Celebrating the end of my 3rd decade Disney Style: March '12 TR (COMPLETE 6/5!)

[kittylady1972]

I use photobucket. It crashes ALL the time when I'm doing my updates ... but it's better than nothing. Does your internet provider not offer webspace? Mine does, but not sure how to use it. I don't know of any other sites ... but I know photobucket isn't the only one. (I actually have a paid sub with photobucket).

Yes my provider does offer webspace...I'm not sure of the limit. I'll have to check into it. I'm just WAY too cheap to pay for space somewhere there. I will continue to tinker with Photobucket though and see if I can get it to work.

I think I'll at least have access to my current webspace until the end of the year. That should give me time to put up photos and finish my reviews for now. My November trip may be a different story though and any past trips where I have photos included...well they will be gone!

 

[kittylady1972]

Another non-update but just trying to keep this on my to do list! Once I figure out what I'll do with my photos and can post a trip report worthy of reading WITH photos, I'll do that. I looked into the option of using my home internet provider last week and actually it's just not an option. So back to the drawing board and figuring out IF I'll pay for some web hosting and where to do that.

There is still plenty of time to decide as I am still at least 2 months away from leaving my current job and I think my account will stay active for a little while. I just don't know for how long yet.

I just ordered a few PhotoPass downloads today. I had actually let my PhotoPass account expire and didn't have enough to warrant the CD. I thought I would be okay with not ordering ANY of the photos...but as it turns out I was wrong! I wanted some higher quality versions of a few of them and so I asked for an extension of my account...and just got them ordered today.

 

[kittylady1972]

Mar 6: Ducks, ducks and more ducks!

So we woke up on the morning of March 6th refreshed and ready to go. What was on the agenda this morning? Well no more cooking of eggs today in the microwave, that's for sure! I was determined to get some Tonga Toast!

So I can't recall how we got to the Polynesian. We were clearly on the monorail...but I don't recall. I can tell you that by 7:45am this was in front of me:

We selected a nice outdoor table since it was such a nice morning. Then we realized why everybody was eating inside...it was attack of these:

Ok not really but they were pretty persistent. I did not get pecked but they certainly weren't going away. Then there were also the birds flying around from table umbrella to table umbrella. It was certainly entertaining but they did not get ONE morsel of food from us!

After breakfast we were back on the monorail and by 8:30am we were seeing this:

We snapped a few photos before we walked through:

Then as we walked through the castle, I realized I wanted to take more photos, so while my husband grumbled impatiently, I was taking these:

It's the little details that we tend to walk right by so I though it was nice. I had to wait for others to get out of my way a few times though.

Then I had to take photos of the walls through Fantasyland too:

I can't wait until these disappear and we can see what is beyond them!

I believe we rode Peter Pan because the standby line was so short and we still hadn't done it. We skipped IASW and decided to ride Pooh. We walked over to the ride only to find out the Fastpass distribution was at Mickey's Philharmagic. So we walked back over there and ended up with a bonus Mickey's Philharmagic Fastpass...so we headed inside there.

I love this one of course. After we were out of there, it was back over to ride Pooh.

Once that was over we had to hit Space Mountain since we hadn't done that one yet. I think the wait was about 20 minutes or so, so we walked in but I can tell you we didn't stop long enough to play any of the video games. We were nearly at the front of the ride, after breaking to the left at the top of the ramp and coming out from behind the back wall...and then the lights came on! We knew that meant the ride was shutdown, but we were surprised to see that you could no longer see the track inside. We have seen it in the past after a shutdown.

So we waited and watched as a group arrived outside of the gates next to us. The ride had shutdown with them on it, so they were in an area where they would be put right back on the ride once it was up and running.

DH and I occupied ourselves playing with our phones and the delay wasn't too horrible. Soon we were blasting off!

We emerged from Space Mountain and were walking back through Tomorrowland when I heard PUSH! the talking trashcan. We looked for him and found him in a corner area so we walked over to watch.

I was looking all over for the guy that operates PUSH and talks, because we've always been able to spot him...but I couldn't this time.

DH then walked into a small little ice cream shop and found him inside there. He was watching through the glass windows and doing his interacting from inside. I had to walk inside myself and check him out without trying to LOOK like I was looking at him too...of course!

We stood around outside and watched as he talked to a few kids. Then out of the blue he says "Oh look...there's my friend DINA...I'm going to say hello to her!" and he heads in my direction! I'm baffled...how does he know my name? I know he can't see my birthday button from inside and then I realize...my back is to the window and I'm wearing my ears...WITH MY NAME ON THEM! DOH!

