Celebrating Legacies, Love, and Jalapeno Pretzels: Anniversary TR (Replies 6/12)

[TanzUnited99]

I'm glad you enjoyed the Mexico pavillion - it sure is a pretty place.

Oh no on the room situation and the fact that not much help was available...that's not the way you want to start a special trip however I'm glad to read you didn't let it ruin the rest of your stay. Thumbs up to DH for keeping it together

 

[heathsf]

I think it never really works to "seek out" the right way to honor someone, it just sort of comes to you when its ready. There was another, random moment during our trip which I'll cover later that really made me feel like I was truly honoring my dad, and it wasn't something at all we had planned.

You will know when it's right.

It really was so unlike anything I've ever experienced there.... guess I caught everyone on a bad week?



Thank you.... It was a really crummy experience, but I have to say (knock on wood) I doubt that would ever happen again. Unless we are cursed, I'll let you know after February's trip.



My husband is my Hero. Truly.

I did wonder about that later, especially after speaking to one of the Directors when I got home. I guess the person on duty just royally screwed up, and I was so done with it at that point I didn't press the issue while we were still there. (By that time the room was clean again, so for me it didn't make much sense.)

The only lasting thing has been my fear of hotel bathroom toilets!!! Seriously, I panic when I go to a hotel now. My own version of PTSD!!!!




So I know we were in the best room you could get non-suite... and I do know there was a VERY large tech conference going on while we were there, but yeah, I wondered that too about the upgrade. My view on it is this:

1. They really WERE completely booked, due to the upgrade.
or
B. (come on, you know you laughed...) Because we still had 7 nights to go, they weren't willing to give up a large suite for that long.

Either way we were really laughing about it by the third day or so. My family has a pretty twisted sense of humor though, so we'll find something to laugh about in just about any situation....eventually.

I'm with you about the sense of humor. I try to remind people that when something truly absurd happens, just think that eventually (after enough time passes) you'll be able to look back and laugh!

 

[sw33t_angel]

Just joining in!!

Love your writing style and loved that you honored your father with a trip to Disney!

Your resort looks fabulous (minus the toilet incident ) and I love that you can walk to Epcot!! I would love to stay in CL, but we are never in the room hardly ever but to sleep, so not sure if it would be worth it for us! Looks great though!

We just got back from our Honeymoon last month, and we are also photopass stalkers... haha we were intense!

Glad you liked CRT, I think we got the same table as you! Loving your TR and can't wait to read more!

 

[Shannon84]

I LOVE the restaurant and bar in Mexico just for that nice relaxed atmosphere as well, plus it doesnt hurt the drinks are good

I cannot believe what happened to you guys!! I would have been FURIOUS!! I am glad your DH is so sweet and calmed you down...good thing you brought a whole bottle of scotch And I had to laugh at your re design of the flower petals!!

I am glad that your surprise though came out beautifully!

 

[jenneth79]

I'm glad you enjoyed the Mexico pavillion - it sure is a pretty place.

Oh no on the room situation and the fact that not much help was available...that's not the way you want to start a special trip however I'm glad to read you didn't let it ruin the rest of your stay. Thumbs up to DH for keeping it together

I do like all the innovations at WDW, but there will always be a soft spot in my heart for those places that never really "change"... and Mexico is one of them. They also have the crystal shop where we got the most ADORABLE little crystal inlaid Stitch!

I'm with you about the sense of humor. I try to remind people that when something truly absurd happens, just think that eventually (after enough time passes) you'll be able to look back and laugh!

Exactly!!!

Just joining in!!

Love your writing style and loved that you honored your father with a trip to Disney!

Your resort looks fabulous (minus the toilet incident ) and I love that you can walk to Epcot!! I would love to stay in CL, but we are never in the room hardly ever but to sleep, so not sure if it would be worth it for us! Looks great though!

We just got back from our Honeymoon last month, and we are also photopass stalkers... haha we were intense!

Glad you liked CRT, I think we got the same table as you! Loving your TR and can't wait to read more!

Thank you thank you and ! Congrats on your nuptials, what a wonderful place to spend your Honeymoon, isn't it?

I go back and forth on CL for future trips... mostly because we had never stayed CL before and I'm not really sure if it's worth it... outside of ONE thing: You are almost always on the top floor. Which means no "happy feet" running about above you. That almost makes it worth it for me.

Ok, actually, it does make it worth it for me. When there's a room discount rate.

