"But Mom, I want to come back to WDW!"

[blue_river]

Uncharacteristically, I have decided to totally “Wing-It”. Should be interesting and provide us with a lot to write about. We have only two advanced dining reservations. One with the kids for lunch and the other just for mom and dad on our night out.

It's kind of neat that you guys have the opportunity to go twice this year. Will this be the first time you've "winged" a trip to WDW? I think it would be fun to be totally spontaneous but I know I couldn't do it. I'm curious to see how it turns out.

I’d like to share something with you that I’m quite embarrassed about: We’ve never been to a WDW water park. We’ve rented boats, done Pleasure Island and Downtown Disney, been to the Cirque De Soleil, and stayed in most of the hotels, but have never been to a WDW water park. I know… I know… LAME!

Can I rent life jackets for the kids there like we can at the swimming pools? If you had it to do it all over again, would you go back to the water park, or spend another day in one of the theme parks (aside from the fact that a bird pooped on you)? It sounds like you went back the next day so you guys must have really liked it.

My kids can’t swim so we’ve always been nervous about going to any of them. What do you think?

Hmmmm. Nothing to be embarrassed about. We live along a river and really enjoy the water so it was not a hard decision for us. Personally, I would much rather spend the day relaxing in the water park than at the pool at the hotel because you can't get bored. There's just so much to do in the water parks.

We did not go back to Typhoon Lagoon the next day as we had planned but have decided that on our next trip we want to spend 3 days in the water parks. (We hope to stay for 10-12 nights on the next trip instead of 7).

I guess I don't really want to tell you to that you SHOULD go in place of a theme park because I don't want to ruin your trip on you. I don't have small children who can't swim but they do have a children's area and the cast-away-creek is very slow moving and fairly shallow. The life jackets are free - I think you have to give a credit card number to use them. I suppose you could go one morning and see if you like it and if you don't - then just head out to a theme park. It may not be as relaxing for you and Linnie because your children are much younger than ours. If you do decide to go, make sure to get there when the park opens so that you have an area with shade (people just leave their towels and clothes to mark their spots).

 

[paigevz]

I'm loving this report Heidi! I havent got very far yet.........but you are a great TR writer!!!!!!!!!!

 

[blue_river]

He just shooed away a very aggressive Mary Kay lady that's been on my tail for the past 6 months. She was so nice, I didn't have the heart to tell her I wasn't interested! He finally took pity on my and told her!

Oh dear. I'm laughing because when I was 21, I got sucked into the whole Mary Kay thing and she almost had me selling the products. It took me a long time of buying products to finally get rid of my rep also.

Yep, Buzz is the one to rush us all and when I read that about your camera, I immediately thought of him. I was thinking, "Yeah, Buzz is the rusher, but when he forgets something he blames me only he'd never admit it." Well, color me so surprised! He admitted it here on these boards! Will wonders never cease!! Every time he makes a mistake, it's always my fault! I didn't know he knew that he blamed me-I figured that's just part of his subconscious. Nice to hear he actually realizes it!! Now if he'll just stop it!

Haha...I wonder if they are all like that??

That is too bad that bird pooped on you! Yuck! I really do not care for birds or the wildlife at Disney. I don't know why, but they freak me out- those birds and squirrels! Last year, I was at a table at DTD and this squirrel kept zipping around our table. I knew he was just biding his time to find the right moment to jump up on our table and scare the crap out of me. At one point, he looked me right in the eyes and we had a stare down. I finally broke the connection by telling him, "Do NOT even think about jumping on my table, buddy!" He turned and went the other way and jumped on the table next to me. The guy sitting there nearly had a heart attack. The guy kept talking to his buddy about my ability to talk to the squirrels...

We didn't mind the wildlife and birds, just didn't like the aggresive ones. There is a reason they have the "don't feed the birds" sign and my girls just didn't follow the rules.

