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

[natebenma]

Ok, I promised an update and I'm going to try to get one done. Is anyone else having issues with the Dis taking forever to load?

Yes, it has been BRUTAL the last few days!!!

That is a shame about the crowds on the parade route.

 

[jmskinner]

Yes, it has been BRUTAL the last few days!!!

That is a shame about the crowds on the parade route.

Glad to know it isn't just me. Wonder what is going on with them.

At least we had seen the parade before, felt bad for anyone who hadn't.

 

[jmskinner]

We headed over to Shades of Green. We had never stayed here and were originally booked for Pop for this weekend but they offered a discount and it seemed like a good deal. Of course, they tricked us because the rate they advertised was for the service families at a lower rank, but we thought "Let's check it out once." Oh, and they also charge you for parking, so now we were spending even more.

The grounds of the resort is beautiful and the resort itself is nice, but I had to agree with Jonas. Military resorts try to be 5 star resorts, but they just miss the mark. Not that I have stayed at 5 star resorts, Jonas has gotten to in his travels though.

And we ended up in the 3rd to last room in the resort. We were way back there. It was nice and quiet at least.

You see Jacob made himself comfortable in front of the TV first thing


You would think that he would know by now not to do this, he should know I want to take pics of the room.





After checking in, we decided to head out for some lunch. Can't believe we were still moving after getting up so early.

Here is the lobby


And Mickey greets you


The stairs and waterfall leading down to the bus stop








While waiting for the bus I had found a nice bench to sit on. While relaxing I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I look down and there is baby lizard sitting beside me. I tried to get his pic, but he jumped like a grasshopper and took off. Guess he was camera shy.

Buses run a little differently here. If I remember correctly, you have to catch a bus to the TTC instead of the parks, or maybe that is just for certain parks. Sorry, it has been too long. So where were we heading?

First stop here, where we saw the monorails racing


Ours won!

Were we going here?


Nope,


Would you believe with all the trips I made over to Epcot during the F&G, this is the only pic of Lightning McQueen I got? I kept taking different paths and not getting close to him.







What would our only ride at Epcot be?

 

[natebenma]

Shades of Green looks so pretty!

I think I said it earlier in this report (or one of your other ones), but thank you to Jonas for his service to the country and to his family for the sacrifices you make!

Great pictures from the monorail. Nice perspective on the flower displays.

I'm going to go with Test Track for your only ride.

 

[jmskinner]

Shades of Green looks so pretty!

I think I said it earlier in this report (or one of your other ones), but thank you to Jonas for his service to the country and to his family for the sacrifices you make!

Great pictures from the monorail. Nice perspective on the flower displays.

I'm going to go with Test Track for your only ride.

It is a pretty resort.

Nope, not TT. Would you believe Jacob doesn't like TT? He says it goes too fast, guess he doesn't know how fast I always went getting to WDW.

Thank you for supporting us!

 

[jmskinner]

Our one and only ride at Epcot was....


Sorry so fuzzy, I am always trying to get a good pic in MS, but it is hard when trying to be sneaky about it.

Jonas and Jacob like the Orange side, but I don't dare ride it. Sounds odd, but I feel it in my toes and fingers on the Green, not attempting that Orange side. I told them I would wait, but Jacob wanted us all to go.

And why use "Orange" for the extreme side, shouldn't it be "Red"?

We headed over to the World Showcase. I saw this plant blooming.



A building I worked in had a huge Palm Tree in the atrium and it would start to bloom, we would see the pod and then it would be open. We never saw it actually opening though. We called it an alien. I have to take pics whenever I see one now.



Saw another guest having his lunch


And another people watching



Hmmm, don't think that last pic was Epcot?

Now I guess we had picked up FP's earlier in the day, so I'm guessing we took the boat over to DHS because this is what we were doing next


Guess I haven't explained to Jonas that you shouldn't hold your arms up in the front row because you cover up the people in the back. Don't you just love those pics of arms.

I never have my arms up, just a camera covering my face


Wait a minute, he does know not to hide the people behind him


After the way the park looked earlier, who would have thought it looked like this


Me attempting ballon pics again


I guess I have no eye for balloons.

Somehow I have never taken this shot


At my limit, but will continue in the next post.

