And I think to myself: "It's a wonderful World!" UPDATED: (post 238 & 239)

[2Tiggies]

Oops, I see my first picture of the Poly grounds is sideways If I rotate it in Photobucket, will it rectify itself here?

I have so many pics it's touch and go when trying to see which ones I am picking - apologies for that.

 

[2Tiggies]

Oops, I see my first picture of the Poly grounds is sideways If I rotate it in Photobucket, will it rectify itself here?

I have so many pics it's touch and go when trying to see which ones I am picking - apologies for that.

And I also see I have to wait another week for my pics to return on photobucket.

 

[DISWolves]

Hi Lee
I managed to see your pics on the last posts before Photobucket went gaga
Got some good photos here and I am expecting even better for 2011 with that new lens
I like the story of the bus driver - good manners will get you everywhere!
World showcase always seems to offer something different for each circuit that you do. The only thing that remauns the same is that it's a long way!

 

[2Tiggies]

Hi Lee
I managed to see your pics on the last posts before Photobucket went gaga
Got some good photos here and I am expecting even better for 2011 with that new lens
I like the story of the bus driver - good manners will get you everywhere!
World showcase always seems to offer something different for each circuit that you do. The only thing that remauns the same is that it's a long way!

Thanks Nigel I am so pleased the torrential rain has finally cleared up. I just want to go out with my new lens now. Why does it always rain more on the weekend?! I have run out of silly things in the house to photograph

Yes, DD's good manners scored her some points on the bus I fondly recall the days when a dazzling smile used to get me many things. I realise I am getting older now that the best part of the Rock n Rollercoaster is the ride photo where I sport my Orlando Face Lift (G-force = non-surgical result).

 

[Pegasus928]

Well I have finally got around to catching up on your fantastic trippie - and was surprised to see that I hadn't commented on what I had read so far. I was sure that I had - albeit way back in October - so sorry about that.
I had to include a couple of pics that stood out for me.
The first one made me smile purley because of the girl in the background. If that is not a look of pure envy at how well Tove is Hula-Hooping then I don't know what is.
The second one for me just showed the joy that your DD was having. It is such a natural and unforced smile and typifies what a WDW holiday is all about.
And the last one had the real WOW factor. Such a vibrant blue sky.
All of your pics show a real talent for photography. Puts some of my efforts to shame

And finally I think the phrase "Good manners take preference to the majority" is going to become my motto

So - when we can expect an update

 

[disney_princess_85]

Another nice day.

Love how you woke Tové up- all for her enjoyment, of course.

Now... when can we expect MORE?!

 

[2Tiggies]

Thanks Kenny

Glad you are enjoying it. Now that I can use my Photobucket again I will post some more updates and pics.

The first one made me smile purley because of the girl in the background. If that is not a look of pure envy at how well Tove is Hula-Hooping then I don't know what is.

That little girl was actually quite a cutie. I wasn't paying attention to her when I took the photo - Tove likes to 'show her stuff' and walk around/jump/hop etc while she does her hoola so it's a matter of choosing to watch the background or keep her in the frame.

The second one for me just showed the joy that your DD was having. It is such a natural and unforced smile and typifies what a WDW holiday is all about.

Lol, yes, the natural smiles with her can be harder to find at Disney if she knows a photo is going to be taken. She LOVES the camera and really hams it up for one. She is also a real character with ride photos and I wish they weren't so expensive. She knows where all the cameras are and really plays it to the max with facial expressions. The EE one on the DISvid is an example.... There have been some real crackers and it's such a shame to say no to buying them all.

And finally I think the phrase "Good manners take preference to the majority" is going to become my motto

Well I have to confess there are times when I should be reminding myself of that phrase ....

And the last one had the real WOW factor. Such a vibrant blue sky.

Now I have to make a confession about that one: the trick is a CPL filter. It was very glary - more so than I have found it to be in the spring. It did take me about a week to figure out how rotating the filter worked, but also the sun has to be at the right angle so that was a case of being in the right place at the right time of the day by chance - and it all worked together.

So - when we can expect an update

Over the weekend?

 

[2Tiggies]

Love how you woke Tové up- all for her enjoyment, of course.