 

[Stefy]

Oh no, I'm so sorry that you had to go through that, esp after a lovely day But well done hubby for keeping his cool and comforting you

 

[jenneth79]

I LOVE the restaurant and bar in Mexico just for that nice relaxed atmosphere as well, plus it doesnt hurt the drinks are good

I cannot believe what happened to you guys!! I would have been FURIOUS!! I am glad your DH is so sweet and calmed you down...good thing you brought a whole bottle of scotch And I had to laugh at your re design of the flower petals!!

I am glad that your surprise though came out beautifully!

I think that bottle of scotch was the highlight of many people's week. (Esp. considering we left half a bottle at the end of our stay! )

Oh no, I'm so sorry that you had to go through that, esp after a lovely day But well done hubby for keeping his cool and comforting you

He certainly is a keeper!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Okay Jen.....now that my TR is over, I JUST found your TR! I'm going to catch up but I just wanted to say hi and subscribe!!

 

[jenneth79]

Okay Jen.....now that my TR is over, I JUST found your TR! I'm going to catch up but I just wanted to say hi and subscribe!!

Welcome over here, Nikki! I've been home sick for a few days so I might actually get a full day's worth of updates loaded, you're just in time.

Yeah, I've been a horrible slacker on my TR over the past two months. I blame the holidays.

... and my laziness.

 

[jenneth79]

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! I hope you all had a wonderful celebration and wish you nothing but health and happiness in 2012!

I have made a resolution to actually finish my Trip and Dining reports before our next trip in February. Therefore, I had better get moving! Without further ado, I bring you:

Chapter Six:
(In which our heroine bores you to death with the morning buildup to actual PICTURES!)

After an eventful night, I woke up fairly early (couldn’t sleep) and made my way out to the balcony to write in my trip journal and watch the sunrise. This is a major benefit to the Lagoon View rooms at the Yacht Club. The morning sky is AMAZING. All dark blues and purples. I’ll admit I was feeling rather sorry for myself sitting out there writing about the previous night’s disaster when I looked up and saw the most amazing thing: a flock of white birds flying against the dawn sky. That one moment completely changed my outlook for the better. Good Omens are the best, aren’t they? (Yes, a cheap reference to the book. Read it now. Thank me later.)

The wake up call got Mike out of bed an hour later, which we both decided was probably a bit later than it should be. He was smiling though, said it was a great wake up call and I should have heard it. Though I did not listen to it that morning, after the third day I found myself chastising him constantly: “no sleeping/sleepies”! (Yes, I recorded it on my iPhone, and it is now my alarm clock at home. No, I am not joking. Stitch rules.)

We got ready and tossed our flip flops in the bin from the night before , then walked out to the concierge desk and jokingly stated they probably heard about the night before. They looked at us like we were crazy. Apparently no one thought it was a good idea to let them know they’d be dealing with one cranky redhead the next morning. Whoops.

We asked them to make sure the room was cleaned / sanitized, and that we’d be back in the afternoon. The CMs were very nice (if a bit confused) and said they’d have it taken care of.

We had planned an early ADR this day in the MK, so I dragged Mike downstairs to see how difficult it was to find a bus at the YC. Easy peasy. Right outside the front doors and to the left. Even better, there was a bus bound for the Magic Kingdom waiting…wait…no….it was getting ready to pull away!

Please know, dear reader, that I consider myself fairly good at hailing cabs. I worked in New York for a year, I had the system down.

Yet, apparently, all I could manage was a grin that stretched from ear to ear as we walked towards the bus that was starting to pull away.

Grin turned to panic.

Bus driver stopped.

We made it on!

He did, however, point out in a very nice way that it would be most helpful in the future to wave and indicate we would like a ride.

Whoops.

Finally, we were there! This is the best happy morning face on my DH ever:

(who knows, he might actually LIKE this trip!!!)

The park would open at 9AM, but we had an ADR at 8:30. I was super excited to get in to the park early, but first we needed to figure out how to get in. A tip: if you have an early ADR or are meeting a tour group, go all the way to the left of the gates, a CM will help you get through ahead of the lines.

A swipe of my “golden ticket” and we were inside!

If you have an opportunity to make an early ADR before the park opens, DO IT. No lie, this was perhaps the best part of our whole trip, to walk through the park when it is virtually devoid of people.

To be continued....with PICTURES!

 

[jenneth79]

Chapter Seven
(In which our heroine tries to bring her internet connection down with picture overload...)

Thanks for your patience, now we get to the pictures….

Interestingly enough, the Photopass photographers were already out an hour before opening, and they took some pretty good pictures. Please disregard the following items for this day:

1. I am a redhead. Have been since birth. No, do not ask me why I insist on wearing pink.
2. I now realize how unflattering this shirt style truly is.
3. My hair wasn’t dry, thus the lovely “style”. Hey, it’s vacation!
4. Mike didn’t want to put down the Nikon, so it is now officially in the “family” photo.

