~A XMAS STORY~decorations, crowds, pixies..AND A BLOODY NOSE~ACTUAL UPDATE 11/9 p190

[MagicShell]

I hope you have a great trip to the beach, and I am glad to hear things are going to slow down a little for you.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Hope you are having a great time in Savannah -- Charles and I just got back from our Food and Wine jaunt this afternoon. Off to watch the Bear Grylls video!

 

[TinksThree]

Since you are getting close to finishing this report, I wanted to take a step out of lurkdom and tell you how much I have enjoyed all of your trip reports! I actually feel more like a stalker since I have been following all of your adventures for over a year now without revealing myself and yet I feel I know you so well! LOL I used many of your ideas for our trip this past March…so thanks!! (Including the flat people) My husband is as anti-Disney as I am a Disney fanatic (I get a lot of eye rolling from him!) and he absolutely refuses to go to Disney World. My kids loved the idea of “forcing” him into enjoying the trip by taking him along as a flat person! He smiled the entire time! So, thanks for a fun ride and hopefully you will be able to do a pre-trip report for next December if you aren’t too busy with the future baby!!

 

[punkin413]

Have a great trip Dawn. I have always wanted to go to Savannah.

thanks! you should go someday - it's so haunting and romantic!

rock city looked so cool! I have not ever spent time down south..i think if I get to I will definitely need to stop by there some day..fun stuff! LOVED the Bear Grylls impersonations

thanks! it's pretty cool stuff.

Have a wonderful time.

thanks!

Have fun!!!!!!!!!!!!

thank you!

I hope you have a great trip to the beach, and I am glad to hear things are going to slow down a little for you.

thanks. i hope so!

Hope you are having a great time in Savannah -- Charles and I just got back from our Food and Wine jaunt this afternoon. Off to watch the Bear Grylls video!

thanks! wait - did you guys go to the food & wine festival at epcot? i'm out of the loop!!! fill me in!

Since you are getting close to finishing this report, I wanted to take a step out of lurkdom and tell you how much I have enjoyed all of your trip reports! I actually feel more like a stalker since I have been following all of your adventures for over a year now without revealing myself and yet I feel I know you so well! LOL I used many of your ideas for our trip this past March…so thanks!! (Including the flat people) My husband is as anti-Disney as I am a Disney fanatic (I get a lot of eye rolling from him!) and he absolutely refuses to go to Disney World. My kids loved the idea of “forcing” him into enjoying the trip by taking him along as a flat person! He smiled the entire time! So, thanks for a fun ride and hopefully you will be able to do a pre-trip report for next December if you aren’t too busy with the future baby!!

thanks so much for saying hello! i'm glad you're reading along. and how funny about taking your flat hubby! i hope you're right about the future baby. i've got my fingers, toes, eyes, hairs and anything else i can think of crossed for some good luck soon!

 

[punkin413]

well, i had an update about halfway done and then my computer gave me a "runtime error" and closed out all my internet windows. so my update was gone! i've got court early tomorrow so i'm not starting over tonight. sorry, guys! technology rocks.

 

[Charleston Princess]

thanks! wait - did you guys go to the food & wine festival at epcot? i'm out of the loop!!! fill me in!

We did -- we went Thursday through Sunday -- just Charles and me. The new TR link is in my signature -- head over when you get a chance! We had a lot of fun.

Sorry to hear about your update loss -- that stinks.

 

[jordanyosh]

no hurry.....

 

[OhMari]

Darn, I'm always late.
I wish I would of seen your post sooner.
I would of paid you to pick me up a Savannah Calendar and paid for your time, energy, postage, price of the calendar, etc.
Can you believe Savannah trumps Disney in my house for a calendar?
Savannah is my favorite place. Did you do a ghost tour? Did you hear how many people go to Savannah Halloween weekend? Someone told me over 3 million visitors come in that weekend, that is insane.