So I am trying to move away as PUSH comes cruising towards me calling my name. It's too funny...and then he mentions I must have a few of trash cans!

We leave the area and then head over towards Buzz Lightyear but the wait is long. We cruise by there and an older cast member approaches me, wishing me happy birthday, and starts singing and grabs my hands to dance with me! He's singing Happy Birthday and I'm just laughing...too funny!

After that we decided to head into the Laugh Factory for a while and catch a show. We enter the line and DH and I both start texting jokes to the code, ones we had just heard earlier in the week from our day at the Magic Kingdom when we watched the performers there. We get inside and during the show one of DH's jokes is read...cool! Mine....nope.

The show is cute and afterwards we decide that it's getting later and we need to make our way over to EPCOT since we have a late lunch planned there. The monorail is not running because they have it shutdown a few times during the day as they work near the Grand Floridian, so once again we catch a Ferryboat over to the TTC to catch the monorail from there. This is the most we have ever been on the Ferryboat...but we enjoy the ride and I snap some more photos.

UP next...EPCOT adventures and MORE DUCKS!!!

 

[Lidian]

Duck attack!

That's awesome that you saw and talked to PUSH! I've always looked for him, but have NEVER found him. But that's epic that HE FOUND YOU!!!

Waiting for more!

 

[kittylady1972]

Duck attack!

That's awesome that you saw and talked to PUSH! I've always looked for him, but have NEVER found him. But that's epic that HE FOUND YOU!!!

Waiting for more!

We've seen him about three times in ALL of our visits. I just heard his voice this time and went looking for him as usually he's more out in the open. It is fun to watch and listen to him but it's been a different "operator" every time!

Hoping to get back to the TR sometime this week. I'd like to finish up before I have to start my next not-quite-Disney TR here for our trip that begins in FIVE WEEKS!

 

[kittylady1972]

Mar 6: Ducks, ducks and more ducks continued
We arrived at EPCOT probably close to 1:30pm and we had a 2:45pm lunch at LeCellier. We snapped some photos:

We had the Photopass person snap some photos:

Then we decide we'll search for my nephews Leave a Legacy tile that my SIL got for him on their first visit back in 2006. DH called her to get the locations for his tile and they also have a tile (SIL and BIL) so we searched and found both. Here is my nephew's tile...they were no longer doing photos when she bought his:

We wandered towards LeCellier, but were stopped short when we came across...what else? More DUCKS! A family of them...and too cute! They were near the area where they were doing a sand sculpture and had these cool guys:

Too cute!

And a baby wanders closer to us:

Close enough for DH to touch:

Oh the cuteness!

I thought we'd head to LeCellier to check-in and see if they could seat us earlier. We decide we'd do something else we have not done in years...and we hopped on a boat:

It has some great views:

When we got the podium, they were turning down another guy already and told us they were running about 30 minutes behind...already! We should come back close to our 2:45pm reservation. So what could we do?

I recall we wandered the World Showcase where I decided I just HAD to get a Mickey Soft Pretzel from America. Yes, this close to lunch. Not my best move and I figured I didn't have to eat it all...I could just try it. So I get the pretzel and eat a little bit of it...so good. I shove most of it in my bag for later.

At some point DH decided he REALLY wanted to try the Tequila Sampler at La Cava...so we may have done that before lunch:

Oh and a MUST do for me for each trip is to get a photo with my favorite Disney character....TIGGER! I knew exactly where to find him in the World Showcase...so we headed there:

We didn't want to get too far away from LeCellier, so as it was closer to 2:30pm we headed over there to check-in officially. She told us they were still running 30 minutes behind, so I copped a squat near the flowers while DH went in to use the restroom. I checked the balances on my remaining VISA gift cards to see what we had to use for lunch. It was probably within 10 minutes they called our name...and DH was still in the bathroom at LeCellier. Luckily we picked him up as we headed to our table!

My lunch review is here.

Our bellies sufficiently full, I think we wandered back to our room at this point, though we may have done the Tigger photo right before that instead of before lunch? That was 3 months ago after all! Anyway my PLAN was we would rest for a little bit, then head over to the Animal Kingdom Resort. We had a 7:45pm dinner planned for Sanaa with some friends. I figured we'd park at Kidani, then maybe catch a bus over to AK and ride EE there...close to dark! Then return for dinner.

