Could we be any hotter??? Our JUNE Trip Report (Pics, Pics, Pics!)

[Ragnrok23]

Oh Rags, are you serious????? We were SO there! Did you actually walk in or just by the door? I KNOW I would have recognized yall if you had walked in... We were right there on the sofa! I also looked for you on our MK early day but didn't see you---- I think you were hiding from me... Scared that I'd chase you down screaming, "Hey Rags on Rocks!!!!!"

I just walked by- it was early so I figured there was no way you would be there already- I also looked for you on Thursday at MK, but didn't see you

 

[Cinderella16]

I am still on page 1, but I am definitley subscribing. Btw, I just adore your house. It is gorgeous!

 

[NUguyinCrew]

I better sign onto this trip report before it gets too long too fast and I miss something. Great job so far and just about perfect entertainment for my lunch break. I always try and read perspectives of other younger couples like DW and I because it sure seems like no one understands why you go to disney so often with no kids (excluding furkids).

Waiting for the next post...

 

[TeenReese13]

Hi Courtney,
Mommy (Disneyaddicted) sent me over to your TR, she said I would really like it and I do. You are so pretty and I love your little dog Maddie. I will keep coming back to read this, I can't wait for your next update.

 

[Ragnrok23]

FYI- if you think it was hot for this trip- that was NOTHING compared to my AUG'05 trip. That was HOT!

 

[AlyssinWonderland]

Awesome trip report! Your baby is a cuttie!!! Your new house is fantastic! (Congradulations! ) And you and your husband make a beautiful couple! Your trip sounds great so far! Hee I may have to go reading the Stalking thread after this! LOL. Keep writting! Sounds great!!!

 

[BurleyGirl]

Enjoying your TR with your beautiful pictures!!

 

[mjrich73]

Courtney...Not trying to hijack you thread , but I just got my photopass CD in and I had to share one pic.


Here is my angel...Madison at the BBB!!

 

[DreaGirl]

I am caught up on your report and I'm lovin' it! You and your DH are so cute. I love your new home. Your kitchen is awesome!

Can't wait for the next update!

 

[twob4him]

loving your trip report...my friend is in the hospital IN LABOR...well waiting for the action of labor and delivery. I am printing your First Day for her to read this am...we have been following along! OH AND I LOVE YOUR HAIR AS WELL!!!!!!

So is my friend...she was scheduled to be induced today and is there right now! I am awaiting the phone call I am so excited!!!!!

I am still on page 1, but I am definitley subscribing. Btw, I just adore your house. It is gorgeous!

See all you have to look forward too??

Courtney...Not trying to hijack you thread , but I just got my photopass CD in and I had to share one pic.


Here is my angel...Madison at the BBB!!

AWwwwwww how adorable....love the pretty princess!

 

[CourtneyandRyan]

Sorry for the LOOOONNNNNGGGGGGG delay in my posting… It was quite a busy weekend!

But guess what???? I got my photopass CD! So not only will you get the great shots of ½ of Ryan’s arm (b/c he was the one taking ALL of the pictures with my camera by extending it out and trying to center our faces!), but you’ll get the photopass pictures too!

Anyway…
So, we head back to the room to rest up for our FIRST FULL day at Disney! Get to POP, shower up, watch some TV, and try and catch some ZZZZZZs. Well, that wasn’t happening. Remember, we’re by the pool. So I grab the earplugs out of my bag and try to sleep. Because we were SO exhausted from the extremely long day before, we fell asleep pretty quickly. Slept pretty good till about 2am. That’s when I woke up (through the earplugs, mind you), to screaming next door. Yes, screaming… Kids and adults. Apparently the lovely family they placed right next door (we had connecting doors with them), loved to stay awake and shout at each other throughout the night. I mean, what the heck are kids doing up at 2am??? Shouldn’t they be sleeping???? I didn’t understand. I mean, they are watching TV, having conversations, fussing at each other, etc. I re-insert the earplugs to try and sleep a few more hours b/c we had such a BIG, LONG day to wake up to! Luckily, I was able to fall asleep (Ryan slept through it all w/out earplugs!--- When we have kids, he best better sleep a little lighter than that!) and we woke up at 6am—by the alarm clock, not the “Screaming Family.” Don’t worry, the S.F. makes an appearance later in the TR--- hope you don’t miss them too much while they’re gone.

