Adventures of a DisneyWORLDholic! Updated1/24 I was an unofficial WDW tour guide.

[carissanboys]

Hey girl! Been wondering about you, miss seeing you on FB. I've been making myself not get on it as much as I use to. Also, I may send you a PM about your house purchase experience.

You can email me if you'd rather. PMing you my address.

 

[TinksThree]

Okay...been feeling REALLY REALLY REALLY guilty that I haven't done anything about our BFF trip...and now I see you haven't had much time for trip-reporting, either!

However, I'm thinking I might start it soon...how's your free time?

Glad to "hear" from you....I was thinking about you the other day!

You will be there the day after we leave! But SWW should be fun!! Good luck on the house hunting! Can't wait to hear more on your adventures but totally understand!!

 

[jmskinner]

You can email me if you'd rather. PMing you my address.

Thanks for the help with home purchase info. As you know, we followed your lead.

Glad to "hear" from you....I was thinking about you the other day!

You will be there the day after we leave! But SWW should be fun!! Good luck on the house hunting! Can't wait to hear more on your adventures but totally understand!!

Ok, househunting is done. Hopefully everything works out. Now on to my TR. Really, I'm going to post an update!

Real quick though, Vickie started the "girls only" TR and here is the link to it Two moms get away to act like teenagers...or do they?

 

[jmskinner]

I'm back and ready to work on this TR. Thanks go out to everyone that has stuck around and waited for me. Such patient people. It has been so long I had to go back to see where I stopped and what chapter I was on, even had to remind myself the name of this portion. I'm not getting old at all.


So Jonas and I had our snacks, tour was still on, even after the rain the previous day. So, what tour would be effected by rain the previous day, must be something outside and not on concrete. It's the Wilderness Trail Segway Tour of course.

Our car was parked at the Polynesian and since we had a lunch ADR at Sanaa right after the tour, we figured we better get it. So off to the monorail. I stop to take this photo



I just couldn't believe all the birds. Jonas is yelling at me to hurry up, so I turn and start jogging towards the monorail. We are only about 15 feet from it, and I could tell the driver was going to wait for us, but a CM walking down the ramp hollered at him to go on. I think that is the only time I have been really mad at a CM. I couldn't believe it. So we sit and watch the time fly by, stressing that we are going to miss our tour.

Finally another monorail comes around and we are off. We get to the Polynesian, run to our car and drive over to the Wilderness Campground. Luckily we knew exactly where it was, but didn't know where to go for the tour. They told us to park and catch a bus. As we walk up to the bus stop, we see a bus leave. Jonas states "that had better not be our bus." I look at the map and realize it was. So we stand there for a few minutes, looking at the map. We notice that the place for the tour really isn't that far, maybe a mile. So off we go. Walking really fast on my feet that I was just told the week previously not to walk on. At one point the trail goes behind the trees and I started jogging. I think Jonas was so shocked I was actually jogging, he stopped in his tracks.

We finally made it to the building, and class had begun. There was an older lady standing there, so got her attention and she told us she wasn't a CM, was only there watching. She got a CM though and we begged to be able to join. They got us signed up, well got us to sign all liability away. And we joined the class, just in time to grab our helmets and they offered us a bottle of water. "Hey, they didn't offer us water at Epcot!" We both gladly accepted it since we were about to die from our walk/jog over.

And here are the Segways for the trail ride.



That's the pour CM putting back the two Segway's for us to use since we showed up.

I believe there were 6 people on the tour with us, and two tour guides. Everyone except for one older gentleman had ridden before, so our training session wasn't as long. The older gentleman was really nervous and the Segway could read that and vibrated along with his shaking. It was really wild to watch, but he finally got it.

These tour guides had come up with a little trick, if you were going to bump someone, you could put your hand out to touch their back, which would cause their Segway to move forward. Such a simple way to avoid a hard collision...and it did work.

We were off. Three of the people on the tour had used Segways at large conventions they worked. I want their job!

Of course Jonas took off ahead of everyone, except for the tour guide at times. I had to keep reminding him that this wasn't the Mustang. The guides took us back in the wilderness, even off the trail to run over some bumps and tree roots sticking out of the ground. I really want one of those things. I priced them by the way, $5000 for a used one.