I think this is where my photopass obsession TRULY began. Mike, bless his heart, didn’t mind and played along. We wandered around Main Street for a bit with two cameras (the Nikon D70 and my Kodak point and shoot) and got some “empty park” shots. I’ll spare you the majority, but here is a sampling:

(I love the Halloween decorations, they look super cute on the MS buildings)

And we passed a few more photographers along the walk:

(so cute, if you can look past the “argh, pink shirt red hair” drama)

Soon we were right in front of the statue of Mickey and Walt. Oh my, this really got me a bit teary eyed. And to be there with so few other people around? Like I said, do it if you can…. It’s so worth it:

(Stupid crane….grrr….)

Told you this was picture heavy, a few we took around the circle:

I don’t know why, I just love these bronze statues…. They just evoke such happy feelings!

(more to come shortly.....)

 

[jenneth79]

Chapter Seven and One Half
(because our heroine is lazy and cannot come up with a clever title)

-------------------------------------------------------------
This picture sums up how I felt that morning…..

(Yes, it was awesome, crane and all….)

Like how I stole the nice camera from him but still made him carry the bag? Yeah, I’m evil.

(Exposure was off, but still a fun shot!)

After taking a gazillion pictures, we made our way a bit closer to the castle (and our planned breakfast!) and took, yes, MORE pictures. I warn you, I’m one of those crazy people who like architectural details, so my pictures always look a bit “off”….

(I love this clock..)

(It’s when you look at shots like this when you realize how much effort Disney puts in to make everything seem so perfect. Love.)

Our peace and quiet was not to last however, for I turned around and spied:

(oh no! PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY COMING IN!)

 

[jenneth79]

Chapter Seven and Three Quarters
(because let's face it, this isn't enough to stand on its own!)

So we ran inside the castle real quick to get a few shots of the Cinderella mural:

(whaaaat? I like bunnies, okay?..... ☺ )

(Never noticed this detail before!)

Then, with the camera begging us to stop torturing it, we walked over to check in for our ADR.

If you want to read about our experience at Cinderella’s Royal Table, take a quick trip over to our Dining Report HERE.

However, if you want it summed up in a picture:

(Yeah. Really.)

BTW, why does Belle have to walk around in her plain clothes? I mean how come everyone else gets to dress up? I don’t see Ariel walking around in HER plain clothes…. Grumble….

Up next, “Teacups on the Edge”.....

 

[jenneth79]

Chapter Eight
(In which our heroine tests the laws of physics and accepts change.)

So after our traumatizing…ahem…. LOVELY breakfast, we walked back down and made our way into Fantasyland. As we spent a good portion of breakfast watching people give it a go, Mike walked over to the Sword in the Stone:

(Not going too well for him….)

(Hmm, perhaps….)

(Oh yeah, that’s my prince. Ever resourceful….)

We walked around for a bit and stopped in front of Pooh. Ok, so I wasn’t convinced I wanted to go on this ride. I love Pooh, and all the Hundred Acre Wood. I also, however, loved Mr. Toad and miss him dearly.

But, there was no line so on we went!

(Absolutely! Wait… is that a gopher over there…..)

(The interactive queuing was really pretty cool…. If alarming to germaphobes….)

(I love how the pages of the storybooks are woven into the ride, yeah….I’m converted now….love Pooh)

I had read on the DIS about how they put in a few little nods to the previous ride, and I was super lucky to get a shot of this:

I guess if Mr. Toad was OK with it, I am too.

All in all, the ride was great, and it brought back so many good memories of the stories and cartoons I loved as a kid. Thumbs up for Pooh, and we’d visit it again on a future trip.

Next, on our way back towards Space Mountain, we encountered the Teacups. I loved this ride as a child.

But I had just eaten breakfast….

….but there was NO LINE.

(So sweet and innocent…. This will be important in a few moments….)

Ok, first off, I seem to recall these teacups being MUCH LARGER when I was young. Squeezing the two of us in was a challenge in itself, much less securing camera bags and purses. But, we managed and Mike snapped a few pics while we waited for everyone else to load:

Then the ride started.

Dear Reader, I think my husband tried to kill me.

I started, in my typically innocent laughing way, spinning us around. Then, Mike got in on the action. I kid you not, I thought the cup was going to spin right off its foundation and throw us into the teapot! (poor mouse). After I realized physics were probably on my side, I relaxed and enjoyed the somehow-non-nausea-inducing ride.

God, I love the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.

Up Next... MOUNTAINS!

