Bargain Betty and Workaholic Starring In:What Are You, A Disney Expert?

[MEK]

[COLOR]
The camera is a NikonD80 and we love it![/COLOR]

Doh! Just found my answer and I think they have a D80 bundle at Costco now. I can't decide Nikon or Canon! What to do?

 

[dawnbu40]

Dawn:

I can't believe its been 5 days since I've read your TR. Please accept my apologies for getting so far behind.

Now down to business......

Happy Belated 19th Birthday Caitlin!!!!!!I hope you had a great day!

I love every single one of your pictures. They are just fabulous. I love how you guys always pose with the characters. I can't seem to get Denny motivated for character poses, although he is getting a little bit better.

Did I already ask you what type of camera you have, because if I did, I need to know again and this time, I promise to remember.

Your meal at Tony's looks so yummy. I love the confetti! I must say, Denny and I did not get any confetti, although we had wonderful service everywhere. And I love how they decorated the desserts.

I did not know you could pose with Steamboat Willie in Exposition Hall. That is so cool. I must do that.

Sounds like you had a great night at the party. The parade pics are so clear and the gravediggers - perfect! You also got lots of loot. I never thought about dumping out my bag....next year!

Great Update - really enjoyed it!

Hi MaryEllen! You've been very busy with those boys of yours so I fully understand

Caitlin did have a great birthday! She doesn't have classes on Fridays so my mom and I took her downtown (we live about 30 min outside Detroit) and we had lunch at "The Whitney". The Whitney is a restored 1890's mansion and it is beautiful and the food is delicious! When Dale got home that night, we took her out for Tiramisu and then we all watched the new Tinkerbell movie. The next night her new bf took her to dinner and the theater so she had a super weekend!

All 3 of us are hams so it doesn't take much to convince us to pose with the characters

The camera is a Nikon D80 and we it!

We were lucky enough to get decorated table a couple times and they even gave us baggies to take home the confetti in.

We had a great time at the party and we got tons of pics! The "Scavenger Hunt" assignment that night was to get 100 party pics and I'm pretty sure he surpassed that goal When I was a kid as soon as we got home from trick-or-treating, we'd dump our candy and compare what we got so it felt natural to do that once we got back to Pop!

 

[dawnbu40]

Despite being up late for MNSSHP we up early again, anxiously anticipating a day at Disney's Hollywood Studios! We arrived at the Pop food court around 8:00 and we both chose omelettes and potatos.
The omelettes were ok but nothing special. (I get better at our local Coney Island) I always heard awesome reviews of the Pop food court but to be honest, I wasn't really impressed. Maybe their lunch/dinner is better than their breakfast?

We boarded the bus to DHS around 8:30 and we were in the line for rope drop in no time flat. While waiting for the RD Dale took a few pics...

(a Kodak sign was a Scavenger hunt item)

When the rope dropped promptly at 9:00 we headed straight for our favorite ride...TOY STORY MANIA! We absolutely love this ride and in May we rode 8 times thanks to the magic of park hopper passes and fast passes When we got to TSM we skipped the fp line that was filling up and went straight to the stand by line. We were on the ride by 9:10 and by 9:19 we had ridden and had fp to go back again later Dale of course beat me but I always have better accuracy. Guess I'm just not that fast? After our ride he tried taking some shots from different angles...

Since we aren't big fans of ToT (I hate regular elevators so I refuse to ride one that actually drops you!) or RNRC (Dale does ride both with Caitlin though) we decided to make the Muppets our next destination. Dale was of course snapping pics all the way over there...

(He seems to have had a thing about the many DHS billboards)

(The fountain from the movie Splash which was one of the first movies we ever saw together)

Walking through the city streets...

(I thought the big wheel was a fun touch on the balcony and you can see the Osborne lights were already up)

Pizza Planet

When we got over to the Muppet's Theater, Dale couldn't believe that there was nobody around. He had never gotten a shot of the fountain without any people in it before!

We got to the theater about 10 minutes before the show started so it gave us time to really appreciate the theming. We usually get there just as the auidence is being seated and don't have time to really look around. I'd heard of some cool things in the waiting area from an All Ears blog and the Capell's dad's TR so I was excited to show Dale. The first thing we found was the key under the mat. As you enter there is a sign on the ticket window saying "let yourself in, the key is under the mat". If you lift the mat, the key is really there! It's a cute little extra to look for but for whatever reason we didn't get a pic.

Here are pics from the waiting area....

Dale and I grew up on the Muppets and we love them but we both think this movie needs to be updated. It's just been around too long and loses the magic when you've seen it soooooo many times!