We stopped for picture taking and a drink of water.





This gives you a good idea of where we were at, that's Space Mountain and BLT behind us.

The tour guides had a trivia contest at each stop. Supposedly we would win a prize. Jonas and I did very well, I was surprised he did. And when we got off the Segways, we would let them drive themselves into little ditches and they would stay up. Those things are so .

Eventually we made it over to the horse stables and HDDR. An area I had never been before and it was really cool. We were able to see a lot of the horses used in the parks.











And, do you know what this horses job is:




It was funny how everyone was so excited to be so close to these famous horses. And I didn't realize it was Shetland's that pulled Cinderella.

And the stables are beautiful




We made it over to WL at some point and were shown another MH. I couldn't get to my camera though. Then back to our starting point. They told us the prize for the trivia contest was our own Segways and we would all get one.

Turns out it was this:


I'm not complaining, I'll take a pin anytime.

Probably at my pic limit, so I will continue in the next post.

 

[jmskinner]

We caught a bus back to our car, we weren't going to walk this time. Campgrounds are really nice. From there we headed over to AKKV for our last meal. Worried we were too late, but they seated us in a great spot:



We enjoyed looking at all of the animals and there were only a few others in the restaurant, so it was quiet.




I had the tomato soup for my appetizer and Jonas order some of the bread:


I can't remember what our main course was, but it was all good and we had finally reached our limit on food:


We had a good laugh at the cattle (I can't remember what those things are called) giving the bird a lot of room:


Seriously, that bird laid down in the middle of the safari and didn't move, and that other animal didn't go near it.









I guess I forgot to take pics of dessert. Can't remember what we had, but it was good. Also, remember I said we were full, we decided to share dessert. The CM kept saying it was included, but we didn't want to waste. All the food was delicious.

And one more note about Sanaa. When eating here, watching the animals, you get to so what comes naturally for the animals. Some people may not appreciate that while eating.

Decided to take potty breaks before hitting the road home, and I decided to take some pics, since I was the only one there. Not of me going potty, but the bathroom.

Waiting area outside the restaurant:




Isn't it pretty?

I thought I would grab a quick shot of this DVC member area, and just as I snapped the picture, this CM came around the corner:


We both jumped and had a laugh.



And just some random pics:






And that is it, our little anniversary trip. What in the world took me so long to finish this? Isn't that what you always think when you finish something you have procratinated on.

So, would we recommend the Premium plan. It was nice to try and would only do it as adults. I think for those that don't like the thrill rides, this is a great way to see the parks, especially if you like food. I think we would do the one night Premium, which still give you 3 TS meals and all the tours you can do in two days. Not sure if it saved us money, but we did a lot we wouldn't normally do if we paid for each separately. One big payment is easier for us, than $100-200 here and there.

Thanks for joining everyone and I have some day trips to report on and will include some other things we have done in the area. And we will have one last trip before the move. We will be there for the Lord of the Rings Tournament, which was how I started this TR, so I think it will make for a good ending.

 

[ScotsMinnie]

Trip sounds out of this world!
Can;'t wait to read more.

We are in the planning stages for our trip next summer. Can't wait!!!!

 

[jmskinner]

Trip sounds out of this world!
Can;'t wait to read more.

We are in the planning stages for our trip next summer. Can't wait!!!!

We really did get spoiled on that trip. Thank you for still hanging on with me.

Oh, I wish we were still going to be in Florida, would love to meet you. My other friends from Scotland and planning to be here too next Summer. What are your dates? We are hoping to be there in August 2012 for the Star Wars Convention Aug 24.

 

[Minnie&Nana]

I read, but don't comment, so I'm still here too.

Is August 2012 your next trip after the July trip this summer?

I'll miss these ongoing Disney updates!

 

[SimmerBaggins]

After looking at that food from Sanaa, it just reinforced it for me -- WDW has really broadened your scope for food! When we were in high school, you were not what I would call an adventuresome eater!!

Robert really wants to go on that Segway tour -- I'd love to see those stables, and so would he. The Shetland was SO CUTE!!!

I like your overall assessment -- and it is easier to pay one time than to continually hand over the credit card...even though it might hurt that one time, at least you'd get over it by the time you were done with everything!