Trey (5 years old then) was holding a french fry and staring out at the lake and this huge bird came swooping down and stole the french fry right out of his hand! The poor kid turned and looked at me and said very sadly, "All done, french fry!" He was so sad.

During that same meal another big bird came flying to our table and grabbed one of our pieces of fish right off our plate and flew off with it! Everyone around us was howling with laughter. I was not amused. Especially when the fish in the bird's mouth broke in half and fell to the ground. The bird only got away with half of what he took, and we got none!

And a squirrel kept flocking around us. He just would NOT go away! It was a very unpleasant meal for me!

We've had similar experiences at different parks but mostly with seagulls, not little birds. It isn't pleasant when you're eating...that's for sure.

It's also kind of sad because they must be awfully hungry.

 

[blue_river]

Oh no Blue...how awful!! I can see how it was maybe just a LITTLE funny for your family though.

..... yes....funny for them!

Looking forward to more.

Thank you Tina!

Anxiously awaiting more on your trip report. : )

Glad you're enjoying it!

I'm loving this report Heidi! I havent got very far yet.........but you are a great TR writer!!!!!!!!!!

Hey girl! I saw your latest post in the other thread and wanted you to know that I was thinking of you Maybe we can chat a bit this evening - I'll look for ya.

 

[wvdislover]

Hey tinawv, where in WV are you? I'm in Cross Lanes, just outside of Charleston.

 

[jojo05]

well mom,it's looking good.
but you forgot a few things.let me fill in those parts.
well,while you and goofy were out trying the water slides.
me and grumpy had our own fun.
with the under water camera we got, grumpy thought it would be neat if i took a picture of him under the water when the wave came.
i was all game for it. so,when i big wave came and hit him and he went under i ducked also to get the picture. but not once did i think that when i came back up for air,the wave would have reached me and pushed me back under without being able to take a breath. i remember grumy looking everywhere for me because i got pushed all the way over to the right side of the pool. i also lost my watch in that big wave which scared the heck out of me (cant live without one) -found it later though.-anywho.
once we relized how funny it was. it was a good time. we didnt miss out on anything.
another thing that you guys didnt see was, while you and grumpy were relaxing on the beach or should i say having a nap? either way. goofy and i were out in the tubes going around and around the lazy river. as you go around people stand there taking pictures of you,when you get your picture taken they give you a "kodak bracelet" me a goofy thought it would be fun to see how many we could get. so,each time we saw the camera person we pushed ourselves over to them and asked for a picture we would then take turns getting a bracelet because you just one per picture.. also we picked up a few floating unowned braceltes on rout. i think by the time we were done making our silly faces,getting the bracelets and making a new friends in the lazy river that was when goofy had hit her knee. i think by the end i had about 8 bracelets. and hey,maybe with all the pictures of us they have now goofy and i could be famous there and use our pictures for like a magazine or something? yupp. that would be pretty cool.
and this year i believe im going to try the shark reef, i want a tooth.
maybe a shark could bite me and then when people ask how i got this scar i could say "ohhh it was a though battle between me and shark and WDW" yeahh maybe. it all depends how big those sharks are. speaking of sharks. does anyone remember the show "sharkie and george"- "crime fighters of the sea"?
back to my story. and hey,mom you didnt mention the size of the birds that were standing around us. i swear they were like flamingos, but white. they were standing all around in the trees. the little black birds that looked half dead were the ones that pooped on you. (teehee) also,you didnt mention the CUTE squirrel that came up ONTO our table to get a quick snack fed by goofy and i.
thats all i can think about for now,so keep writing.
<33

 

[Linnie The Pooh]

We didn't mind the wildlife and birds, just didn't like the aggresive ones.

YES! It's the aggressive ones! Thank you! I couldn't figure out how to word it. I don't mind the ducks and everything all over the place and I love looking at the different types of birds. I just don't like it when they swarm me and won't leave me alone! And the seagulls are the worst to me, I have a bad habit of generalizing and just calling them all birds-but the seagulls were the most aggressive for us.