Always. Who would take their child on a dream holiday and leave them to sleep through the Magic Kingdom, instead of dragging them out until goodness knows what time in the morning I did it when she was 6 and when she was 7. The good thing is she is well trained and keeps up with no problem. The down side is that she stays awake until all hours at home on the weekends

 

[2Tiggies]

Well now that photobucket has been dealt with once and for all, we should have no further bandwidth problems so I can go wild with the pics if I want to

I woke up at about 7.30. DD was sound asleep, but I quickly sneaked down to grab some coffee and came back up to the room. I sat in semi-darkness with the drapes still drawn, watching her sleep with the hint of a smile on her face. It was one of those moments when you just feel the world could do no wrong by you and I felt so content. It was going to be such a shame to wake her, but I had to. We had a reservation for breakfast at Cape May. After much deliberation prior to ADR time, I had decided to do something else instead of Chef Mickey this year. I chose Cape May because Minnie is there and DD is a big Minnie fan. Having booked the trip as a surprise had meant I couldn’t run it by her and see how she felt or I may have opted out of a another character meal altogether, but I also knew that our trips filled with character meals were going to splashed with a little more variety in terms of TS in the future and wanted to make the most of it.

We took the bus to DHS, stopping at Riverside on the way there. I had noticed that the DHS buses seem to pick up and drop off guests at both resorts. We could have either walked or taken the boat to the Beach Club and we had opted for the boat. As we walked climbed off the bus I looked across the water and saw that a boat was already there and looked like it was preparing to leave. We made a run for it, although realistically, there was no way we would have made it there in time; except that the captain spotted us and obviously figured that this wasn’t a morning run for the sake of keeping fit. He gave a cheery wave to us and then gestured to us to come. God bless him, he was going to wait for us.

This was our first visit to Cape May. In stark contrast to most character meals we have done, it felt very cold and impersonal when we went to check in. Perhaps they were just busy. We were about 30 minutes early for our reservation so we took our pager with us and went to walk around outside for a while. The temperature was climbing, skies were blue, there wasn’t a breath of wind and you could just feel it was going to be a scorcher!

We were seated pretty much on time and were taken through to our table. It was a late reservation and I think we had the last seating so there weren’t too many people in there. Despite that, the buffet was fresh, well stocked and I was quite impressed with the variety they had. Of course DD served up an enormous plate of food for herself to make sure we got our money worth: 2 sausages and a slice of breakfast pizza. I urged her to go and get something else and made it clear that half an hour after leaving, I would not be fiddling around with trying to find some CS for her because she was hungry. She’s very obedient and duly served herself a cereal bowl full of .... chocolate chips. Er, excuse me dear, but those are there so you can take a small sprinkling for granola or pancakes.

The food was good and I would eat there again for the food. However this was our biggest disappointment because I had booked it especially for the characters for her. It was the worst character interaction we have ever experienced at a restaurant by a long shot. I have never seen them rush through so quickly anywhere. It was even more annoying because there were so few tables there. Now granted, DD is 8 and it’s not like it was the only one we had been to, on this or previous trips, but really, you could sense that they just wanted to get through the last few tables and disappear. Minnie did come back later though, thanks to some guests at a nearby table. DD had watched in amazement earlier as they tried to get their very obviously terrified toddler to have a picture taken with the characters. It was almost entertaining to watch because everyone was talking to the child at once an causing so much hype as the little one, clearly distressed, shrunk down and buried her fact in her mother’s shoulder. Anyway, after their meal they requested that Minnie return because the child was now ready for a picture (not) and once they had given up, Minnie spied DD’s smiling face and came over again. Goofy was very unsociable the entire time.

Also a nice touch is that they give the kids a little activity book (to keep costs down by distracting them further from visiting the buffet table )

We went to go and sit in the sun at the main entrance for a while and I made some notes in my journal.

At this point DD was asking for some candy so we went to have a little nose around the gift shop and emerged shortly afterwards with some cotton candy and a cute character lolly. It looked better than it tasted in my opinion, but DD disagreed and made it disappear in a matter of minutes.

We hadn’t planned a park for the day. I don’t think I recall us ever not having a park planned for a day at Disney except on a trip where we stayed more than two weeks with only 14 day tickets. We took advantage of the lovely surroundings and just enjoyed being there. I was loving the sun, but it proved difficult to keep the two of us happy as DD was getting hot and irritable so we made our way to wait for the boat. I stopped to take a few photos on the way and met a great protest in doing so as DD was really not interested in anything by this stage except getting out of the sun. It is such a pretty resort. A bit big and spread out for me, but nonetheless, very pretty.

Fortunately there was some shade for her while we waited. I stood baking in the glorious rays of course. What a waste of daylight when you only see it for two weeks in a year ...

Part 2 next post

 

[2Tiggies]

Once back at POFQ we headed out to the pool for a swim and spent a good couple of hours out there. DD was having a great time on the waterslide and it was almost a shame to call her away when it was time to go back to our room to get changed for the evening.