 

[TinksThree]

I think Keith would really like the Premium Plan. These are the things he enjoys when we go...food and no rides! I may need to plan an "adult" trip for him!

I wish they had a place you could continue your adventures in Virginia/DC!! It has been fun following along and I look forward to hearing about the little trips before your big move!

Ironically, Virginia and possibly DC is where my family has said vacation will be next year. I promise I am not stalking you!

 

[ScotsMinnie]

We are planning to go from 2nd July to the 18th July. Would have been lovely to see you.

Will really miss your little updates when you move.

 

[jmskinner]

I read, but don't comment, so I'm still here too.

Is August 2012 your next trip after the July trip this summer?

I'll miss these ongoing Disney updates!

Yes, the '12 trip is the next trip and probably the last for a long time. If we get to do it. Just depends if I have enough money to give Mickey some.

Glad to see you are still out here.

After looking at that food from Sanaa, it just reinforced it for me -- WDW has really broadened your scope for food! When we were in high school, you were not what I would call an adventuresome eater!!

Robert really wants to go on that Segway tour -- I'd love to see those stables, and so would he. The Shetland was SO CUTE!!!

I like your overall assessment -- and it is easier to pay one time than to continually hand over the credit card...even though it might hurt that one time, at least you'd get over it by the time you were done with everything!

The last couple of years I have really been trying more food. I still eat my Swiss Rolls, or how did I say it Swiss Row.

Three more years and Jordan can ride the Segways too. Maybe a Sweet 16 trip?

I think Keith would really like the Premium Plan. These are the things he enjoys when we go...food and no rides! I may need to plan an "adult" trip for him!

I wish they had a place you could continue your adventures in Virginia/DC!! It has been fun following along and I look forward to hearing about the little trips before your big move!

Ironically, Virginia and possibly DC is where my family has said vacation will be next year. I promise I am not stalking you!

Yes, you must plan an adults only trip. So many tours we didn't do, and stuff there at Bay Lake with the Sammy Duvall's Water Sports. Does he like fishing?

Stope stalking me! I'm really excited about moving back to the DC area. Everyone always assumes we hated it, but there was so much to do and the area is really beautiful.

Hmm, maybe I should start a TR of VA adventures.

We are planning to go from 2nd July to the 18th July. Would have been lovely to see you.

Will really miss your little updates when you move.

I'm so sorry I won't get to meet you. Hope you do a TR so I can read about your adventures. I remember you went to Clearwater on one trip. Siesta Key down in Sarasota was named the #1 beach in America this year, and it wouldn't be that much further than Clearwater for you, if you decide to make another beach trip.

 

[ScotsMinnie]

Siesta Key sounds lovely. Nice to try somewhere new. Will note it down.

I am sure I will start another PTR and TR but thinking 1 year out is a little early!

 

[jmskinner]

Siesta Key sounds lovely. Nice to try somewhere new. Will note it down.

I am sure I will start another PTR and TR but thinking 1 year out is a little early!

I understand. I'll have to keep an eye out for it. Or at the rate I am going, I will still be working on this one.

 

[jmskinner]

In case you don't remember, Jonas' first love is his Mustang. In 2010 we attended the Mustang and Ford show at Silver Springs park, and even though that year we had a little snow and ice and temps never above 40, we said we would come back. So in February 2011 we went back, and thankfully weather was better.

So Silver Springs, Natures Theme Park, is close to Ocala, FL, which is a beautiful portion of FL. It is known as horse country. Funny I like that area and our new home will be in horse country of VA. Oh and wine country.

Back to Silver Springs. We headed up Friday night, stayed at the same hotel as the previous year, Holiday Inn, which is just a block away from the park. It was really odd because the hotel called that morning to see if we were still coming. Guess they had people looking for rooms.

I got all excited when we arrived because there were Mustangs all over the parking lot. Jonas drives the Stang and I follow in the truck because we can leave the Stang in the park Saturday night.

So the next morning, Jonas got dressed and headed over to get his car in, while Jacob and I got dressed. It sure was hard to get dressed because I kept looking out the window to see all the cars drive by.

But we finally made it to the park by walking.