 

[jenneth79]

Chapter Eight (still)
(In which our heroine sets us up for Chapter Nine...)

So, while I’m frankly shocked it took us this long to get to it, we finally made it over to Space Mountain! This is really my favorite ride in the Magic Kingdom, for so many reasons. What’s not to love about it? 1. It’s in the dark. 2. It has awesome queue music. 3. It….. wait…. WHAT? The queue music is GONE?

Oh that is sooooo not cool, man.

So I loved the sound of those Moody Blues-esque pings and trills as you waited in the lines for the ride. While I understand the reasoning behind the new little interactive games, (but really, space trash? ) I wish they hadn’t jettisoned the music.

Rant over.

On the way in, we grabbed a set of FPs for later….

As you might notice, the return time is for 11… it was 10:45. Yeah, there were no lines at all! So we walked on to the ride, and I even got to sit in the front seat! I think they hadn’t turned all the lights on yet or something, because it was SUPER dark in there on that run. Literally, I could not see in front of me.

Yeah. It was awesome.

Too soon it was over, but I dragged Mike on a second time (remember, still have our FP!) and we sat in the back car.

Don’t know why, but I prefer the front. Just feels like there’s nothing between you and void in front of you that way.

I proceeded to act like a complete giddy fool ( I hear Disney does that to a person…) on the way out and agreed we would not ride it a third time but come back later. Good thing too, for what to my wondering eyes should appear but…..

Stitch!!!

Which, dear readers (you are still there, I hope!) is my favorite little troublemaker, and perhaps my favorite Disney character in general.

Needless to say, we got in line…. But what was to come none of us expected……

(stay turned, this one gets its own chapter!!!!)

 

[natebenma]

Great updates!!!

I'm so glad the morning is turning out muchly better than the evening before.

Great pictures on Main Street. The one of you, and only you, dancing in front of the castle, is AWESOME! We have never done a pre-park opening breakfast, but I would love to try it sometime.

So many fantastic pictures! The bronze mini-characters are super cute! Love the ones of the murals. Great picture of Toad handing over the deed to Owl.

And the Sword in the Stone!!!

I laughed at your comment about germophobes and the pooh-interactive area. Here is what I wrote in my TR:

There is a wall where you can paint with “honey”. As you touch the screen, the honey reacts. All I can think of is little kids trying to lick the wall, after everyone has had their hands all over it. ICK!!!

Glad the Tea Cups did not have dire consequences for you. Just looking at your pictures of them did me in. I can't handle "spinny".

I can't wait to hear about your encounter with Stitch!

 

[jenneth79]

Chapter Nine
In which we learn that ninjas just might be cooler than pirates….

So while we were waiting in line for Stitch, perhaps 5 families back, the Photopass Photographer decided to take a potty break. Totally don’t blame the guy, but I’m now getting bummed that we won’t have any pictures taken of both of us with Stitch!

I took the one shot from the last update (apologies to the cute little girl’s family who must have thought I was a stalker or something…. Sheesh, I wanted a picture of STITCH, not your little mop haired moppet! Hmm, that wasn’t much of an apology was it? Well, they were giving me dirty looks. Boo on them.)

An-y-way….Mike said we could always try and find him later, but I was determined (and perhaps a bit too giddy from our two Space Mountain rides….) and decided to ask the Character handler if he would take a picture.

First off, if you’re out there, sir, you ROCK. He asked if we wanted him to take the pictures with the “big” camera (Nikon) and I figured, hey, why not. Mike got the Nikon out and handed it to him while I made a beeline for Stitch.

It started innocently enough, I walked up, gave the poor person in the Stitch costume a hug and (of course) said “you are my favorite…. It must be so much fun being evil!” Stitch laughed and nodded emphatically. Then our friendly little blue alien turned to Mike as he walked up (and this is where the pictures from the CM start….) I thought to get in a group photo:

BTW, and a bit off topic. If you do plan on dining at CRT, make sure you have a bag big enough to carry the photo around in. I was stuck holding/sitting on/ trying to carry this thing all…darn…day.

So anyway, Stitch goes in for a hi-five. Mike does the same……

This being Stitch, however, there was a “down low / too slow” moment, and he whipped his hand away. These moments are not in the pictures, perhaps because we were all laughing. Mike stood back, looked affronted, and Stitch did his whole laugh thing.


Then Mike went all Matrix on him. Seriously, he did the pose and the little “hand flip” thing, you know, “Bring It:” and all that….I about dropped my CRT photo (come to think of it, that probably wouldn’t have been a loss). Sure enough, Stitch decided it was “Challenge Accepted” and we learned that they BOTH knew Kung Fu.

