Baby and the Tramp...and a Pop (half) Century! Where Did It Go???

[betsywdw]

Thanks for adding the photos, they are great! We ate at the Whispering Canyon last trip and did not see anything like that fork and knife That is too funny!

 

[Glendamax]

Jill and John went to do the DVC tour/talk, and they said your AKL Villas are absolutely awesome. It made me excited for what is coming up for you.

GREAT! I havent had the chance to visit the model, so this makes me VERY excited!

OH how I wish I could comment on EVERYTHING! There's so much to say! I loved your comments on your trip, and the little moments spent looking at ducks, snuggling, seeing your girls everyday. I dont even have any kids yet, and I teared up. I also liked this bit:

As I was driving in northern Florida, the signs of oranges for sale turned into signs of pecans for sale as I arrived in Georgia. I knew that every mile I drove was one mile closer to being back to reality and one mile closer to saying good-bye to my big girl and her baby girl. Most of the signs I passed, orange, pecan, or other, were slightly blurred with tears as I contemplated going back to a life that would not have them in my physical presence each day.
You are an excellent writer! You have an excellent way of painting a picture, and trully letting us know how you feel!

I looked back at the pics you added. When I saw the pic at one of the stores in Downtown Disney, I thought: Oh man, I need MORE spending money. I'm a sucker for all things Cinderella It is a REAL struggle to spread out my Disney collectables in my house. The last thing I want is for someone to look like this then do this when they walk into my house!

This year I hope to see: Devine at AK, the High School Musical kids, and the Walt's One Man's Dream at MGM. OH! I JUST found out (yes I know I'm late) that Walt did not create Mickey Mouse - it was Ub Iwerks. I saw this on a documentary hosted by Kelsey Grammer. At first I was shocked, then embarassed that I didnt know! I really hope Ub's family is getting a cut from everything Mickey!

Well, I've strayed so many times in such a short amount of time, that I should end this now. But again, I've really enjoyed everything so far, and I am looking forward to more!

 

[BrooklynnsMommy]

Glendamax - I assure you you will not be disappointed, but completely in awe of your home away from home. They are absolutely amazing. John and I are planning to get a few more bills paid off over the next few months and then we will become your neighbors at Animal Kingdom hopefully in December. We had been on the fence about it for the past 6 months, but after seeing the accomodations we are definitely joining.

 

[BrooklynnsMommy]

Mom - I would like to tell you how proud I am of you for posting pictures within your text AND not calling me to ask how to do it!!!!! Yeah for you

 

[BrooklynnsMommy]

Jill worked twelve and a half hours today, and she was beat, so no pictures yet. She will get to them, and to her comments, but meanwhile, I'll try to hold down the fort.

Wednesday was our first official full day, and our plan was to open Animal Kingdom and head straight for Expedition Everest. I was up at five, so I walked around Pop a while, still just glad to be there; still absorbing the fact that I really was. I went to Everything Pop early and went ahead and got a bunch of postcards for people back home and for some fairy godmailer surprises for some Dis kids that will be going in the near future.

Trent and Kristi wanted to ride Everest, too, so they joined us. I was surprised they got up early, but they did. We got fastpasses for EE, then went to ride Dinosaur, which had a five minute wait. We did baby swap again. I sat out with Brooklynn while they all rode, then I rode with Jill and Kristi. We all made "frightened" faces for the camera, and the guys got a kick out of that as they waited with Brooklynn.

Everest was a little more intense than any of us had imagined. We thought it would be more about the theming with a moderate roller coaster ride, but the ride itself was pretty wild. At least we all thought so. When the four of them came off, they were drawing straws to see who had to go back a second time, because it had given them a run for their money. I just said never mind, then, and I'd ride it later, but Trent said no, he wanted me to ride it right then, and he volunteered to take the beating again. I think he was ready to lose his breakfast after two rides in a row, but he held it down. I agreed with all of them, that it was a little more than I wanted in a ride. Everybody has their own level of fun with coasters, and that one is just a little more than I consider to be fun. Parts of it were fun, but parts of it were more than I wanted. All that is just my personal opinion. I rode it, and I didn't feel the need to do it again, at least for that trip. Maybe in the future.

We went on Kilimajaro Safari. While were standing in line, a CM came and asked me how many were in my party. I told him six, and he said to come with him. We, along with a few other small groups, got taken to a jeep that was ready and waiting, and we took off. It was a pretty normal safari as far as animal activity. We did have to stop for a couple of minutes to wait for an ostrich to cross the road in front of us. There was a hippo that was completely out of the water standing up on the land, and that was kind of different, because usually at least part of all of them are in the water.