Jonas met us with our passes (another benefit of doing the show, if includes 2 free passes to the park).


Fountain right before the gate


Inside the park, can't remember the name of the springs, but this is very clear water, which you will soon see when we ride the glass-bottom boats. This is also where the Springs begin.

Do you see something hanging out in the sun?




The funny thing is, if you look at the first picture and see that little wood fence...that is what was between us and the gator. Little scary.

I think my two days of park photos are out of order, so I will just tell you a little about the park.



They have a few little rides at the park:


This is one of those bucket rides, that goes up high. Jacob didn't want to ride, but look at the views.




And you can see in that pic, cars were parked everywhere.

Glass bottom boat ride


Now, does anyone recognize these statues


Several movies have been filmed at this park to get the underwater shots in the clear water.



They also have several areas to look at animals.



I have no idea what those were.

We were waiting on another boat tour they have, when we spotted these guys:


And when we got on the boat ride, it was a glass bottom boat, so we all 3 were looking down when the tour guide explained it wasn't really a glass-bottom tour, they just used these boats. It was hard not to keep looking at the bottom of the river.















Yes, we fed the gators, and if I remember correctly, it is some sort of dung.



Some of the gators didn't even go after the food, but some were pigs. The funniest thing was when Jonas threw one and hit this poor gator right between the eyes. He was very apologetic and I was upset I didn't get a pic.

We didn't even see this area last yesr, but they had different types of big cats:




There is another whole area we never made it to with a petting zoo, carousel, and giraffes. I didn't do the park justice with these photos. I was too busy looking at cars. It also has a water park, which of course was closed this time of year.

My next post will be cars, so you aren't interested you can skip it.

 

[jmskinner]

Ok, lavender didn't feel like a good color to use when discussing muscle cars, so I will go with black.

If you don't like cars, I apologize and understand if you want to skip this portion. Remember in the last post I didn't take a lot of pics of the park, but did of the cars. I have about 200 pics of cars, I promise I won't post them all here, but here are a few of my favorites.

Ford GT500


Jonas' dream car, a Shelby Cobra


Another one of Jonas' dream cars




He loves the 69-71 Mach 1's.

This following car was interesting, we had never heard of Hertz Mustangs.







We learned the next day that this car had been parked at the same hotel we stayed the previous year and some drunk rammed into, hard enough it sent it into a ditch. I remember seeing the tow truck out there last year, but didn't know what happened. You can see, he got it back to new condition.

I want one of these trailers to match Jonas' car






Jacob always likes little touches like this


On Sunday, it was a lot colder, so cold Jacob spent two hours sitting in the Stang with the heated seats on. (That was one my additions when ordering the car.) While Jacob sat in the car, we met the owners of this truck and spent all that time talking to them


They also have two other cars, but this is the only vehicle they brought this time.

The park has what they call the mansion, which is a concert stage. To me, it is the perfect picture spot to show all the cars:


They also pick special cars to be on display on the stage:






The Mustang Club of Tampa:


Other little details Jacob likes


Our Stang










Love the color of this one


And of course Jacob likes this paint job


More to come.

 

[jmskinner]

And since my stepdad rides Harley's, had to get pics of the Harley Mustang





This one we love, the owner must have had a blast coming up with the idea:


If you know anything about the Mustangs, there is a Boss version, not


I can't find my picture, but his side mirror had the "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear", but he had changed it to read "Objects in mirror are losers!" Jacob really liked that.

These are all different versions of the Bullitt Mustangs




Another of Jacob's favorites




And Jacob loves the big engines






In 2010 we thought there were a lot of cars at this show, but I guess due to the bad weather, not as many as 2011. When the last cars rolled in, the staff started telling people to park wherever they could find a spot. We overheard a guy on the phone telling someone there were 1500 cars there.

 

[jmskinner]

I'M BACK!!! Seems putting "finished" in your title isn't a good idea. The moderators thought I was finished with my year long TR. I still have a month here in Florida.

Thanks Tinksthree for letting me know my TR had been moved to the completed boards. And thank you Ohmari for bringing this TR back to life!!!