 

[jmskinner]

We headed over to check out the line for Star Tours.


We always catch these guys wandering around during SWW




I thought they were CM's performing, but I guess they were visitors




He spotted me!


Looks like we didn't ride just yet, but ended up on the TGMR


And then we checked out the Muppets







Now we rode ST, oh guess we had FP's that we were waiting for
















When I see the pre-loading video, I always think how cool it would be to be this kid


After this we headed back to the hotel, but caught this guy resting on a shrub as we headed out.

 

[natebenma]

I'm with you on sitting out M:S orange. I also believe they colored it wrong. I always thought the intense side should be "GREEN"

No matter the color- you won't see me there, or on the tea cups.

That plant looks cool- I thought it was a corn-on-a-palm tree

It seems like HS has calmed down a bit from the morning mayhem. I certainly know the ride pictures with a camera blocking my face!

 

[jmskinner]

I'm with you on sitting out M:S orange. I also believe they colored it wrong. I always thought the intense side should be "GREEN"

No matter the color- you won't see me there, or on the tea cups.

That plant looks cool- I thought it was a corn-on-a-palm tree

It seems like HS has calmed down a bit from the morning mayhem. I certainly know the ride pictures with a camera blocking my face!

Ohhh, I think you may be right about the "green" side. I don't do the tea cups either. No spinning for me since my early 20's.

corn-on-a-palm tree. Should have used that when singing the Twelve Days of Christmas in Florida.

Ok, going to keep moving.

 

[jmskinner]

Saturday morning of the first SWW, where do you think we went?



Of course we were back at DHS. I love this pic because you can just see the moon, or maybe that is the Deathstar.



First ride of the day was Star Tours. We were making our way through the queue, while others got FP's.




While in line we learned that the previous morning the line went down to the city area of DHS. So glad it wasn't that bad this morning.

A quick photo tour through the queue

 

[jmskinner]

After Star Tours we headed towards the other side of the park. Not sure how, but I had never noticed that the flowers were planted to look as though it is water pouring out of the buckets



Guess some days I open my mind a little more than others.

Didn't go in here



Just taking pics.

Of course I made the boys ride this






Jacob pointed this out to me










My score




I believe the yellow shades were to protect the people in line the day before.

We always eat there by Indiana Jones. Jonas had to get this R2D2 mug to keep change in.



It came with pudding, but it was only a small cup inside it. Should have been full for the price of the thing, how much does it cost to make pudding anyway?

After our meal we headed back to the resort


Me trying to slow down the water


Jonas and I needed a nap, so we slept while Jacob watched some TV. I later woke up to an empty room. Jonas took Jacob to the pool and let me sleep. Think I had a 3 hour nap.

We got dressed and headed out again.

 

[TinksThree]

Those crowds the first SWW day were insane! I nealry had a panic attack seeing the pictures!! I liked the crowd pictures later that day much better!

I keep thinking we should try out Shades of Green. We went there in 2010 to see about purchasing additional tickets. The property on the is very pretty but I have always hesitated due to the pictures I have seen of the rooms. It makes me think early 90's for some reason. Plus I never can seem to get a price low enough to convinve me to give up the Disney property.

 

[natebenma]

It doesn't look like a mob scene at HS this morning. Are most people there doing the "SW" stuff like meet and greets and merchandise, or is it a mix?

Those were some fun pictures from the TS queue, but shouldn't the price thing be at Muppets (wacka wacka) ?

We haven't eaten at the place near IJ. What is it? What kind of food?

I have very little experience with HS CS. We either eat at the Sci Fi, one of the TS places or we head to EPCOT for CS on our HS day.

I am thinking Starring Rolls when (if) I chaperone the class trip in June. I think the boys in my group with enjoy the giant sandwiches and the ginormous cupcakes.

Do you (or anyone else) have other favorite places at HS?

 

[jmskinner]

Those crowds the first SWW day were insane! I nealry had a panic attack seeing the pictures!! I liked the crowd pictures later that day much better!

I keep thinking we should try out Shades of Green. We went there in 2010 to see about purchasing additional tickets. The property on the is very pretty but I have always hesitated due to the pictures I have seen of the rooms. It makes me think early 90's for some reason. Plus I never can seem to get a price low enough to convinve me to give up the Disney property.