We had planned to stop in at DHS for evening EMH that night so I didn’t want us to be too late. It wasn’t critical as we weren’t planning on hitting Fantasmic or any of the headliners, but EMH at DHS is great if you want to watch some shows and we both love the drawing academy which is usually quite worthwhile to visit when they have extra hours as you can get to draw a few different things by re-entering when you are finished. Of course DD was in no hurry to get out of the pool so it was a long time from the point at which I told her we were getting out to when she actually did.

Fun at the pool

We each had a quick shower I had told DD that I expected her to be dressed and ready when I got out (she can take her time to get ready – you would not believe me if I tried to tell you). However this time it was me causing delay. I noticed that the water suddenly wasn’t draining out of the tub and then saw that I must have stepped on the plug. I pulled it out and stood up only to have the tap connect with my lower back. It was one of those seeing stars moments as I crumpled in to a heap in pain trying to catch my breath, with the room spinning around me, all the while, DD with the TV on oblivious to all this lot. Eventually, when I did manage to get up we now had another problem because my first aid kit didn’t have bandaids large enough to cover the surface of the wound or a dressing or anything to stop the bleeding and DD wouldn’t go to the shop on her own to go and get me some. A quick call to Mousekeeping sorted it all out. You have to hand it to Disney – they are absolutely outstanding when it comes to taking care of their guests. Anyhow, feeling a bit shaky, but an absolute Disney park martyr we eventually made our way out to the bus and arrived at DHS at about 7.45 pm.

All in all the evening went as we had hoped. We watched the Voyage of the Little Mermaid and spent the rest of the evening looping around to the drawing classes. I don’t remember what we drew each time but one was Jack Skellington and one was Piglet. We love our animation classes. It wasn’t a late evening and we left just before the park closed to EMH guests at 10 pm. We had a busy day the next day and needed to get an early night.

Got it right

Giving ourselves plenty of time to get to our breakfast ADR allowed us a relaxed and very pleasant morning. Had we missed that first boat, we would have been fine to wait for the next one (or we could have just walked) to the Beach Club without worrying about being late. I must admit, it was also great to sit around at the pool at our resort and not feel like we were seriously clock watching to get somewhere in time – that happens tomorrow!

Could have done differently:

Had we arrived at DHS when intended we could have squeezed in the Muppets and another show perhaps. We would have made it there by a reasonable time had it not been for silly injuries so I can’t really say we should have done anything differently. Except that maybe I should be more careful in future

Next up: Day 11 – DHS rope drop and MNSSHP

And find out what ride 2Tiggies will never, ever, ever try again .... Did I say NEVER?!

 

[eeyorefanuk]

Love your update, great photos as always, love the one with you and Tove

Ooch with your incident in the bath/shower

 

[2Tiggies]

Love your update, great photos as always, love the one with you and Tove

Thank you I liked that pic too. DD sliped her arms around my waist just as the photographer was taking the shot. I was surprised it wasn't too blurry as it was dark and I thought the movement would have ruined it, but it turned out fine.

Ooch with your incident in the bath/shower

yes, that was a nasty one. Was feeling quite ill for a few hours. But then I hate things to get in the way of my plans and we were already late for our evening out - at least I have my priorities correct

 

[disney_princess_85]

More great reporting and lovely pics!

Your injury sounds quite painful. Well done for ploughing through though- that's true determination!

 

[Pegasus928]

over the shower incident. That could have been a lot worse than it was. Your obviously a true Disney martyr though. I think we have all been there at some point - soldiering on for the sake of the holiday. We can always suffer for it when back in the cold and grey.
for mousekeeping though - sounds like they got it spot on.
Some great pics again. I bet you have a really impressive collection adorning your walls. I was particularly impressed with the action shots on the water slide. Did you have to follow her down to get the one on the slide orwas there a viewing point?

 

[2Tiggies]

More great reporting and lovely pics!

Your injury sounds quite painful. Well done for ploughing through though- that's true determination!

Thanks Lauren

Oh well, sometimes you just have to get one with it - can't have anything getting in the way of an itinerary now, can we? I must admit I think I was more in shock than being brave.

for mousekeeping though - sounds like they got it spot on.
Some great pics again. I bet you have a really impressive collection adorning your walls. I was particularly impressed with the action shots on the water slide. Did you have to follow her down to get the one on the slide orwas there a viewing point?

Oh Mousekeeping was great - except I didn't actually get to see them as I had to hide in the bathroom and tell DD to get the stuff from them but they were so quick.