Well DH had a nice nap and I didn't have the heart to wake him. I don't recall when it was that I did finally wake him, but it was close to 5:30pm maybe? AK closed at 7pm...would we get there in time??? Stay tuned!

 

[kittylady1972]

Mar 6 Continued: Evening at AK

So we get ourselves ready for dinner and DH presents me with my early birthday gift...a beautiful sterling silver heart necklace. I tried to find a photo of it...no such luck. Anyway, we probably left close to 5:45pm or so, arriving at Animal Kingdom Resort close to 6pm. We arrive at the gate and I clarify where we are going to make sure, even though I knew we had to park at Kidani. The guy at the gate tells me to go ahead and park in the garage in the Timon area. Only he pronounces it "TIM-MEN" area instead of "TIM-MONE" and this REALLY irks me! How can he work at Disney and not know how to pronounce the CHARACTERS like that! DH just laughs at my frustration over that...I'm such a Disney geek!

So we park and make our way up to the main level and I am heading right for the bus stop. It's close to 6:15pm now, still plenty of time to catch the bus, get to AK and ride EE before 7pm right? We wait for a bus and as the AK bus shows up the driver tries to stop us, telling us the park is already closed. I correct HIM...and insist it is open until 7pm. Well at this point DH has already decided this is crazy...we'll never make it to EE in time to ride. I try to argue but end up giving up. Fine...we'll just stay here.

We hang out in the resort lobby of Kidani instead, and even wander outside to the fire pit and watch some animals, doing our best to kill another hour or so until dinner. My friends who are meeting us for dinner are running a little behind, but I tell them no worries...I had checked the restaurant and it was pretty empty so I wasn't worried about being a bit late for our reservation.

Eventually they are at the gates and we wander down to checkin at Sanaa...at which point I suddenly start feeling a bit sick. No reason but my stomach is just a bit queasy. Awesome. But I'm not giving into it so we hang around, my friend and her DH arrive, and we are seated.

I do order ginger ale for my drink which seems to help. Review of Sanaa is here.

It was a really nice evening and we had a great and friendly server. It's just a shame that it's so dark, so no chance in getting that great view of the animals from our table, but that's okay. We catch up with friends and really enjoy dinner. I did snap one photo as I was laying on one of the couches in the lobby:

Afterwards it's back to our resort to crash for the evening!

NOTE: I am determined to get this report FINISHED before we leave for our next trip to Orlando NEXT WEEK! This one is mostly a non-Disney trip but we have some plans for some possible Disney flair (thinking Disney Restaurant meals, maybe a dinner show, maybe rent some boats and even do some miniature golfing!)

 

[kittylady1972]

Mar 7: EPCOT on a Segway and Wishes Dessert Party

We have reached our last full day at Walt Disney World...always a somewhat sad day. However we were prepared to make the best of it and we had some fun plans!

Breakfast was in our room and via our microwave. I had hoped to have my leftover Chocolate Moose from LeCellier, only I ended up eating that for dessert the night before! So I heated up some leftover breads from Sanaa and also had some leftover Mickey Pretzel and cheese...YUM!

There was some confusion on our part as to where to report for our 9am tour. We walked through the International Gateway and gave our name to somebody there who confirmed we were on a list since we really could not normally enter the park that early. She instructed us on where to go near the front of the park...if only we had LISTENED! We were then allowed to walk through EPCOT all by ourselves, all before any crowds...it was so cool to see the park so empty!

Beautiful landscape for the beginning of the Flower and Garden Festival:

We ended up going back out the gates and were once again in the wrong place. So we entered the park once again from the front and finally found our way to where to meet for the tour.

Our tourguide arrived not too long afterwards. He asked if we had been on a Segway before and we had...back a few years ago we had done the quick intro to Segway in one of the Innoventions pavillions. He mentioned he was upset that they no longer did those...and I didn't know that. I had just told somebody else earlier in the week (on our Keys to the Kingdom Tour) that they did still do that. Ooops!

We were soon inside one of the Innoventions pavillions (same place where we had done that intro before) and we had to go through the safety procedures. We watched a video and our instructor demonstrated all of the different safety features of the Segway and how to operate it. We were then told to choose helmets and we headed out to start our training, right in the middle of the pavillion. Frank and I had no problem with it and most of the people in our group did okay. We even had a woman in our group who had only ONE full working arm who did pretty well. She had some difficulties but not too many. I think she had a partial second arm which helped a little bit with the balancing of the machine. Soon we were inside doing different drills to test our turns and stopping. Our instructor REALLY emphasized the stopping suddenly as we'd soon be in the park while it was open and we should be well prepared for people to dart RIGHT in front of us. He was SO right! Eventually we made our way to the outside world and towards the World Showcase, which was still closed to the rest of the crowds who were able to get into to the park already.

