praisehisname]

[/IMG]

I can't decide which one looks yummier!

Denise

 

[praisehisname]

What a great view!

Yum! California Grill is on my must-do list!

Denise

 

[praisehisname]

That looks really good!

What is on the bottom? Is it a crust?

Denise