Trent and Kristi headed back to Pop to swim and work out, and the rest of us went to eat at Flame Tree. I got the turkey sandwich, Jill got the pork sandwich, and John got the half chicken. Brooklynn got chicken, grapes, and applesauce. The portions were huge, and we took some with us. We were the only ones under our pavilion until almost the end of the meal. After that, we saw Flights of Wonder, browsed some shops, and then headed back to Pop for some rest and some time inside a cool room.

In the evening, we headed to MGM. We lined up to see High School Musical, but due to the weather, they only did a quick drive-by as they sang. We got fastpasses for Tower of Terror, then went to Playhouse Disney and One Man's Dream. We met up with the couple that owns Jill's daycare and talked with them and their two kids for a few minutes. Then we headed to Backlot Express to eat. We had turkey sandwiches and cheeseburgers and more fries than a person can eat in a day.

Trent and Kristi met up with us and we all went on The Great Movie Ride. The wait was longer than what it has ever been when I've been there before. I guess because of the rain a lot of people just wanted to be inside. After that, Trent, Kristi, and John headed off to use the Tower of Terror passes, while Jill, Brooklynn, and I started toward Fantasmic to hold seats for our crew and Jill's bosses and family.

Fantasmic was bumper to bumper waiting, of course. We were right at the rope on the left side, and people kept getting out of the mass crowd and walking up the handicapped aisle. Several people were getting mad about that and mouthing a little, but no rioting came from it. Just some grumbling from others who continued to stand in the bumper to bumper hot, sweaty crowd. It felt like a long time before we moved, and my claustrophobia was getting to me, but I held fast. Finally, the mass began to herd into the theater. I jumped a bush to get Brooklynn's stroller to stroller parking, and quickly caught up with Jill. We found good seats, then stood until we saw John, Trent, and Kristi and waved them down. The boss family had arrived shortly before them. The show was awesome, as always.

Since we had seen the second show of Fantasmic, it was late when we got back to Pop. We found Drew and Sam at the pool...with girls. They had been to Epcot for much of the day and had ridden Mission:Space and Test Track and done a few other things. We mostly saw Drew and Sam
a) asleep
b) coming in very late
c) at the pool

We did occasionally cross paths in the room, but not often. The only thing they really did with us was the last day, when we all went to Caribbean Beach to eat before we left!

Side note - In our afternoon downtime at Pop, Jill had met 5boyz at the pool. She came in and told me, but by the time I had gotten freshened up and could walk again (the swelling had already started in full force), rain had come in and everyone was leaving the pool. As I opened the door, 5boyz and her bunch were walking back toward their room.

This is a synopsis of 7-25. It had been long and tiring and FUN! We quite enjoyed saying over and over, if it was inconvenient to do something right then, "Oh well, we'll catch it later." We were gloating inside because we were on the front end of the trip and had days and days ahead of us.

I'm going to go try to find some pictures to go along with this now. Give me just a little bit, because I'm still a rookie.

What MeMom forgot from our little MGM adventure was the bus line afterwards. Trent and Kristi headed out right as Fantasmic ended so they could beat the crowds. Mom, John, Brooklynn and I stayed around and let some of the crowd thin out. Trent called and informed us we wouldn't be getting back anytime soon since every other bus stop had like 6-10 people waiting and the Pop stop had about 200. When we got to the stop we realized that he wasn't exagerating. Our line was through our queue and then then the line stretched passed two more queues. We got prepared to wait. Then a very efficent lady came to the stop and connected 2 queues together so that people weren't standing all the way back to the entrance. She got on the radio and in less than 30 seconds there was a bus at our stop. She made sure that bus was packed full and then sent it on its way. She had another bus at the stop within a minute of the first one leaving. She started to load that bus. When she got to us she took pity on me holding 21 pounds of sleeping lead and a backpack, and John with the stroller, and my mom with her swollen ankles and told us to wait for the next bus it would be here in less than 5 minutes. We thanked her and then she was off to go take care of someone else and their transportation issues. I wish I had gotten her name because she was very efficient and what could have been an extremely long wait was very short because of her.