 

[punkin413]

okay, let's try this one more time!

by the way, for those of you wondering, the defendant in that child molestation case was convicted by the jury and the judge sentenced him to 50 years. i usually try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt but this guy needed to be put away. i was very relieved to get that verdict.

we actually got back from savannah/tybee island on monday but yesterday was the first time i got time to sit down and update. and as you know, i lost most of it!

before i get to our little trip, i thought i'd share what i did tuesday afternoon. disney is releasing "a christmas carol" next month and they are doing a train tour across america - and it's free! on tuesday the train was in duluth, a town just north of atlanta and about 30 minutes south of me. i had a hearing at 1:00 that afternoon so i didn't think i'd get to go. well, luke is on fall break this week and anna was taking him. she texted me around 1:55 and said they just got there and that the wait to get on the train was 90 minutes. i told her we were almost done with our hearing and if i drove down there, could i get in line with her? she said no problem, so score for me! i ran home after the hearing to get my camera and got there around 3:15. anna and luke were at the front of the line when i got there.

here's the train....

luke excited about getting on the train!

the thing to the right of luke was pumping snow...fun!

about 10 minutes after i got there it was our turn!

scrooge says hello as you enter the train....

the line i didn't have to wait in....THANK YOU ANNA AND LUKE!!!

most of these pictures were taken without flash per their rules. so some of them may be blurry.

the first car we entered had portraits of the characters with some of their wardrobes from the movie.

this is jim carrey as ebenezer scrooge and his PJs.....

a younger scrooge. it's really cool how they used the same actors to play each character through time.

a teenage scrooge. check out the zits!

colin firth as fred, scrooge's nephew....

robin wright penn plays belle, scrooge's love interest. this doesn't even look like her to me!

gary oldman is bob cratchit. this doesn't look like him, either!

they created tiny tim from gary oldman, too.....

before i post the next picture, i have to explain. they let people on the train in groups. from what i could see, they'd let a group of people on and would wait until that group was through the first car of the train before they'd let the next group on. we were the last 3 people in our group. well, when we got through the first car and were waiting to enter into the next car, suddenly the people that were first in the group after us appeared right behind us. they must have RAN through the first car and not looked at anything because they were right there immediately. THEN when we get into the next car they start kind of going beside and eventually around us. i don't know what they were doing! the woman looked at me at one point and i said, "no, go right ahead. you're obviously in a hurry." what purpose did that serve???? now they were right in front of us. i have no clue what their issue was. but of course i took a picture of them.

the next car was filled with pictures of illustrations from the movie and they were really beautiful!

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[punkin413]

the next car had lots of models from the movie. here's luke checking out the marquettes of scrooge and cratchit.

more models.....

scrooge in his office.....

the next area showed how they tracked the actors' movements for the movie....

me and anna saying hi!

this is the suit the actors wear so they can track their movements....

all those little black dots on gary oldman's face track his facial expressions. pretty cool!

the next area had interactive quizzes and games and face morphs....

luke doing one of the quizzes....

here's luke doing the face morph thing. the girl that worked there had to hold his face up to the camera to get it placed correctly.

look at his eyes!

luke as belle.....

anna doing the face morph....

anna as scrooge....

me being morphed....

me as tiny tim....i look like a bug!

the last area was just a little room with a fake fireplace that was warm when you walked past it....

here's luke "warming" his hands....

then this was at the end of the room. it smelled like real food....mostly of cinnamon!

a note from scrooge....

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[punkin413]

as we got off the train they gave us some craft things to make christmas ornaments out of. they were cute!

here's anna and luke with a lady that was walking around in themed clothing....

me and luke in front of the train....

look at that line!

after that we checked out some of the trains in the area....

me and anna were trying to get luke to pose here and he was saying, "this is lame!!!"

we then saw santa.....

after he was finished talking to this little boy anna asked if she could get a picture of him and luke. luke didn't want to so i volunteered, thinking that would make luke do it, too. well, as i walked over to santa, he grabbed my hand and started walking away with me.

apparently he just wanted to get in front of the movie poster....

then he told me to kiss him on the cheek. um.....yeah. i don't think so. no offense to santa, but i don't know where he's been! so this is what i did....

after that fiasco we decided to go watch the 3D movie they had going in this big blow-up looking thing. when i first saw it i thought it was one of those bouncy things for kids. but it was actually a movie theater. this was the only picture i got of it so you can't really see the full thing.

we got inside and got our 3D glasses.....SUPER COOL!

the movie was REALLY cool! there were interviews with some of the actors and they showed a few scenes, all of which looked really awesome. i can't wait to see it! it's gonna be great, so go see it for sure!

i will try to get started on our little savannah mini trip and then finish this sucker up soon! oh, and i'm going to disney on ice with heather next weekend, so i will have pictures from that too!

now....to go catch up on all your TRs! i will be there soon!!!!