It was already almost time to use our FP so we decided to head back over to Pixar. When we were almost to TSM we looked up and saw something that was new since May and although it isn't a big attraction we were so excited to see it! Since I've used up my 25 images you'll have to wait til next time to hear all about it...

 

[MEK]

Sounds like Caitlin had a great bday weekend. New bf, too! Good for her!

Another great update with fab pics! So glad u were able to get right on TSM. Sounds like its got to be your fav! Hard to believe there was no one outside of the muppets just milling around the fountain! Nice street of america pics, too. Dale is doing a great job with the camera.

BTW - those omelets looked yummy. Too bad they were just eh!

 

[PrincessCaitlin]

I agree with MEK those omlettes do look good

I can't wait until they update the Muppets 3d I am so sick of going to it now because I have seen it every time we go

 

[wannago2disney]

finally all caught up again!

The pictures are great!

I was dissapointed to hear the the new Christmas Carol is not to great.
I love all the Christmas Carol movies...it's my fav holiday story. Best of all though is "A Muppet Christmas Carol"...we actually just watched it the other night after putting up our outdoor decorations....
"Light the light, not the rat...light the light not the rat!!" (I love that line)

 

[meeko_33785]

MuppetVision early in the morning is a whole other experience from going later in the day. It just feels so empty and relaxed.

Something new since May, huh? I this wouldn't have anything to do with a certain bouncing lamp, would it?

 

[thecapells]

As you know, we LOVE Muppetvision and the pre-show.
The amount of details in that pre-show room alone are insane!
(Nice pics of the toy soliders from the Muppetvision finale BTW)

I think we find something new everytime we go.
It's almost a shame when you arrive just when the show starts without any time to look around!

Despite Muppetvision being so old, it always makes me laugh how so many people don't notice everything.
I always try to make a point to make a big deal about the kids looking back to see Swedish Chef.
Usually, noone realizes he's back there until we all spin around to look!

As for your next destination, I'm so jealous!!
We looked several times on our past trip and missed Pixar's infamous icon every time.
With so much to do and such a short time at DHS, we didn't wait around.
But it's definitely something on the list for next time so I'm anxious to hear your experience!

 

[we3are1]

Loving your TR.
I hadn't heard about the hidden key at Muppets we will have to look there next time.
You have also made me want to not eat a meal the next time we do WS at Epcot I just want to snack in each country.

We did Tony's this year too and LOVED it! Maybe the reviews are changing. We were at wdw 9/11 - 9/17 and crowds appeared about the same as yours maybe even a bit less. We didn't do MNSSHP but I heard the crowds were really low the party while we were there.

We are hoping to go back last week August and first week of September 2010 maybe we'll see ya!

 

[norybell]

De-lurking to say that I'm loving your report! And I agree with you about the Muppet movie...even if they just updated the print, somehow, so it looked sharper, I think that would go a long way.

 

[sdoll]

You have me so excited. We are going for 10 days in Feb.
I am an EMU Grad. I hope your daughter really enjoys it. It was the best 4 years of my life.
Great trip report!

 

[dawnbu40]

Sounds like Caitlin had a great bday weekend. New bf, too! Good for her!

Another great update with fab pics! So glad u were able to get right on TSM. Sounds like its got to be your fav! Hard to believe there was no one outside of the muppets just milling around the fountain! Nice street of america pics, too. Dale is doing a great job with the camera.

BTW - those omelets looked yummy. Too bad they were just eh!

Thanks,Caitlin did have a great birthday and the new bf is a fine young man

We all love the Toy Story movies and we are very competitive so TSM is a definite favorite of ours!

The omelettes did look good but they had obviously been sitting around for awhile because the cheese had thickened and it just didn't taste fresh.

Prior to getting the new camera I was the designated photographer but when we got the "new toy" he took over. I must admit though he did a great job!

I agree with MEK those omlettes do look good

I can't wait until they update the Muppets 3d I am so sick of going to it now because I have seen it every time we go

Even if it doesn't get an update we still HAVE to do it! It is tradition!

 

[dawnbu40]

finally all caught up again!

The pictures are great!

I was dissapointed to hear the the new Christmas Carol is not to great.
I love all the Christmas Carol movies...it's my fav holiday story. Best of all though is "A Muppet Christmas Carol"...we actually just watched it the other night after putting up our outdoor decorations....
"Light the light, not the rat...light the light not the rat!!" (I love that line)

Thank you! We are big fans of a Christmas Carol too! We've seen many different versions and Caitlin even did the play in highschool. (she was Scrooge's lost love) IMO all the versions always have heart and this one is lacking. We'll be sticking with the Muppets version too!