It was crazy along the parade route. I wondered if the rest of the park was empty?

Maybe a 90's feel is why we didn't care for SoG either. It is just a hotel, no theming. And I agree about the price, I can usually get a military rate at a moderate cheaper than SoG. This was close in price and we thought we would try it since we were only going to be there two nights.

It doesn't look like a mob scene at HS this morning. Are most people there doing the "SW" stuff like meet and greets and merchandise, or is it a mix?

Those were some fun pictures from the TS queue, but shouldn't the price thing be at Muppets (wacka wacka) ?

We haven't eaten at the place near IJ. What is it? What kind of food?

I have very little experience with HS CS. We either eat at the Sci Fi, one of the TS places or we head to EPCOT for CS on our HS day.

I am thinking Starring Rolls when (if) I chaperone the class trip in June. I think the boys in my group with enjoy the giant sandwiches and the ginormous cupcakes.

Do you (or anyone else) have other favorite places at HS?

I think a lot of people avoid DHS during SWW. And some do stay away from the SWW stuff going on, but the only area that there isn't anything is the road down to ToT and RnRC. Of course they had a little bit by RnRC since the merchandise tent was there this year.

I had to look up the CS place, Backlot Express. We eat there because they have chicken nuggets, also burgers, hot dogs, and a salad. Your standard CS stuff. Love the atmosphere and it is air conditioned, if you are inside.

I have never had lunch at Starring Rolls. We always hit it for breakfast. I do need to try those cupcakes.

The other CS we like to eat at is the ones there by ToT. You have a nice variety with the different places. 50's PrimeTime is our favorite place to eat for TS.

 

[jmskinner]

I am going to finish this portion today. If the internet, the Dis, and the laptop all cooperate.

We headed back to DHS. Got another pic of ToT


If I got that view of ToT, then we must have been shopping again.

Jonas and I wanted this


It's a bobblehead and look what he is holding


We did buy it and there was a Yoda one with the sign saying "You must be this tall to ride." We both like the Stormtrooper though.

The whole reason for being at DHS this night was to see the Hyperspace Hoopla. I highly recommend this show. It is so good each year. Previous years they have used the stage for the Jedi Training and it was a nightmare. I wasn't sure about the stage in front of the hat, but after the show, I agreed that it was a good spot. Was a little warm waiting on the show to start. My friend Teresa joined us, she had never seen the show. We got to talking to some others standing/sitting around us and heard there was a rumor that Star Wars Celebrations was coming to Orlando again in 2012. I didn't believe it, but obviously I was wrong if you look at my ticker.
Ok, now for some shots of the show.

The hosts


Oops, first there was this to wait for


Kids answer questions about Star Wars. They raise lightsabers instead of their hands. I had tried to get Jacob to do this for a couple of years but he never wanted to. Now I think he is too old.

Here is the crowd starting to build up behind us.


In case you don't know, Hyperspace Hoopla is a dance competition between the Star Wars Characters.



This year they did rock music, which really fit in with that nice new stage. We were all yelling like we were at a rock concert.



And it was going to be the



against












Remember I said it felt like a rock concert, even had fire


Darth Maul put on a great show








Anyone guess what song Chewie was performing


Here's a hint






Chewie is a RockStar!

 

[jmskinner]

Ok, the Dis decided not to cooperate. Took about 5 minutes for the update to download. Hopefully 24 hours will make a difference.

Back to the show...

Next up were the Stormtroopers.





Who knew Darth Vader would be such a great dancer










Somewhere I have videos, but their not on my smugmug account and the new computer won't be here for at least another week. You haven't seen the show, I highly recommend you check out Youtube. It was a great show.

I thought we did more after this, but I have no pics. This may have been the night we tried to find food at the resort and there was not a restaurant open with chicken nuggets for Jacob. I think we ended up getting him a hot dog, which he only ate the bread. Jonas got a sandwich that was premade and the bread was soggy. I had a salad that was just ok.

SWW we gave a 10 as usual. Fantastic time for all. SoG, probably give it a 5. It's nice, but just not a "Disney" hotel, if you know what I mean.

I will do a little completion post later and finally end this. Thanks for sticking with me.