 

[Charleston Princess]

That line is INSANE! I had thought about going, but ended up having a bridal shower for a work colleague that afternoon. I never would have been patient enough to stand in line, but everything about the movie looks super cool! I actually teach A Christmas Carol in the seventh grade, so that will be a nice tie-in to it!

 

[MeMom]

Very cool pictures, Dawn! Looks like a fun time. I wish it had come close to us.

I'm so glad you are going to Disney on Ice next weekend, too! Between the train, DoI, Mary Poppins, The Princess and the Frog, etc., I think you're going to make it through your no-trip year okay.

I actually teach A Christmas Carol in the seventh grade, so that will be a nice tie-in to it!

Field trip!

 

[LISAMWDW]

Great tour! Whew! Thank goodness you didn't have to wait in that line! Thanks to Anna!

Thanks for sharing! I can't wait to see the movie!

 

[LISAMWDW]

Dupe

 

[MagicShell]

Dawn,

Thanks for sharing your pictures from the train. It sounds like a great movie.

 

[tinkgurl]

The Train Tour looks so cool Dawn! It was actually in St.Louis while we were there, but we didn't have time to do it. I wish we would've! But, thanks for the pictures so now I got to see what I missed!

 

[glennbo123]

before i post the next picture, i have to explain. they let people on the train in groups. from what i could see, they'd let a group of people on and would wait until that group was through the first car of the train before they'd let the next group on. we were the last 3 people in our group. well, when we got through the first car and were waiting to enter into the next car, suddenly the people that were first in the group after us appeared right behind us. they must have RAN through the first car and not looked at anything because they were right there immediately. THEN when we get into the next car they start kind of going beside and eventually around us. i don't know what they were doing! the woman looked at me at one point and i said, "no, go right ahead. you're obviously in a hurry." what purpose did that serve???? now they were right in front of us. i have no clue what their issue was. but of course i took a picture of them.

People like this are all over. It doesn't make any sense. This is what you waited in line for, people. This is IT!

Oh, and what a creepy Santa.

 

[punkin413]

We did -- we went Thursday through Sunday -- just Charles and me. The new TR link is in my signature -- head over when you get a chance! We had a lot of fun.

Sorry to hear about your update loss -- that stinks.

very cool! i will definitely check it out. as you know, i'm totally behind on everything but will catch up soon.

no hurry.....

yeah, frustrating!!!

Darn, I'm always late.
I wish I would of seen your post sooner.
I would of paid you to pick me up a Savannah Calendar and paid for your time, energy, postage, price of the calendar, etc.
Can you believe Savannah trumps Disney in my house for a calendar?
Savannah is my favorite place. Did you do a ghost tour? Did you hear how many people go to Savannah Halloween weekend? Someone told me over 3 million visitors come in that weekend, that is insane.

oh, i would've totally hooked you up! wow....i love savannah but i have to say disney is better in my book. yes, we did a ghost tour. we've been to savannah many times but had never done one. we did a walking tour. it was cool but i don't know if i'd do it again. that's crazy about halloween weekend!!!! almost as bad as st. patrick's day.

That line is INSANE! I had thought about going, but ended up having a bridal shower for a work colleague that afternoon. I never would have been patient enough to stand in line, but everything about the movie looks super cool! I actually teach A Christmas Carol in the seventh grade, so that will be a nice tie-in to it!

i know! the movie is gonna be great - i can't wait to see it! very cool that you teach it - your kids will be excited about it this year!

Very cool pictures, Dawn! Looks like a fun time. I wish it had come close to us.