It can be entertaining, though, I do have to admit. I was a little miffed when that seagull took that big piece of fish right off our table-there's $5 I'll never get back!

I'm thinking of doing my own trip report for our trip in March, but I don't know-it's a lot of work. Yours turned out so good and I love jojo giving her report too! I had to laugh at their antics in the water park!

 

[blue_river]

so,when i big wave came and hit him and he went under i ducked also to get the picture. but not once did i think that when i came back up for air,the wave would have reached me and pushed me back under without being able to take a breath. i remember grumy looking everywhere for me because i got pushed all the way over to the right side of the pool. i also lost my watch in that big wave which scared the heck out of me (cant live without one) -found it later though.-anywho.

I don't remember this story!!!!

I do recall the part about you losing your watch though and how relieved you were to have found it again.

That was lucky

another thing that you guys didnt see was, while you and grumpy were relaxing on the beach or should i say having a nap? either way. goofy and i were out in the tubes going around and around the lazy river. as you go around people stand there taking pictures of you,when you get your picture taken they give you a "kodak bracelet" me a goofy thought it would be fun to see how many we could get.

Yes, I seem to remember having to go through all the pictures at the Kodak shop!

You silly little ducks

and this year i believe im going to try the shark reef

That's great JoJo!

Now if we could just talk your Dad into trying it as well. I'll leave that task to you Work on him!!! Heh heh.

Thanks for adding in the parts that I missed and forgot about sweety

 

[blue_river]

I'm thinking of doing my own trip report for our trip in March, but I don't know-it's a lot of work. Yours turned out so good and I love jojo giving her report too! I had to laugh at their antics in the water park!

What do ya mean "THINKING" of doing a trip report????

You just HAVE to write another one. Your last trippie was one of my favourites - it was so funny!!!

It is a lot of work but since you won't be doing it live, you'll have the time to work on it at home...besides it'll give you something to do before your trip in October.

I hope I've convinced you Linnie

 

[blue_river]

Day 4 - Part 2

After showering and changing clothes we caught a bus to Epcot and then took our very first ride on the monorail to the Contemporary. We arrived almost an hour early before our scheduled dinner at Chef Mickey’s, which allowed us some time to browse the shops and take a few pictures.

JoJo enjoying her first ride on the monorail

JoJo and Goofy went in search of CM’s to trade a few pins. The night before, at MGM, JoJo saw an elderly CM with a Chip N Dale pin and asked her to trade. The CM asked JoJo how old she was and when DD replied that she was 15, the CM told her that because she was wearing a yellow lanyard, she wasn’t allowed to trade with children over 12. Pin trading is new to us and we were not aware of this rule. I called Goofy over, gave her JoJo’s pin and went back to the counter with the girls. Goofy asked for the pin JoJo wanted and the CM had no choice but to trade. We won’t be able to do that this year because Goofy is now 13.

Anyhow, JoJo spotted a Peter Pan pin she wanted and asked the CM to trade and would you believe the CM gave her Peter Pan and told JoJo she didn’t have to trade and to keep her pin. JoJo was absolutely thrilled with this gift! Isn’t it funny how a little kindness goes a long way? She will remember that special CM for many years to come.

Goofy wasn’t given a free pin but she showed no jealously towards her sister, in fact, she was just as excited as JoJo over the situation. Goofy also purchased a Mickey charm for her charm link bracelet.

We took the girls out to the balcony to show them the view of Magic Kingdom and the castle. I wouldn’t want to stay at the Contemporary but it would be neat to be able to watch the fireworks from your resort.

Back in April when I made my ADR’s, I had no expectations of any of the restaurants chosen, as we’d never been before. We just didn’t have any idea what character dining was all about. Cinderella’s Royal Table was certainly one of the highlights of our trip, however, Chef Mickey’s beat CRT hands down because of the fun from the delighting in the smiles on my DD’s faces.