The waterslide shots I had to snap off quite a few (like 30 for example ) to get the sequence I wanted. We also had some guy who decided I had a great idea and came across with his phone to take some pics as well. As soon as he appeared his shadow was in the frame over the slide . I was very polite and left him there for about 10 minutes and then went and asked him if he would scoot over a little because his shadow was in my frame

 

[buzz for boys]

OUCH !!!!

What camera do you use ?? Your pictures are fab !!

Oh and when do we get another update ?????

 

[DISWolves]

Just catching up........Nice pics again Lee
Pity about the Cape May experience being rushed
Not so sure about the breakfast choice
We like MGM late at night and do the minor attractions, I was expecting a 'singing in the rain' pic with the umbrella
Rushing around the parks now is not an option.....just use it as an excuse to return again.
Bring on the next installment !

 

[2Tiggies]

Hi everyone

Just to let you know I have started typing the next update (which is a fairly long one, but I will make up for it with extra pics ) My feet don't seem to have touched the ground over the last two weeks but I am still on it. Thank you for your patience.

What camera do you use ?? Your pictures are fab !!

Louise I have a Nikon D40 and a Kodak 'bridge' camera (ZD710) Most of the daytime pics have been taken with the Nikon DLSR. I think almost all the ones posted, save for any DD took on her compact. However indoor shots seem to be better on my Kokak. I can't for the life of me get the indoor flash compensation right on the DSLR. I have done as much as I can think to do and even although the lens I had on the trip was faulty, this is a user issue, not an equipment problem.

Just catching up........Nice pics again Lee
Pity about the Cape May experience being rushed
Not so sure about the breakfast choice
We like MGM late at night and do the minor attractions, I was expecting a 'singing in the rain' pic with the umbrella
Rushing around the parks now is not an option.....just use it as an excuse to return again.
Bring on the next installment !

Thanks Nigel I never really saw DHS as a photo op park until this last trip. Coming up in the next update you will see I really enjoyed it. Obviously I can't post them all, but I took at least 70 pictures in 5 hours at DHS and kept most of them. We never got to the umbrella as we were pressed for time, but I do think, on reflection, that this year I may dedicate a day to DHS where a few hours are devoted to just walking around and taking photos.

 

[2Tiggies]

I was up at by 7 am. DD wanted to do TSM and the only way we were going to pull this off was by being at the Studios before park opening. We had the Halloween Party on tonightso that meant to make our day worthwhile we would need an early start and not to be messing about. I told DD that we had to leave DHS by 1 pm as I knew she would want to come back to the resort and swim to cool off before heading out for the party and it made sense to get to MK a bit earlier so we could make the most of it.

DD was tired and I had a hard time getting her up but we managed to squeeze in breakfast at the food court before heading out to wait for the bus.

We arrived at DHS in time and waited with the hoard of people already standing there until the CMs walked us all through to TSM. We arrived to be met with a line stretching out beyond where we could see, which turned out to be the FP line. I have this thing in my mind about TSM that it isn’t worth it. I have built up this idea because over the years, reading all the hype and strategies about it makes me wonder if it has been made out to be so much more than what it really is. I said to DD the wait was going to be long (there were a few tour groups in front of us, which didn’t help matters) but we could do it if she wanted to. She asked, in her own words, what that would cost us in terms of the rest of the day and I explained that there would be only one or two RnR and a ToT as we were probably going to lose the best part of an hour waiting. However I emphasised again that this is why we had arrived early and if she wanted to do it, I was quite happy with that and we could wait. She mulled it over for a few seconds and said she would much rather have several rides on RnR and go meet Mickey and Minnie. We did stop for a quick photo with one of the Green Army men. They are so cool!!

Wasting no time with our change of plans, we made a beeline for RnR.

You could see that aside from the TSM area, the park was still pretty much desserted.

Standby time was posted at 5 minutes, which meant walk on and it was just that. We also weren’t subjected to the pre-show, which I don’t mind at all, but if you are riding several times in a row it does get a bit old.

On our exit we stopped to admire ourselves in the pictures (I love my Orlando Face Lift on the RnR ) before heading straight around to collect a FastPass. We couldn’t get a FP for ToT and DD’s attention was caught by the street performers so we stood and laughed like idiots for a good 15 minutes before hitting the Sunset Candy Store for pick n mix jelly beans so I could finally put a stop to the ongoing requests for the darn things. Actually jelly beans are one of my favourite candies and often have a neck in neck battle with chocolate in my books. So I ‘helped’ her choose a few extra flavours while she filled her bag (and dutifully helped them disappear as well).