I'm so glad you are going to Disney on Ice next weekend, too! Between the train, DoI, Mary Poppins, The Princess and the Frog, etc., I think you're going to make it through your no-trip year okay.

thanks! i know - i can't believe it came nowhere near nashville. my friend melanie asked if it did because maddox, her 3yo DS, loves trains. i think you're right about the trip - i will be okay! but if i don't get preggo soon ray and i will have to rearrange our trip plans!!! i figure my deadline for having a baby and still going to disney in december is early september. after that, i think it would be too soon. and i don't want to go 6-plus months pregnant. so basically my blackout dates for disney in december are if i get pregnant from december through june. that's not to say that we can't rearrange things and go another time. i'd really love to go during F&W festival. we will see what happens!

Great tour! Whew! Thank goodness you didn't have to wait in that line! Thanks to Anna!

Thanks for sharing! I can't wait to see the movie!

i know - i was so grateful that she let me play cutzies with her! the movie is gonna be awesome!

Dawn,

Thanks for sharing your pictures from the train. It sounds like a great movie.

you're welcome! it's gonna be really cool.

The Train Tour looks so cool Dawn! It was actually in St.Louis while we were there, but we didn't have time to do it. I wish we would've! But, thanks for the pictures so now I got to see what I missed!

you're welcome! bummer that you couldn't do it. but the movie is gonna be great - i'm sure you'll love it!

People like this are all over. It doesn't make any sense. This is what you waited in line for, people. This is IT!

Oh, and what a creepy Santa.

seriously! i didn't understand what they were doing, but whatever! and yes, that guy was kinda creepy!

 

[punkin413]

so i will start on our little jaunt to savannah and tybee island and hopefully get through the first half of our first day.

we left thursday around 3:30 and stopped on the way down for dinner at chick-fil-a somewhere around macon. i think we got to the house around 8:30, so we made decent time. it usually takes a little over 4 hours.

we had gotten a beach house 2 blocks from the beach on tybee island for $400 for 4 nights - pretty good deal! that included pet and cleaning fees, everything!

i actually took these the next morning, but here's our little beach house, the banana cabana.....

we didn't have the entire house - we only had a 1-bedroom, 1 bath area, which is all we needed. here's our little area.....

it was basically like a basement apartment. i didn't really like the decor but it was cute. sufficient for what we needed.

we actually pushed these beds together and made one huge bed for all 4 of us (me, ray and the dogs)....

this was my favorite part of the house....

they had little sayings on the walls everywhere that i thought were cute....

i set my alarm for 7:30 the next morning so that i could get up and go to paula deen's restaurant, the lady and sons, to get a reservation for that night. i let ray sleep in. the way it works, she doesn't take reservations for small parties. so the hostess stand opens at 9:30 and you go then to tell them what time you''re coming back and they tell you what they have open and that way you don't have to wait a long time when you come back - you have sort of a reserved time. it's a 20-minute drive from tybee island to downtown savannah, so i left around 8:30.

i couldn't resist going by the beach on the way. we hadn't seen it the night before because it was dark, so instead of taking a left to head out to savannah i took a right and just parked near the beach and walked down to where the sand started. it was so pretty that morning!

i got to savannah and found a parking place right on congress street, where the restaurant is. although i had to SQUEEZE in on the street. my parallel parking skills came in handy!

here's the line at around 9:10 that friday morning.....

here's the emblem on the window of her store....

they opened the hostess stand around 9:15 so i was glad i came early. i got us a reservation for 6:00 that night.

i took this of the restaurant as i was walking away.....

for those of you who have been to savannah, you know what i'm talking about when i say how haunting and majestic the spanish moss makes everything there look. i just LOVE it! these were taken going down victory drive, the road that eventually leads to the marshes and tybee island. i love this road!

here's one of the marshes as you get closer to the ocean....

i got back to the house around 10:00 and ray was up. while he was getting ready to head to the beach, i went out and relaxed in the hammock. here's the boys enjoying their temporary back yard....

eli found a seashell. i don't know why, but he was amazed with it and kept trying to eat it.

continued in next post: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33905632&postcount=2681