I jumped out of bed, so excited that we had early magic hours, and such a fun day planned. We got ready for the day and headed to the POP bus stop by 7am. By the time we got to Magic Kingdom, it was about 45 minutes before opening. We LOVE being the first people in the park! And we were EVERY day of our trip! You can get so much done in the first hour than you can in the entire day if you wait till later to get there. So we sat and waited and took a few pictures:

Side note:
I just looked at all of my pictures from this day, and MAN is this going to be a long post (or series of posts)… Lots to come for this day!
End of side note.

We get in the park and literally RUN (you see, we apparently run everywhere- through the airport, through the parks, to bus stops, etc) to space mountain. This is, by far, our favorite ride in MK. Don’t know why- maybe it’s the cold air when you walk in; maybe it’s the dark atmosphere; maybe it’s the unexpected turns; maybe it’s the speed of the ride--- I don’t know what it is, but WE LOVE IT! So fun!

We grabbed a fastpass for later and then rode. Then we hit Buzz. Ryan won. He always wins. I try so hard, but he always wins.

We rode Astro Orbiter—Got this pic of us SQUISHED in that itty bitty thing =)

And a great pic of the castle from up there:

Coming off Astro, we headed to the other side of the park… Got a few pics along the way.

We rode Peter Pan, It’s a Small World, Snow White, and then stopped by to be the hero of the day--- made an attempt to pull the sword out of the stone.

AHHH- MY HERO!

Here we are on IASW-

We head over to Big Thunder Mtn. and grabbed a FP for later- this turned out to be one of the BEST decisions we made. Later, when we went to ride, we passed up a line that had to have been at least TWO HOURS long. It was the longest line ever. We stopped and took a few pics around Splash Mnt. You see, we weren’t riding this one today. We had way too much to do, with no time to go back to POP to change. We really didn’t want to get wet and ruined for the rest of the day. I knew we would ride later in the trip with Disneyolic and her family, so we figured we’d save the fun for then.

We then headed to Pirates. Stood in a 40 minute line for that--- Why don’t they have FP for that ride yet???? They have it for Jungle Cruise, but not for POTC???? Doesn’t make much sense. Anyway, here we are being one-eyed pirates:

And normal-

At some point throughout the day, we rode Space SEVERAL more times, rode Big Thunder with our FP, and TTA (which I LOVE)! See, I didn’t take notes b/c at that point, I wasn’t doing a TR. So, the day’s a little jumbled to me, but what does it matter? I remember most of what happened =)

We ate lunch, again, not sure where, but we ate, I promise—this southern girl doesn’t miss a meal! Ever.

More in next post....

 

[CourtneyandRyan]

Then we got a Dole Whip. Man, last year, I loved that thing… It was the best ever. But this year, Disney made me mad. They took away the SPRINKLES! No sprinkles on my dole whip??? What’s up with that? So, I got it and didn’t eat it. Ryan ate some of it, then we threw the rest away. He got made at me later in the night when I bought a $9 glass of wine and didn’t drink it. More later…

Last year, we didn’t go to Mickey’s Toon Town Fair… We had a little time today, so we took the railroad over.

Stopped by Minnie’s house to check things out.

I decided to test out her sewing machine… You see, I can’t follow a pattern for human clothes, but I make dog clothes. I make up my own patterns, and it works! So, if you know any dogs needing clothes, collars, bows, bandanas, just let me know =) PS- Minnie’s machine needs a little oil—it wasn’t working too good!

The light switch didn’t work either--- hum, imagine that!

We walked around a little while longer, and by that time, we were about ready to head to Epcot for our Coral Reef reservation. We said goodbye to the MK for now, knowing we’d be back in a few short days…

So…We hopped the monorail to the TTC and caught another monorail to Epcot.

Our dinner ressie was for 5:30… When I called back in January for our ADRs, they only had a 5:30 or a 9:00 for Coral Reef—crazy, huh? Six months in advance and only two times to choose from. It ended up working out great b/c we had time to eat, then head to the Poly for the Wishes cruise with CrazyKanga/Laura and Mandy.