 

[MeMom]

Good morning, Jill-o! Out of need arises courage. Since you didn't have time to put up pictures, and we owed it to our readers to put some up, I mustered the courage to learn the fine art of putting up pictures. Oh yeah, and I kind of wanted to see them again myself.

It's so fun to look at the pictures and just be back in that moment. Just think, right now someone else is down there swimming in our pool, waiting at our bus stop, eating our Mickey waffles, and just generally taking care of the place for us until we can get back to it! When I look at the pictures, I can see Brooklynn's smile and hear her laughter (especially at the little boys with the sticks in Epcot), feel the heat of the sun as we walked those many miles to get from one fun thing to another, hear the awesome music of Festival of the Lion King, smell that wonderful smell from the Main Street Bakery, and taste that good fruit bowl I loved so much. Like I said before, my body is here - with a classroom full of boxes of books that need to be distributed, goal sheets to be filled out, records to be researched, and meetings to sit through - BUT my heart is down there floating over the ocean on Soarin', enjoying Beauty and the Beast, watching animals on the safari, and walking through Fantasyland listening to the happy squeals of little boys and girls as they spin in teacups and go around and around on Dumbo. Disney memories help me get through the mundane things in life.

And to the mundane things I must go. We have a meeting on TCAP data until lunch, so I'll head off to the real world and come back to the Dis and happier things at lunch time. Have a good morning, everyone!

 

[tinkgurl]

It's so fun to look at the pictures and just be back in that moment. Just think, right now someone else is down there swimming in our pool, waiting at our bus stop, eating our Mickey waffles, and just generally taking care of the place for us until we can get back to it! When I look at the pictures, I can see Brooklynn's smile and hear her laughter (especially at the little boys with the sticks in Epcot), feel the heat of the sun as we walked those many miles to get from one fun thing to another, hear the awesome music of Festival of the Lion King, smell that wonderful smell from the Main Street Bakery, and taste that good fruit bowl I loved so much. Like I said before, my body is here - with a classroom full of boxes of books that need to be distributed, goal sheets to be filled out, records to be researched, and meetings to sit through - BUT my heart is down there floating over the ocean on Soarin', enjoying Beauty and the Beast, watching animals on the safari, and walking through Fantasyland listening to the happy squeals of little boys and girls as they spin in teacups and go around and around on Dumbo. Disney memories help me get through the mundane things in life.

Wow. Well said. Made me a lil teary-eyed. I have been thinking about everyone who's down there now! Thinking, okay somebody right now is getting on Peter Pan or stepping off the monorail or something like that.

 

[praisehisname]

Yay for adding the pictures! What a great CM at the Pop line at MGM! Sometimes you hear horror stories about the wait to leave the park...she was really on top of things!

Denise

 

[MeMom]

Thanks for another great installment and some beautiful pictures! I'm looking forward to trying Expedition Everest--they were building it the last time we were there. I also want to try Tower of Terror at night!

Denise

Be prepared for Everest. The Yeti is cool and the theming is great, but prepare yourself for the ride itself. It is intense. Tower of Terror at night would be cool. I didn't ride it this time, since Jill and I went on to get our group a place at Fantasmic. I doubt we'll do it at Christmas, since it'll only be the two of us and Brooklynn, but maybe we'll give it a try with baby swap in March when we take my friend. This same friend rode it before, and when I told her to hold her backpack down securely, she didn't take me seriously. On one of the drops, the man in front of us almost caught her backpack in mid-air!

 

[MeMom]

I'm definitely subscribing to this one! You know, people think that working out in Disney is crazy, but I gotta tell you, on my breaks, running around the resort was the best running I've ever done! Running at home just wasn't the same after Disney running! Great TR! Makes me wish I was there!

Glad to have you join us! We have a very nice bunch of people reading along on this.

Trent and Kristi were pretty faithful on the workouts and running. They might have missed a day or two, but I'm not sure they even missed that much.

I noticed you had a girls' trip listed in your signature. I am truly looking forward to the girl trips we have coming. Jill and I do Disney the same way. The guys, when they get hot and tired, sometimes become grumpies and we have to deal with their pouting. We'll be able to do things the way we like to do them without having to worry about anyone else. The friend who is going with us in March just follows along with whatever we tell her! She's only been twice in her life, and both times were with us, so she doesn't know any different than the way we do it.

 

[MeMom]

SwansLoveDisney and betsywdw - They brought the big knife and fork after Kristi had dropped silverware a SECOND time. The first time, they just brought her a new fork, but after the second drop, I guess they thought she needed a little more help. She played right along with it, though, and the table behind us got a kick out of it. We enjoyed the meal there, except for waiting so long on drink refills.