This battle lasted a good 3 minutes or so… everyone around us was cracking up… I am pretty sure I was just standing there with my jaw hanging open. Thank goodness, once again, for the CM with the camera!

Eventually they called a truce! (I don’t want to say anything, but I’m pretty sure Mike was losing….) Once they both picked themselves up off the ground from fits of laughter…

..and….

We settled in for a few pictures with my two favorite crazies!

..and…

We thanked both Stitch and the CM and were on our way. We were laughing and in such a hurry to make it over to the other mountains, I didn’t check the photos until later in the day. I had NO IDEA that it all was captured on film so wonderfully! Truly a bit of Disney Magic, and one of my favorite memories from the whole trip.


(I know I'm update happy today, but I figured I might as well take advantage of the time while I still have it... feast or famine here!)

 

[TanzUnited99]

Happy New Year Jen! I hope you have an amazing 2012.

I'm glad you had a moment that changed your outlook for the rest of your trip and lol on including a reference to the book!

Yay on making it to MK and getting on the waiting bus. I still have to experience getting to a park before the crowds...will have to make sure it happens one day

Great pictures of the Halloween decorations, the two of you and the bronze statues which are so pretty.

Lol for one minute I thought Mike had actually pulled the sword out of the stone! Love his idea.

Great updates and am looking forward to reading all about your M&G with Stitch!

Okay...so I was just about to post when I saw your next update...you sure are on a roll today! I loved how hilarious your M&G actually was especially the Matrix fight between Stitch and DH - am glad they called a truce in the end

 

[jenneth79]

Great updates!!!

I'm so glad the morning is turning out muchly better than the evening before.

Great pictures on Main Street. The one of you, and only you, dancing in front of the castle, is AWESOME! We have never done a pre-park opening breakfast, but I would love to try it sometime.

So many fantastic pictures! The bronze mini-characters are super cute! Love the ones of the murals. Great picture of Toad handing over the deed to Owl.

And the Sword in the Stone!!!

I laughed at your comment about germophobes and the pooh-interactive area. Here is what I wrote in my TR:

There is a wall where you can paint with “honey”. As you touch the screen, the honey reacts. All I can think of is little kids trying to lick the wall, after everyone has had their hands all over it. ICK!!!

Glad the Tea Cups did not have dire consequences for you. Just looking at your pictures of them did me in. I can't handle "spinny".

I can't wait to hear about your encounter with Stitch!

We loved the pre-park opening so much we're doing it again on our (used to be a) Secret Valentines getaway. I was doing soooo well too... made it all the way until Christmas day. It's not even like I can say I did it on purpose, I just blurted it out "oh, we can take this to Disney in Feb!"

Um. Oops.

It really seems to work better on off-season times. That way an 8:30 breakfast is reasonable, when the park opens at 9.

You were RIGHT in your TR... there were people all over that thing. I'm not squeamish, but for some reason all those kids...thinking it was honey.... yeah, wasn't touching it.

It turns out the only ride at Disney I couldn't handle was Mission Space. No bueno. But it was only AFTER we got off the ride that I had issues. Shame, since it was one of Mike's favorites!

Glad you're still reading along, I'm rather worried I lost everyone with my extended delays!

 

[jenneth79]

Happy New Year Jen! I hope you have an amazing 2012.

I'm glad you had a moment that changed your outlook for the rest of your trip and lol on including a reference to the book!

Yay on making it to MK and getting on the waiting bus. I still have to experience getting to a park before the crowds...will have to make sure it happens one day

Great pictures of the Halloween decorations, the two of you and the bronze statues which are so pretty.

Lol for one minute I thought Mike had actually pulled the sword out of the stone! Love his idea.

Great updates and am looking forward to reading all about your M&G with Stitch!

Okay...so I was just about to post when I saw your next update...you sure are on a roll today! I loved how hilarious your M&G actually was especially the Matrix fight between Stitch and DH - am glad they called a truce in the end

Happy New Year to you as well, dear!

I swear that is one of my favorite books of all time. It's a classic, but hard to describe to people. Thus my "sneaky" ways of trying to force them to read it.

Like I was saying to Dee, it really seems to work out better in the off season, when the park itself opens later. That way it doesn't feel like you're getting up all THAT early. I'm looking forward to our CP breakfast like that in Feb! (made even better, I hope, for us being able to walk there from the Contemporary!)

Mike did find a use for the little plastic sword they gave him at CRT, didn't he?

I really was just standing there slack jawed watching the two of them.

Best. Day. Ever.

(which is always nice following the Worst. Night. Ever. Things in balance, right?)