Before our ADR, we had time to do a few of our oldie but goodie favorites at Epcot.

Figment—LOVE him. Don’t know why, but he’s one of the only things I remember from my very first visit to Disney as a child. I just love him!

Spaceship Earth—Such a nice, restful ride! Long enough for you to feel a little rejuvenated when you exit! And a nice break from the heat.

Living with the land--- We love this one too! We are such dorks! I think that came with age. For instance, we were watching the first part of our video that we took while in Disney, last night at my family’s house. My brother (20 year old) thought living with the land was so stupid. And Ryan and I just “AWWW, Cody, that’s the best!” I don’t think I liked it when I was 20 either (heck, I’m only 25—for a few more days—Turn 26 in 26 days!) The appreciation for the things in Epcot just come with age.

We also did the new Nemo ride—A disappointment. Wasn’t what I had hoped it would be. There was nothing bad about it -Disney doesn’t do bad very well =) But it just could have been better in my opinion. At least we got a few cute pictures out of the deal…

By this time, we needed to head over to Coral Reef. In my planning, I debated if I should request a “tank” side seat. I heard good and bad about that.
Good= You can see the fish up close and personal. The divers too.
Bad= People who do not have a tank view, tend to “rush” your table to get a closer view. I certainly didn’t want a bunch of strangers joining me for dinner, and/or breathing over my food to get a good view of the little fishies.
*And I’ve heard that even if you don’t get a tank side view, all views are good.

So, you see, I wasn’t sure what to do. Do I request a tank side view, do I not request a tank side view? Do I request a tank side view, do I not request a tank side view? Do I request a tank side view, do I not request a tank side view? Do I request a tank side view, do I not request a tank side view?

I decided to not do anything. Just see what happens. We checked in at the hostess station, and sat in the waiting area.

Side note:
Why do so few Disney restaurants have bar areas? I mean, for most of them, you will be waiting for at least 15-20 minutes. Don’t you think they’d make much more money if they had bar seating??? That way, when you’re waiting, you can have a drink? My opinion only, but it just doesn’t make sense to me.
End of side note.

We waited for a good 25-30 minutes until we were seated. Then the moment came… The host walked us to our table… Now’s the moment of truth! Where’s he taking us???? Tank Side, or No Tank Side????? We go in, down the steps, around to the right, and I still can’t tell where we’ll be stopping!!!! Ahh!

Well, here’s what happened:

We ended up with a TANK SIDE table! And it was AMAZING! We loved the view. I’m so so so so glad that’s where we got seated. It was so so so fun to watch the fish chase each other; and watch the sharks swim right past; and watch the divers come in and “chat” with the restaurant guests. It was beautiful. And NO one rushed our table. We had such privacy, and it was great. Now, the food, on the other hand, was just okay. It wasn’t bad. But it wasn’t worth the money that we would have paid had we not been on the dining plan. We each had the steak. It was kinda like a buffet steak. Just not real good. Tough and a little fatty. But the flavor was good. The potatoes that it came with were like boxed potatoes.

Now, the lobster soup was FABULOUS (my appetizer)! And so was the bread. Very very very DELISH! Yum—I seriously wish I had some of that right now!

And the dessert was good too- I had the chocolate wave. I asked for ice cream with it (and you know, they charged me $2.50 for a dang scoop of ice cream!!!!!!!! I couldn’t believe that! Call me cheapo, but that’s a little ridiculous! One stinkin’ scoop). Anyway, we ended our dinner with a picture and then we headed to the Poly:

Up next… Headed to the Poly for the Wishes cruise!!!!

 

[CourtneyandRyan]

So, we headed to the Poly. I was so excited to go here to see what it was like. We went to Hawaii for our honeymoon, so I expected it to be much like that… and it was. A little different, but it was still a really neat place. We sat and ordered a drink. Yes, a $9 glass of wine for me and some raspberry drink for Ryan. Guess what? I bet you can guess b/c I gave you a hint earlier. Well, I didn’t drink that $9 glass of wine. I drank about three sips of it. Problem was I was just SO full after dinner I couldn’t possibly consume it. My tummy had ZERO room to fit anything else. It was even hard chewing gum.