On to my Disneyworldholic adventures. Per my Smugmug account, looks like my next trip to WDW was in March during our Spring Break. I had made friends with a fellow military wife, Marcia, whose oldest son is same age as Jacob. She grew up in St. Pete and had been to WDW many times until she was 16. Wait, need to go back...she had been to "Magic Kingdom" several times. Yup, one of those that knows WDW at MK. Jonas calls me a Disneysnob for correcting people. I guess I am a Disneyworldholicsnob then.

I didn't correct her, until we started discussing taking the boys. See, her hubby was overseas for the past year, she discussed it with him, and he said she should take the boys to WDW. Can't believe they lived an hour away for 4 years and didn't go. I know, us that love WDW don't understand that.

I had told her I would help her plan, when she said, "Hey, why don't you and Jacob come along?" Jonas couldn't refuse because it seems he had a tournament he wanted to enter.

I called and made us ressies for Pop Century. Another Disney hotel checked off of my list. Marcia was like me and needed to go as cheap as possible.

So on Wednesday of our Spring Break, we were in the truck at 8am headed to WDW. We chose Epcot as the first park, us Moms were looking for some Margarita's. That was one of my selling points of staying onsite.

We made it just after opening and I headed over to Soarin' for FP's and they were suppose to head to M:S and wait for me. You notice I said "suppose" to wait. I had told Jacob to show them the way (he was my little unofficial junior tour guide) and wait for me. Well, it seems he told them I said to go ahead and ride. I waited and waited and waited. At one point I even walked back towards the entrance. I finally got Marcia on the phone. From there, we decided to ride Nemo.

I'm not going to post any pics of Marica and the boys because she is very careful about what is online, but here are some of my attempts at Nemo pics.





After finding Nemo, we explored the aquarium. Marcia's youngest son was really enjoying himself and Jacob always loves this area.


We then saw this guy getting ready to go in the tank


I had seen this demonstration once the person is in the pressure chamber, but had never seen them enter it.






After the demonstration, we were on our way. Marica and her boys only had 4 day passes and they weren't parkhoppers, so we had a lot to get done in one day.

I had them ride Figment.


I love this ride and always like to take newbies on it to watch their expressions.





The boys tested out the musical instruments:


Jacob created his own Figment


After this, we found food over at the Electric Umbrella, is that the name? After eating it was time to go get more FP's. Can anyone guess which ride I got FP's for? It was the first time I have had to stand in line for FP's two hours after the park opened.

 

[TinksThree]

Awesome!!! You are back!!! That is so !!! I am glad I was able to help out!!

So this is from the post I PM'd you just to "make it official"!

I love Silver Springs. It was one of my first trips to Florida as a kid! Those pictures brought back great memories! And those cars! Wow, so many and several were very awesome!!

Onto the Epcot/Spring Break post...HOW can anyone live so close to WDW for so long and not go?! That is blasphemy!!!! I guess we could form a club (or support group) for Disneyworldholicsnobs!!

I think you headed to Soarin'!!

Was this your first stay at POP? Can't wait to see how you liked it since we both feel the same for POFQ. POP is on my list even though it is a value...it just looks so cool!!

 

[natebenma]

Apologies from me! Life has been so crazy busy for the last month or so that I haven't kept up on your report, so I actually appreciated that you took a break!

Great finish to your anniversary trip. The Segway tour at WL sounds and looked amazing! As did Saana. What a fantastic view you had!

Did you have a favorite tour or favorite meal of that trip?

Silver Springs looks like fun, too. Mustangs are my favorite type of car, so I enjoyed looking at the pictures from the car show.

So far your trip as unofficial tour guide has been great, even with a little miscommunication...

I agree with Tinksthree- Soarin' of course!

Look forward to hearing about the rest of your Florida adventures... and beyond.

We are not going to Disney this summer. Sort of. We booked a short, 4 night trip to Universal/IOA (Portofino Bay Hotel at US) with a day planned at Sea World. Well, after I made plans for the trip, the family revolted. Why aren't we going to Disney? My DH has been the worst one of the bunch! So I think we are going to spend one day at MK. We haven't told the kids, so that will be a surprise for them. I have been charging up my Disney Visa like crazy (paying it off every month, though) and we have earned $165 Disney dollars, so that will cover almost two admissions...

The trip is in less than two weeks- July 11.