The CM’s were enthusiastic and eager for everyone to have a blast. It was a joyful celebration of Disney’s main characters and I felt like I had stepped into another world, a world of magic and make believe. My earliest memories of WDW, was Sunday night television, gathered around with my family, hoping for an animated movie of Mickey and the gang. At Chef Mickey’s I felt like I was in one of those long forgotten movies. Thinking back, I’m a little embarrassed at how excited I became when the characters started making their way to our table. I’m sure the other parents thought I was crazy. LOL. But if you’ve never experienced this before, it’s not fair to judge. I’m just a kid at heart.

It was also fun watching the other smaller children run to the characters, mobbing them as if they were famous movie stars. When the napkin twirling started the four of us didn’t know what was going on…we didn’t know it was part of the show. I jumped up out of my seat to take pictures of this part.

When the picture packages started being delivered to everyone, we realized that we hadn’t been asked to have ours taken but I wasn’t upset or concerned because we had already had some really great keepsakes with the characters which is what I preferred. The buffet was good and the girls ordered their first glow drinks with the fun Mickey straws. Our dinner would have cost us $140.00 without the free dining plan. Woohoo…what a savings!

Of all our dining experiences, Chef Mickey’s was my favourite, and although the girls felt like princesses at CRT, Chef Mickey’s won them over too. Prince Grumpy has said that he liked Hoop-Dee-Doo the most. I think it was the free beer and the food that made his decision but he admits to the fun time at CM's.

Last night, JoJo and Goofy asked if we could go there again on our trip this year. Looks like it will be a tradition for us.



Coming Up - Day 4 -Part 3 - Back to Magic Kingdom for some evening fun

 

[aspcamhreditor2]

Woo hoo! Was glad to see you posted a new installment when got online today. I am really enjoying your TR!

AHR

 

[ndelaware]

Great pics Blue!!

 

[wvdislover]

What wonderful pics! Looks like you guys had an AWESOME time at Chef Mickey's! BTW, don't worry about not getting your pic taken when you came in--THEY'RE NOT FREE!!! I was worried b/c we didn't get ours taken either, so I made my family go over there and get our picture taken. DH was like, "This is stupid, why are we getting this picture taken?" A few minutes later, the photographer dude came over and said, "Here are your pictures. Would you like to buy the 8x10 for $$ or the whole package for $$$?" We said no thanks. I should've known better than to look at DH
Yours are much better, anyways. Can't wait to hear the rest!

 

[poppinspal]

I'm running out the door so I don't have time to really comment on this but just wanted to quickly say... you so don't look old enough to have daughters as old as yours!!!

 

[blue_river]

aspcamhreditor2: I'm glad I made somebody's day!!!

ndelaware: These are the comments my DH loves to hear since he was the one taking the majority of the pictures .....thanks

wvdislover: It really was an awesome time. Wish we were there now...it's very cold in Canada in January
If we did have that package taken I would have been a sucker and bought them because we bought the set at Hoop-Dee-Doo so it's just as well!

poppinspal: OH! What a sweet compliment - it made my day! When I mentioned it dinner last night my DH said: "How do you know she wasn't talking about me?"

 

[jojo05]

i wanna go back to chef mickeys . it waas so much funn =]

 

[nettii]

great trip report and pics!

 

[suevee]

We are leaving for WDW in 12 days and I really needed a fix. Your TR really hit the spot! The pictures were fantastic and brought many memories back to me. THANK YOU. Isn't it great that a vacation taken in August can last all the way into January and beyond!!!

 

[KimAshton]

I just read all 15 pages. Looks like you had a blast. )

 

[blue_river]

nettii, suevee & KimAshton:

I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to post. It's really nice to know that people are reading this and enjoying it too!

As for the vacation lasting all the way to January and beyond - all I can say is that it has given me something to look forward to every day.