Along with our instructor, we also had a tourguide and her job was to tell us some fun facts about the different parts of the World Showcase. So she would point out hidden Mickey's to us and fun facts about several different areas of the World Showcase. It was really interesting. We would also test out our Segway riding skills on different areas of the park such as small garden pathways and hills. Overall it was just a wonderful experience that I would love to try again at any time! Our instructor was always nearby to help anybody and make sure that they were handling the Segways okay. At the end of the tour, we stopped in an area of the World Showcase to pause for photos, which our tourguide happily took for us.

It was really too tough to take photos while on the tour and we didn't chance it, so not much else there. We were also given a cool little pin at the end of the tour. I'll have to post photos of it sometime.

We decide to grab lunch in EPCOT after our tour. It was a bit early so we wandered down to Morocco. I had always wanted to try Marrakesh and it seemed a perfect time. We put our names down and browsed in the shops until the restaurant was open. We were seated right away of course, but since it was so early we did not see any belly dancers while there! Aww...so sad!

Lunch review is here.

Some photos after our ride of the fun flowers:

Once our bellies were somewhat full, we decided it would be a good time to try Sum of All Fears. Now DH and DS12 have been on it twice before, but this would be my first time. Keep in mind that I do NOT do well with simulators, so I was a bit unsure about this one but willing to give it a try.

I believe we decided on the fighter jet for our build. It wasn't long before we were strapped into our simulator and allowed to try out our design. It was fun and (more importantly) very quick. I did okay after it was all said and done even if it was not my favorite.

Then it was time to do a little bit of shopping. I had also decided I wanted to try to attend my very first DVC Welcome Home Wednesday which was due to begin at 2pm. We were still in MouseGear looking around when I told DH we had to start moving if we were going to make Welcome Home Wednesday at Boardwalk!

We headed to the International Gateway and made our way to the Boardwalk. I could see a line formed outside and I didn't want to be too late!

So we arrive and get in line and that's when we notice that people seem to be going inside...and then coming right back out...with cookies??

As we get closer to the front we finally hear it...they have CANCELLED the Welcome Home Wednesday for that day. Instead of the fun show and free stuff, we got a few cookies, a little tote bag and basically a button proclaiming we were DVC Members. Disappointing. One of these days I'll go to one of these events!

It was getting a bit chilly outside and we decided to make our way over to Magic Kingdom, so we caught the next bus there...and DH caught a nice nap on the ride over!

Soon we were walking through the gates!

We had a dinner reservation at The Plaza for 4:15pm. We probably wandered through some gift shops and then headed there to check in for our reservation. It was not too long before we were seated. This would be our first time eating here. We had a GREAT view!

A little zoom action from our window:

Tried to get a photo of me with the castle behind me, but the lighting was not working out.

We really enjoyed our lunch, even if we had a sub-par server. Review here.

After lunch we had a few rides we wanted to do before our Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Party. We decided to hop on the train first!

View from the platform:

Cool stuff I've never noticed:

We had a nice ride over and exited at Frontierland and made our way over to Splash Mountain. I'm not sure what we were thinking doing this so close to the evening...but there you have it. We should have listened to this guy:

We look happy...because we are still dry!

That would not last long:

I was quite wet when we got off the ride...but what could we do? Well we could do this....one more ride before dessert and we knew we had to ride Snow White before it closed for good later in the year.

Then it was time to head over for our 7pm reservation at the Tomorrowland Terrace for the Wishes Dessert Party!!

 

[Lidian]

I really want to do the Segway tour, but it will have to wait until there are no kiddos with us (or we bring someone to watch the kids).

Very much loving your TR. So sad that it's winding down! And I can't believe your next trip is here already!!!

 

[kittylady1972]

I really want to do the Segway tour, but it will have to wait until there are no kiddos with us (or we bring someone to watch the kids).

Very much loving your TR. So sad that it's winding down! And I can't believe your next trip is here already!!!

Yes the Segway tour was definitely fun. Hope you get to do it someday!

I can't believe my trip is almost here either! We purchased our remaining tickets over the weekend (length of stay passes for SeaWorld and Busch Gardens) and we also purchased our Disney passes for the kids and the in-laws to beat the price hike! So the credit card bill next month is gonna be so UGLY!