MuppetVision early in the morning is a whole other experience from going later in the day. It just feels so empty and relaxed.

Something new since May, huh? I this wouldn't have anything to do with a certain bouncing lamp, would it?

You are so right about Muppetvision in the morning! I love it anytime at WDW where you can get away from the crowds!
It would indeed have something to do with a bouncing desk lamp!

 

[dawnbu40]

As you know, we LOVE Muppetvision and the pre-show.
The amount of details in that pre-show room alone are insane!
(Nice pics of the toy soliders from the Muppetvision finale BTW)

I think we find something new everytime we go.
It's almost a shame when you arrive just when the show starts without any time to look around!

Despite Muppetvision being so old, it always makes me laugh how so many people don't notice everything.
I always try to make a point to make a big deal about the kids looking back to see Swedish Chef.
Usually, noone realizes he's back there until we all spin around to look!

As for your next destination, I'm so jealous!!
We looked several times on our past trip and missed Pixar's infamous icon every time.
With so much to do and such a short time at DHS, we didn't wait around.
But it's definitely something on the list for next time so I'm anxious to hear your experience!

The Muppet Theater and waiting area are awesome! I just think its time for a new movie. If Star Tours is getting one why not the Muppets?

I was excited to see Luxo but it's just one of those things you have to stumble across because there aren't any posted times or anything. It does give you something to look forward to for next time though!

Loving your TR.
I hadn't heard about the hidden key at Muppets we will have to look there next time.
You have also made me want to not eat a meal the next time we do WS at Epcot I just want to snack in each country.

We did Tony's this year too and LOVED it! Maybe the reviews are changing. We were at wdw 9/11 - 9/17 and crowds appeared about the same as yours maybe even a bit less. We didn't do MNSSHP but I heard the crowds were really low the party while we were there.

We are hoping to go back last week August and first week of September 2010 maybe we'll see ya!

The key is one of those little things you only hear about in places like the Dis. Which is why we are all here, to learn those little secrets that add to the magic

There are so many food options in Epcot that its hard to decide where to eat! The restaurants are amazing but so are all the snacks! We're already debating where to eat next September

Glad to hear you loved Tony's too! The party was fun and we will go back next year.

That would be fun if we were there the same time!

You have me so excited. We are going for 10 days in Feb.
I am an EMU Grad. I hope your daughter really enjoys it. It was the best 4 years of my life.
Great trip report!

Hi! So glad you came by! 10 days in February, how awesome! You should be excited!

I'm an EMU grad too! Go Eagles (or Hurons depending on your age ) Caitlin absolutely loves it and is really active there. In fact, she is being featured in an upcoming issue of the alumni magazine (she has the alumni scholarship) and they had both of us come out for a photoshoot,last week, which was a lot of fun!

 

[dawnbu40]

De-lurking to say that I'm loving your report! And I agree with you about the Muppet movie...even if they just updated the print, somehow, so it looked sharper, I think that would go a long way.

With the new technology in 3D I am sure a new movie would be amazing! So glad you posted! I love hearing what people think!

 

[sdoll]

[
I'm an EMU grad too! Go Eagles (or Hurons depending on your age ) Caitlin absolutely loves it and is really active there. In fact, she is being featured in an upcoming issue of the alumni magazine (she has the alumni scholarship) and they had both of us come out for a photoshoot,last week, which was a lot of fun! [/COLOR][/SIZE][/QUOTE]

I was a Huron for a year! I too enjoyed it. I am from Ohio but did not have to pay out of state fees. Far enough from mom and dad that I could not get "caught" but close enough to go home on an occasional weekend to do some laundry. I wish I could go back.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I can't believe how uncrowded (is that even a real word?) the park was. I've wanted to look for the key under the mat at MuppetVision but there's always been tons of people around.

 

[dawnbu40]

I can't believe how uncrowded (is that even a real word?) the park was. I've wanted to look for the key under the mat at MuppetVision but there's always been tons of people around.

I think "uncrowded" is a word and if it's not, it should be! I loved how low the attendance was in Sept and that totally made up for the heat!

 

[dawnbu40]

I just learned that today is Mickey Mouse's birthday! Happy 81st birthday Mickey
We you!

 

[MEK]

I just learned that today is Mickey Mouse's birthday! Happy 81st birthday Mickey


We you!

I second that!!!!!!!