So, he got a little aggravated that I just wasted money, but I didn’t know when I ordered it that I wouldn’t want it. How was I supposed to know???? He got over it! We sat outside by the pool and the “beach” and waited till it was time to go cruisin’.

We met up with CrazyKanga and her family and Mandy and her family. What a nice bunch of people! Ryan and I had a wonderful time visiting and watching Wishes… for the FIRST time ever! We had never seen it, and what a better way to watch it than from the water, with a great group of friends. It was so much fun.

We ended our night shortly after because we had a FULL day at Epcot tomorrow--- I mean a FULL day. It was going to be certainly adventurous with a TON of pictures… Stay tuned!

Because I just got my photopass cd in, I figured I’d go back and post pics from Day 1, the day we got there… So, here you go!

 

[Crazy Kanga]

Court, I don't know if it is just me, but I'm not seein' any pictures.

 

[Crazy Kanga]

OK, now I am. Weird!

 

[CourtneyandRyan]

Glad you can see them! Don't make me nervous like that!

Spend all this time working on it and you couldn't even see them =)

Glad you can now-- heck, you made the latest installment!

 

[Disneyolic]

Sorry for the LOOOONNNNNGGGGGGG delay in my posting… It was quite a busy weekend!

But guess what???? I got my photopass CD! So not only will you get the great shots of ½ of Ryan’s arm (b/c he was the one taking ALL of the pictures with my camera by extending it out and trying to center our faces!), but you’ll get the photopass pictures too!

I'm glad that you didn't post so much because you made it easier on me. So, thank you for waiting. How many days did it take to get your PhotoPass CD? I ordered mine today. We didn't get as many pics as we would have liked but I edited every single photo and added graphics to get it up there. What the heck.

We stopped and took a few pics around Splash Mnt. You see, we weren’t riding this one today. We had way too much to do, with no time to go back to POP to change. We really didn’t want to get wet and ruined for the rest of the day. I knew we would ride later in the trip with Disneyolic and her family, so we figured we’d save the fun for then.

And what fun that day would be....PM me with your address again so I can send you the 5X7 of that Splash Mtn ride.

Then we got a Dole Whip. Man, last year, I loved that thing… It was the best ever. But this year, Disney made me mad. They took away the SPRINKLES! No sprinkles on my dole whip??? What’s up with that? So, I got it and didn’t eat it. Ryan ate some of it, then we threw the rest away. He got made at me later in the night when I bought a $9 glass of wine and didn’t drink it. More later…

No Dole Whips here. Rob & I tried them a couple years ago and hated them.

I decided to test out her sewing machine… You see, I can’t follow a pattern for human clothes, but I make dog clothes. I make up my own patterns, and it works! So, if you know any dogs needing clothes, collars, bows, bandanas, just let me know =) PS- Minnie’s machine needs a little oil—it wasn’t working too good!

Hey...Brookie made that same pattern on Minnie's machine!

Now, the food, on the other hand, was just okay. It wasn’t bad. But it wasn’t worth the money that we would have paid had we not been on the dining plan. We each had the steak. It was kinda like a buffet steak. Just not real good. Tough and a little fatty. But the flavor was good. The potatoes that it came with were like boxed potatoes.

Now, the lobster soup was FABULOUS (my appetizer)! And so was the bread. Very very very DELISH! Yum—I seriously wish I had some of that right now!

And the dessert was good too- I had the chocolate wave.

We weren't impressed with the food either. However, we did love the Lobster soup and Chocolate Wave too! Yummo!!!

I wish I were on that Wishes Cruise with all of you!

 

[Crazy Kanga]

Yay! My first appearance in your trippie. And by the way, your picture is way better than mine.

 

[mandy200587]

I posted both on my sigs, not sure how good they are.

 

[SingingMom]

Courtney - your photos are FABULOUS!! We didn't get many from the Photopass people.. they either weren't around when we were, or the wait was too long.

I picked a few and ordered them - decided against the CD, since I didn't LOVE all the pictures. I'll post some when I receive them.

Of course - the two of you should be in a Disney brochure - you are both just TOO CUTE!!!

Renée