Since we were right there it seemed like a good idea to get our lunch from Starrin’ Rolls. The line was already fairly long and the rather small seating area was completely packed – and it was only 10 am. The plan was to get a sandwich and box it so we could eat it later. We chose a turkey focaccia, DD picked a bag of kettle crisps and a marble cupcake. I am always completely amazed at the quantity of turkey they put on the sandwiches there. I thought that would do packed lunches for DD for a week! We also took a juice, picking up a few containers on our way out so we could pack it all and put it in my backpack for later.

We ended up having to find a corner on the ground to pack it as there was no room to sit at all, but we were in a hurry as our FP window had opened up for RnR which meant we could now collect one for ToT (which we were intending to ride earlier, before the distraction by the Street Performers).

We first got our ToT FP and then went around for our last ride on RnR. As we hit the first invert, my mind was drawn to the cupcake in my backpack, and I wondered if we would need to collect some spoons or straws on our way out. We checked the times guide for show times as we were wanting to watch Lights Motors Action, but the only show of the day started just before lunch time so it wasn’t going to work.

Next stop was Animation Courtyard to meet a few characters. DD surprised me by wanting to meet some of the Playhouse Disney ones as she would normally not give them the time of day at this age. I love that Disney turns even kids into little kids! We also stood in a rather long line to Meet Sorcerer Mickey. You can’t go to DHS without a pic of him with his hat on!

We also found Minnie, DDs favourite character and had to stop for an autograph. DD decided to get her Minnie cap autographed. I always enjoy the expression on her face as she watches the characters sign. I haven’t posted too many pics of this, but I just love the look on her face while she waits for the signature. I looked through the others and noticed this a common expression.

Once the autographs had been penned into the book and onto the cap Minnie placed her hands on top of DD’s head and I snapped off a few shots. This one is a keeper for me.

We wandered about stopping to look at things and take photos. I have never cared too much for DHS but I have to give it this much: if you have time to just walk around and can forgo some rides and shows for a few hours there are such great photo ops here.

The time had finally arrived for us to make use of our FPs for ToT. This was our first ride on this attraction; DD had not wanted to do it before but this time she was very keen. I had some fun with her pretending to be scared and enjoying the way she so carefully reassured me that she was there and she would hold my hand – I only needed to tell her if it was too scary!

Actually, it was a little spooky. I don’t like anything remotely eerie and it was the pre-show that got me on edge, as I had expected. Despite having FPs it took a good 20 minutes to get through the line and into the loading area. A guy in front of us struck up conversation with DD and they were enjoying some banter between them while we waited. He pointed out his son, daughter and grandson ahead of him in the line. When we seated ourselves in the ride, they were behind us.

Well DD loved the ride as expected and was disappointed that we didn’t have time to collect another FP before leaving. As we exited, we stopped to view the photos which I decided not to buy. I had my head turned towards DD anyway in the pic so it seemed a bit of a waste. Next thing I heard someone calling me by and turned around and there was the guy who had been chatting to us. He said he was thinking of buying the photo and asked if I wanted to go halves on a package since it is cheaper than the single prints. DD wanted the pic so I bought it. I will scan that one in and post it here as well.

It had just gone 12.30 pm as we headed out of the park so we had done well with our timing and done what we wanted to do for the day (except for TSM and LMA). We picked on the sandwich we bought at Starrin Rolls earlier while we waited for the bus back to POFQ.

The afternoon was spent transferring photos from the SD card to the laptop and then cooling off at the pool. After our showers (without incident this time) we went to the foodcourt for some dinner, despite it being so early. I was not taking time out of a party night to mess around looking for somewhere and something to eat and figured we could always stop at MSB if we got hungry later. I got a chicken baguette for DD and a salad for myself. Total waste of food between us. I got her a big meal as she insisted she was starving and I suspected she wouldn't eat the bread on her plate anyway, but seriously, we could have shared one of those plates. Although I must admit, I did finish my salad! Yum!

Having eaten our fill we returned to our room for DD to put on her Rosetta costume before gathering our things and getting ready for our party.

Coming up: Part 2 - MNSSHP

 

[2Tiggies]

The DIS told me I had too many images so I had to delete some to post.

Here is the pic of the cupcake AFTER the RnR. I don't want to know what ingredients are in this to make it so indestructable

And a couple of others that I had to cut from my previous post. Darn, can't remember which ones they were as you can't see what you are deleting

The next ones are Photopass - just so you know I didn't take them myself