Glenda - I love the shops, too! I just love looking at the many, many things for all different tastes. I enjoy seeing the displays and the little Disney touches in the architecture itself, too. I spent a couple of hours one morning just browsing the shops in part of World Showcase. Have you been to the shops in Japan? They have some beautiful stuff - fans, jewelry boxes, kimonos, etc. It's mostly a shop girls would like, I think, because to me the whole place just seemed so feminine and serene. I can't picture it being a place my boys would spend much time in, but there were a lot of things I wanted to take Jill and Kristi back to see. I had to tell myself that I couldn't buy everything I wanted and that I would be back and could buy a few things each time. If I had had the money, I think I would have bought all my friends something from the Japanese store. I ended up getting some Japanese candy to share with my third-graders and three gold lucky cats. There are many colors of lucky cats, and each one stands for some form of luck. The gold one meant your dreams would come true and you would have financial prosperity, so I can't imagine needing much more than that! I got one for me, one for Jill, and one for Kristi. I'll let you know if they work!

 

[Mrs. D]

Hi MeMom,

So sorry we missed each other, but I am loving the TR, you guys look like you had a wonderful trip! We did to, I can't think of much that I would have changed...Ari (my son) has Type 1 diabetes, and he had a night where he wasn't feeling so great. Then on Thurs., (our AK day), we got there at 8:00 for our Breakfastsaurus reservations, and he was sick from the time we walked thru the gate, so we ended up back at the Pop, and Memeux and I spent the bulk of the day at the pool....even w/ that we had an amazing trip. Thanks so much for calling, I wish we could have met!

 

[Glendamax]

She had another bus at the stop within a minute of the first one leaving. She started to load that bus. When she got to us she took pity on me holding 21 pounds of sleeping lead and a backpack, and John with the stroller, and my mom with her swollen ankles and told us to wait for the next bus it would be here in less than 5 minutes. We thanked her and then she was off to go take care of someone else and their transportation issues. .

Oh Gosh! I feel how relieved you must've been! That's the worst part about going to the closing shows in the evening - the bus stops! There's a chance that I may skip a few to avoid the line!

Like I said before, my body is here - with a classroom full of boxes of books that need to be distributed, goal sheets to be filled out, records to be researched, and meetings to sit through - BUT my heart is down there floating over the ocean on Soarin',

After riding Soarin for the first time last year, I told my Mother that I wished I had one in my house! I would get on EVERYDAY right before going to sleep!

Glenda - Have you been to the shops in Japan? They have some beautiful stuff - fans, jewelry boxes, kimonos, etc. It's mostly a shop girls would like, I think, because to me the whole place just seemed so feminine and serene. work!

I havent been in there in a few years. Last year, my scheduled World Showcase time was ruined because it POURED!!!! It came down so hard, that it looked like the ground was jumping back up. So this year, I will remember to check out Japan! Thanks!

 

[MeMom]

Here are a few more Pop Century pictures for you.

It's always exciting to see the Everything Pop sign!

Excited children and weary parents often filled this area.

Mickey Mouse Club is on TV, and I was there. Spin and Marty episodes were my favorite.

Man walks on the moon, and I was there. Not on the moon, but on the side of a Florida highway watching Apollo 11 go up. We lived in St. Pete at the time, so we went over to watch history being made. It's one of my few claims to famous times. I also saw Rosa Parks at a book signing, and I met the Osmonds backstage. That's about all the famous events I've ever been a part of.

Walt Disney World opens, and I was there. Not on the first day, but within the first few months. It was all over the news all the time, so we figured we better drive over and see what it was all about. I distinctly remember we went on a school day. I was blazing trails for Disers to come many years after me as far as people taking their kids out of school for a Disney trip. That's a hot topic on the boards. I was a pioneer in skipping school for Disney! Does that qualify as being an important part of history?

Drew took this night shot. He really was on this trip, and I'll prove it with a picture or two later on.

 

[Nicole786]

That everything pop picture is awesome! cant wait for more TR!

 

[MeMom]

Four pictures to let you know what park we opened on our second full day:

A report will come, but I though I'd let Jill write this one. This was Brooklynn's big morning...time to ride a lot of things that she could appreciate.