 

[kittylady1972]

Mar 7 (continued): EPCOT on a Segway and Wishes Dessert Party


We were still pretty soaked from our ride on Splash Mountain, but it was time to report to the Tommorrowland Terrace for the Dessert Party. We headed there close to 7pm and there was already a decent line. DH was concerned but as I watched I noticed there were tags on all of the tables so that meant the seats were already pre-assigned. There was no rush to get there extra early!

My full review can be found here.

Overall it was a great experience. We would definitely do it again. Once it was over, I don't recall what we did. We may have stuck around a little bit and done a few more rides, and we most likely did some last minute shopping on Main Street since it would be our last day there.

We probably headed back to the room to pack and get ready for our last day!

 

[kittylady1972]

Mar 8th: Celebrating my 40th Birthday in a Disney Park!

I woke up with mixed emotions. Happy that it was my birthday and I was in Walt Disney World. Ok with the fact that I was turning 40! Sad that I'd have to leave the park after such a great week!

What would be on agenda for our very last day? Stay tuned to find out!

 

[kittylady1972]

March 8th: Happy Birthday to ME!
So we woke up this morning and got our stuff all packed up and ready to go. We cleaned out the frig and ate any remaining leftovers then packed everything into our rental car and headed out to our first destination...the only park we had NOT been to yet this trip: ANIMAL KINGDOM!

For the most part the plan was to hit the Safari and ride EE and not much else. I can't recall what we did once we entered the gates, but I think we headed right for EE first. We grabbed Fastpasses and noticed this right away, which I tweeted:

Pretty sure those signs had not been around anywhere else that week, so the new Fastpass rules were going into effect today. I even noticed the pass itself:

No late arrivals...so we'd have to make sure we returned in time to use these. I think we rode EE and then decided to hit the Safari. The wait time there showed something pretty small, like maybe 20 minutes but the line definitely seemed to go on for much longer than that! I didn't keep track but I think we waited a bit longer, but before long we were ready to load up into our vehicle and for the first time EVER we got a seat RIGHT BEHIND the driver! Very cool!

Gosh I wish I could recall her name, but she was awesome! Before we headed out, she glanced in her mirror and saw my birthday button and told EVERYBODY on our vehicle that this was Dina's Birthday Safari and had everybody wish me a Happy Birthday! It was too cool!

We saw LOTS of animals and she was great about stopping long enough to let us take photos, which is rare for most rides. The most AMAZING part had to be as we approached the area for the giraffes. They were out all over the place and they decided to cross the road in front of us, so our vehicle had to STOP and wait for them!

Our driver just kept talking about how COOL this was as we sat completely still for at LEAST 15 minutes or so to let the giraffe slowly make it's way across the road, and it stopped in front of us in the road for a while...and then another one did the same thing. She kept saying she was supposed to call somebody who would come out and help move them along, but she wasn't doing that. I don't know if that was true but it was still awesome to just sit and observe the giraffes for so long up close! I thought I had my camera rolling on video, only to discover lately that I had not STARTED the video! UGH! Still...amazing!

Not only that but we got to see all of the cats...my favorites!

We even caught a glimpse of this guy:

CUE the Hakuna Matata song!

It was definitely one of the BEST Safari rides EVER! Just fantastic!

After that we decided to hit Dinosaur. We are in the back right, my DH making some king of gesture there:

Love that woman in the front though!

We did get another ride on EE in time for Fastpasses and then I think that's about it. The only other thing was stopping to get a few Photopass photos in front of the tree. We found a great spot to see all the details of it so I took quite a few photos myself!

By around noon I was tweeting that we were leaving AK but we had a fabulous morning there even though we didn't do a whole lot!

Up next: EPCOT!!!

 

[kittylady1972]

Mar 8 (continued): Happy Birthday to ME!
We left AK and headed over to EPCOT and we knew we wanted to eat some lunch. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 6:35pm so our plan was to hang out at EPCOT until about 3:30pm or so.

We had lunch ressies at Le Chef de France and as much as I wanted to try the French Onion soup there, I just wasn't feeling it overall. Instead we decided to stop in at Coral Reef and see if we could get a walk-in there.

There were quite a few people hanging around and we asked about the wait and were told at LEAST 30 minutes. DH didn't want to wait, but I said let's just put our names down and see what happens.

About FIVE minutes later they were calling our name...and we were seated right in the very FRONT of the restaurant, one table away from the tank!