 

[jmskinner]

Even though there was one more trip, that final one on the way to our new home, I am going to end this with our last SWW. I want to get started on a PTR.

The new home is just about finished. We got it painted except for the doors, which I hope to work on this week. We have started organizing the basement. Which involved me buying tubs at Wal-mart. This was eventful because I remembered why I should have taken the truck instead of our Saturn. I have a feeling there is a video floating around of my trying to shove 10 large tubs into a car. We settled with the movers, they never did find our stuff.

I'm really enjoying VA, except for the lack of snow. I have decided it is because I purchased a snowman kit. It has buttons, a carrot, hat, and scarf to make a snowman. I know, winter isn't over yet.

I don't really miss FL, but so miss WDW.

Thank you everyone that has followed along and especially those that stuck with me. I hope you will join me on my PTR. Yes, we hope to go to WDW in August, as per my ticker. Back when we went to Star Wars Celebrations in 2010, I had so much fun that I told the boys that if they hold it in the states again, we will go. Well, not only are they holding it in the states, but they are holding it in Orlando. Of course we can't go to FL without a stop at WDW, so trip is planned. We should arrive at POR on August 18th, probably extremely late and we are staying at POR until the 23rd. I booked two nights at POP just to save a little money, plus I don't plan on attending WDW parks on the last few days of our trip. We hope to go to Legoland since it opened after we left FL.

Jacob is super excited about this. He loves Legos. He will build what comes in the box once, and then break it down and build his own. I currently have a fleet of Lego ships in my family room floor. We are giving Jacob some money from the movers since they lost a lot of his toys. He is planning on buying a Lego Star Wars Super Destroyer. 3000 LEGOS

We also plan to make a trip into Tampa to look at the home there.

And on Saturday, the 25th we will check out of POP and head to SW Celebrations at the Orlando convention center. Jonas and I are both hoping WDW decides to do something special that night at DHS. During the last SW Celebrations, the Last Tour to Endor took place. We regret not going to that.

We have two little problems though. School starts on the 27th. So that means we will have to drive all day Sunday to get home. Googlemaps shows it to be a 15 hour drive. The plan is drive a few hours Saturday night and then hit the road early Sunday morning.

I said two problems, the second is my working at Kohls. Not sure how a retail store will feel about me taking the week before school off. I asked about it when they offered to keep me on, but I just applied for a position in the men's department. Turns out it is the young men's area and if I get that, it could cause a problem for our trip. Hopefully if it means anything, it means I cut the trip a little short.

Again, thank you for following along!

 

[natebenma]

I'm really enjoying VA, except for the lack of snow. I have decided it is because I purchased a snowman kit. It has buttons, a carrot, hat, and scarf to make a snowman. I know, winter isn't over yet.

Jacob is super excited about this. He loves Legos. He will build what comes in the box once, and then break it down and build his own. I currently have a fleet of Lego ships in my family room floor. We are giving Jacob some money from the movers since they lost a lot of his toys. He is planning on buying a Lego Star Wars Super Destroyer. 3000 LEGOS

Again, thank you for following along!

Loved, Loved, Loved your TR!!! I'll be joining in on your PTR.

My 10 year old loves Legos too. That was practically all he got for Christmas. Lego sets and Lego books. He really, really wants the Lego Death Star *cough* $300 *gasp*

We haven't had much snow here either. Our biggest storm was on Halloween!
Not complaining. Not complaining. I'll take a winter like this anytime.

 

[jmskinner]

Loved, Loved, Loved your TR!!! I'll be joining in on your PTR.

My 10 year old loves Legos too. That was practically all he got for Christmas. Lego sets and Lego books. He really, really wants the Lego Death Star *cough* $300 *gasp*

We haven't had much snow here either. Our biggest storm was on Halloween!
Not complaining. Not complaining. I'll take a winter like this anytime.

Thank you.

Yup, that's the price of the ship Jacob wants. I laughed when Jonas said "If he gets it, he builds it and doesn't take it apart." Anyone want to make bets on how long that lasts.

Wow, would have thought you would have had more snow. Halloween was our big one also. I'm sure after a few years I will feel the same about this type of Winter, but right now I want some of the white stuff.

 

[jmskinner]

I started my PTR: I love SWW and SW Celebrations...does that mean I am a geek? A PTR of a SW family.