 

[tinkgurl]

Four pictures to let you know what park we opened on our second full day:

A report will come, but I though I'd let Jill write this one. This was Brooklynn's big morning...time to ride a lot of things that she could appreciate.

I KNOW THIS ONE! The MK!

 

[cherokeemamma]

Hi MeMon,
Great Start! Love all the pictures. The one of 'Everything Pop' just transports me back there. At the end of a each day we would always wonder through there. I can almost smell it, feel it, hear it! This year we are staying at ASMo (for a change) I do hope we like it as much as POP.

I knew that you were a teacher but I guess I had somehow missed the grade level. My DD is a 3rd grader. She has a wonderful teacher but I KNOW that she would love you!!! Oh to have a Diser for a teacher...how fun that would be. I can just imagine what a wonderful teacher you are. I just know that you love each and every child to pieces and they love you back just as much. It is great to know folks like you are out there shaping our future. Even though my children do not have the privilege of you as a teacher, I still want to say "Thank You for All You Do!"

A little OT: My DD wants to know if you like 'Hanah Montana"? Is that popular in TN?

I was happy to read that you are not opposed to kids missing school for Disney. I am taking DD out for 2 days - we are having a girls only long weekend (going during FD). I am really excited about it but I do feel a little guilty not taking DS and DH. However, we are all going in Oct (we have a 1 week fall break) and we will pull them out 1 day then, as well.

I am really looking forward to hearing from Jill. I know you all had a blast at FantasyLand with Brooklynn. (BTW...love the Philharmagic & teacup pics)

Have a great day.
TTFN
Darlene

 

[MeMom]

That everything pop picture is awesome! cant wait for more TR!

Yep. That place just makes me happy every time I walk through there. declansdad and pooksma and declan will be there tomorrow. He'll get some awesome pictures to share with us. I'm lime green with envy that they'll be there and I'll be starting the first day of school with kids. We've been back a week, but the kids come tomorrow. I'd much rather be walking into Everything Pop, but I kinda have to have my job so that I can keep going back there every so often!

Jill says she's going to go in early tomorrow so that she can report on our Magic Kingdom morning. Her first week back was so busy she didn't have time to do anything. We'll keep our fingers crossed that this week will ease up a little and she can do more reporting. I know you guys are sick of hearing from just me.

 

[MeMom]

Mrs. D - I'm sorry we missed each other, too. I hope your trip was as awesome as ours.

tinkgurl - You are the winner! As always, I love the theming in the shops and on the rides. I'm constantly looking at the less obvious things, like ceilings, light fixtures, furniture, etc. We opened Magic Kingdom with EMH and had done all of Fantasyland within less than two hours. Everything was walk on or maybe a five minute wait, and even when we left around lunchtime, we still had a fairly short wait at our last ride, which, if I'm recalling right, was Aladdin's Magic Carpets.

praisehisname and glendamax - We only had long waits on two nights going back to Pop, but we're pretty cool about waiting. We know there are thousands of other people who are just as anxious as we are to get everything out of their days, and then just as anxious to get back to their rooms to rest. We took it all in stride. I will agree with Jill about that CM. She knew how to take control, and she got things moving very effectively.

cherokeemamma - Hannah Montana is VERY popular here! Kristi actually bought one of her cousins a HM purse when we were in Disney World, and I think she got the new CD, too. You can assure your daughter that next Friday night, when she is watching High School Musical 2 followed by a new Hannah Montana with the Jonas Brothers, I will be, too. As a matter of fact, Jill will be, too, because they are coming up here for Brooklynn's first birthday party. As for my classroom, I do have regular generic school stuff, but I also have plenty of Disney in there, too. My window is full of stuffed Mickey, Goofy, Minnie, etc. dolls. I have my Disney World calendar on the bulletin board. I have two popcorn buckets - one for my mints and the other I just got this year and may use for pencils. I'll take some pictures and post them. Also, my listening center has many books and CDs, and four of them are Disney ones. I use songs as one of my tools to teach reading fluency, and I am known to throw in a Disney song or two among the selections. I don't go overboard, because I don't want to ruffle feathers or have a hidden agenda, but I have enough Disney touches to make it fun for the kids and to remind me that I do have a happy place! I will admit that my students like the Disney touch, and I like having it that way.

By the way - Thank you for the compliment about teachers. We need to hear the good things.

Another by the way - Jill, Brooklynn, a friend of mine, and I will be staying at All Star Movies on our March trip. I've visited there, but this will be my first stay.