It was a GREAT restaurant and all we kept thinking about was how much our kids, and my DS7 in particular who LOVES fish would love this restaurant! Needless to say, for our November trip, I have a lunch ressie here for all of us!

So my full review can be found here, but I will say that we enjoyed watching the fish in the tanks and we really enjoyed the meal there as well!

As we were sitting there eating lunch, our phones got some text messages with some pixie dust! It turns out our flight had been delayed by TWO HOURS! So we would get an extra two hours to hang out at EPCOT!

Now the funny thing about this is that when I made our original flight reservations, there were two evening flights on SWA that I was considering. One was the 6:35pm flight and the other was I think an 8pm flight. I chose the earlier flight because I wanted to try to get home on my birthday in time to see the kids before they went to bed! Of course, now we would be leaving LATER than that other flight!

However despite the texts and checking the website my DH was surely convinced that SOMEHOW the messages were wrong. He was VERY nervous about missing our flight and was sure all of the messages were somehow wrong. What if the flight really does leave on time? This was driving me CRAZY! I was ready to enjoy some extra time in the parks but he still felt a need to show up early just in case our flight really did leave on time!

So I did what most wives would do...ignored him and enjoyed my time in the park. We stopped and watched a few street performances, something I seem like I never get to do when we are touring the parks with the family. These guys were very entertaining:

We stopped by to see if they had made more progress on this, which looked so cool!

We had to stop and watch the train for a while. My DS7 also LOVES trains!

ATTACK of the killer lizard!

We went over to La Cave de Tequila for one last margarita before the trip, and I'm sure we did some shopping. I knew the one thing I did NOT have yet was a photo with Mickey for my birthday! We wandered into the area of Innoventions for the Chase Visa photo at one point but nobody was around. We came back later, closer to 2:30pm I think, and as we walked through it looked like they were packing up to go. I asked the woman outside if it was possible to get a photo and she said she thought they were leaving but she would go ask. She came back out and said YES they would have time for ONE LAST photo and so I did get my birthday photo with Mickey. Yes, I was sure to tell him I was so glad to get a picture with him on my birthday! I'm like a big 40-year old kid!

We also had one last ride on the Sum of All Fears, this time creating a coaster. Once again, I survived another simulator ride...barely!

Before long we were walking out and getting one last glance at this sight:

It had been a magical birthday trip so I couldn't be too disappointed.

Besides we had a few more adventures as I drove us to the airport. First we had to do that mandatory fill-up-the-tank within a mile of the airport...or whatever. I found a place to do that...and missed the turn into it at least once. Then I guess we did not get a receipt, which we learned later we were supposed to do. I mean really...the tank is FULL clearly....why do you need a receipt to verify that I got it filled within the required distance to the airport? I swear they just want to make more money off of us, but they did let me slide on it and didn't charge me exrtra.

Also it seems the rental car area has changed quite a bit since I last rented, and although I made it into the correct garage, I ended up driving right by the area for our particular rental car company...and there was no way to turn around as it was one-way through there. So I ended up exiting the garage and making another circle back around to the airport. Of course, this was driving DH crazy! Did I mention we had planned to arrive at the airport by 6pm so that JUST IN CASE our flight truly did depart ON TIME we might have a chance to catch it?? Of course, you know it was still delayed by the two hours so we just sat at the concourse/gate until it departed.

Oh but we sat in the area across from our gate, since our gate area was really crowded. Well as it turns out we couldn't hear announcements about our flight very well from there. At one point DH looks over to see they are lining up in the cattle call area and we were NOT there yet! The HORROR! Oh we made it there and of course our flight was packed...but we still had one seat left between us in the back due to my DH's strategy...of course!

What is that? He sits on the aisle seat and had his arms crossed and generally looks pretty mad so that even people who notice the empty seat next to him don't bother to ask him to move...they end up taking other seats instead. Yep that's his big secret...don't let him know I told you!

Anyway flight home was uneventful, found our car at the parking lot easy enough and we were home and able to see the kids briefly before they went to bed!

And so our trip comes to an end just in time...we leave tomorrow for ORLANDO again! This time it is supposed to be a non-Disney trip but we may throw in a few Disney surprises along the way!!

 

[Lidian]

Wow! Sounds like you had a great birthday overall! I can't believe you got a walk-up at Coral Reef! That's awesome that Mickey stayed a bit longer for a picture with you!!!!!

Glad you eventually got everything sorted out with the flights and made it home safe!