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

[Spartangirl]

Wow, Karen.....it looks like you had a blast at the race.....you look so happy!

That parade looks so good...........I'd love to make it out for Halloween one year! Not possible with my teaching job at this point in time.........maybe someday!

Your shirts are so cute! Love that you all were matching! So fun!

Can't wait for your next update.......I LOVE Kona Cafe'!!! So GOOD!

 

[cdotla]

Sounds like a great time at the MNSSHP! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that event!!!

Congrats on the Half Marathon!!! Way to go! I can't wait to hear all about that trip too!!!

 

[praisehisname]

Garden Grill looks good! I'll have to put this on my list of places to try!

MNSSHP looks really fun!

 

[Jennifer48]

I've only been to the Garden Grill once like 5 yrs ago when they did the ice cream party. Does it still rotate around? That lunch looked yummy!

Fabulous HalloWishes pics! Did you use a tripod? They are great!

Congrats on doing the race!! You should be proud of yourself even if your time was that slow, you did it!

 

[LastLookAtTheCastle]

Loving your report - we were there at the same time! We arrived on Wednesday the 16th, and left on the 21st!

The Halloween party beats all. Best time ever to visit (and we're doing it again this year!)

 

[kmab00]

It looks FREEZING!!! Good for you!!! You look very happy.

It was SO COLD but I had so much fun!!! Thanks!

That dessert at Garden Grill looks awesome!

It was very good thanks! :0)

MNSCHP Looks so awesome! I wish I could go. But being a teacher, I can't get away from work during that time of the year.

That's understandable. Maybe you'll get to see it one year!

Congrats once again on the half!!

Thanks so much!

Wow - congrats Karen! Love the look of triumph on your face! I remember how cold it was in Dec. 2008 when we went to MVMCP, just freezing!!! and we were NOT well prepared! Such a bummer to be in WDW with such cold (or monsoon like May 2009)!!!

We LOVE Garden Grill too, but so far don't have it in our plans for May - we are only planning 5 days in the parks, 2 with my parents who want to do Biergarten when in Epcot, and so we weren't sure we would have a 2nd day in Epcot (we aren't getting park hoppers) so we made an ADR at Chef Mickey's instead. However, one look at that dessert (it is different than last time we ate there) and I am seriously questioning our plan!

Great pictures - the Halloween parade looks really cute! Love your shirts too!

I embarked on my DLR report (hoping to crank it out fairly quickly), see below if you want to stop by

Thanks!! I know what you mean...when it's so cold and you aren't prepared for it! Oh well.... Chef Mickeys is good too! You guys will enjoy that! :0) thanks so much!! I'm so loving your DLR TR!!! Yay!!!

Wow, Karen.....it looks like you had a blast at the race.....you look so happy!

That parade looks so good...........I'd love to make it out for Halloween one year! Not possible with my teaching job at this point in time.........maybe someday!

Your shirts are so cute! Love that you all were matching! So fun!

Can't wait for your next update.......I LOVE Kona Cafe'!!! So GOOD!

Thanks so much!!! The parade was awesome! I understand...maybe one day!! My dad and Jason didn't like matching so much! But that's ok! It was only one time!! Hehe!

Sounds like a great time at the MNSSHP! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that event!!!

Congrats on the Half Marathon!!! Way to go! I can't wait to hear all about that trip too!!!

Thanks it was a LOT of fun!!! The next trip report will start when this one is finished! Almost there!!! lol

Garden Grill looks good! I'll have to put this on my list of places to try!

MNSSHP looks really fun!

Oh yes you really need to try Garden Grill! It's really good and the characters are fun!!! :0)

I've only been to the Garden Grill once like 5 yrs ago when they did the ice cream party. Does it still rotate around? That lunch looked yummy!

Fabulous HalloWishes pics! Did you use a tripod? They are great!

Congrats on doing the race!! You should be proud of yourself even if your time was that slow, you did it!

Yes the GG still rotates around! FUN! No tripod...I just held the camera really still! Thanks!!!!!

Loving your report - we were there at the same time! We arrived on Wednesday the 16th, and left on the 21st!

The Halloween party beats all. Best time ever to visit (and we're doing it again this year!)

Aww cool! look for yourself in our pictures! lol Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

[kmab00]

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Even though the night before was MNSSHP and it was a LATE night, I knew I had to get up and run. I figured I could try to see what I could get in as far as a run went. I also knew we had a really early morning and it would still be dark outside so I wanted to run in the gym.

You do not even know how long it took me to find this dang gym! It was there right in front of my face the whole time too! Ugh.

I thought the entrance was outside...well, that's what it looks like, right? No!

I had to go INSIDE the villas to get to the entrance. Funny thing is, I passed the real entrance on my way to the outside to get to what I thought was the entrance. When I finally found what I was looking for, I was so frustrated cause it really took a good 15 minutes for me to find it!

HELLO Karen! It could have hit me right in the face and I wouldn't have even noticed it! lol

The villas were so neat!!!

Anyway, after all that fiasco, of course my time to run was shorter so I only got in like 2 miles but that's ok it's better than nothing!

Originally that morning, we had ADR's at WCC for breakfast. Well, my dad's friend told him about these macadamian nut pancakes from somewhere and how amazing they were so we changed our ADR's to Kona Cafe ... lol I also wanted to try out the Tonga Toast!

What I didn't figure in is that we'd have to wake up really early, take the boat to the Contemporary, then take the monorail to the Poly! Our ADR was for SEVEN TWENTY! We must be insane! lol

This is our "We're up early and we aren't happy about it" faces! Haha!

Sunrise over Bay Lake

We made it in plenty of time to Kona

They were NOT busy at all!

TONGA TOAST!

Tonga Toast opened. This stuff was SO GOOD!

After eating, we walked around the Poly and I saw this! I remembered when we were there in January, I made a comment about how we'd be on the Magic in just a few months...now it's come and gone....*sigh*

After exploring a little, we got on a bus for the Animal Kingdom!

Hehe we rode Everst first! I was screaming my head off! Haha

I thought this was a neat picture of part of the tree!

Honorary Bugs! Hehe

We also rode Dinosaur!

Jason's so silly! I'm not too sure what he's doing here. I asked him and he doesn't remember! Haha

We also walked over to Camp Minnie Mickey for the Lion King!

.........................CONT.....................

 

[kmab00]

..................CONT......................

I love this show!

We had lunch reservations at Tusker House. I hadn't been there since our Honeymoon when it was still a CS restaurant so we were curious to see how it had changed!

lol

This is the big open buffet area! They have all kinds of neat things...I found some of their choices similiar to what is at Boma.

It was really good and I'd definitely eat there again!

After eating, we used our fast passes for Kilimanjaro Safaris.

This guy stopped in the middle of the road and caused us to be stopped for a good 10 minutes! It was crazy!!

We didn't spend too much more time in AK because we had ADR's that night for CG!

First we went back to WL to change.

My mom had this in her room! lol We had been leaving tips but weren't getting an towel animals so finally my mom had one!

All of our MNSSHP candy!

Up next: California Grill Dinner!

 

[cdotla]

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!

 

[Girldreamer02]

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!

 

[Queenofallthings]

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

 

[PopArtGal]

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.

 

[luvayorkie]

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.

 

[MeLaNie9]

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!

 

[heatherlynn444]

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!

 

[Smile4Me]

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!

 

[PrncessA]

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.

 

[Jennifer48]

That pic of your morning faces is hysterical!

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

 

[jnjusoioa]

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.

 

[JLR]

I am looking forward to the rest!