DDA Chapter 25

[PNO4TE]

You should take a look at www.dpreview.com for some reviews.

I like that site a lot, as well as http://www.steves-digicams.com/

Most of what I know about digital cameras came from those two sites!!

 

[PNO4TE]

Elin - glad you finally got a Saturday off, good luck with the camera hunt, I have pretty decent one, it would help if I took the time to use the different settings, but I'm a diehard pint and shoot kind of girl

OK, breaktime over, over to clean the bathroom

Debbie - I find that I am a point & shoot photographer too, but I want DSLR results!

I have never had a complaint about transportation to and from BC and we stay there quite a bit. Of course, most of our time is spent in Epcot...

 

[PNO4TE]

Stephanie - I am so glad you all had a good time!

 

[my3princes]

We are off to see Alice in Wonderland. Hope Sophie is not too scared. We have the option of seeing it in 3D or regular & she & Daniel asked to see it in regular. After seeing the Christmas Carol with Jim Carey (which scared the cr@p out of Sophie) I am very weary now.

2 weeks from today we will be in Florida!!!

Have a great Saturday everyone.

Wow only 2 weeks left

Honeys I'm home. I just got a text that I have to meet my DGD with some cash, so I'll have to cut my note short. But I survived.

The next time I will make it a 5 day trip instead of 7 days. Otherwise, wouldn't change a thing. We had tons of fun.

Now, off to our cruise!!! 27 weeks and counting

I'm glad you had a nice trip Of course we need details before you move onto your next trip.

 

[Pooh67_68]

Jen I hope your dad and brother got off ok. The weather is pretty bad up here and the wind...

 

[Pooh67_68]

Welcome home Stephanie.

 

[Pooh67_68]

Debbie, how about a studio at BLT? we really liked staying there.

 

[Blueeyes101817]

Jen I hope your dad and brother got off ok. The weather is pretty bad up here and the wind...

I am kind of surprised they took off since it is absolutely horrible here but they just called to say they got there. Dad said it was rough for awhile though. Mom and I went to the store when it looked like it calmed down . We saw trees and wires down everywhere.I can't believehow bad it is out there. I am home for the day

 

[Disney Yooper]

I will tell you what I tell everyone that asks - my trip was relaxing but CHILLY!!! It was a wonderful trip but a disappointment compared to previous trips. For the 12 days we were there, only three were over 60 degrees and it was never over 66. Most days, the wind was 15-25mph which made it even chillier.

We liked Jambo House. We will definitely stay there again. I was happy with the Savannah View room but wish that the weather had been better for us to enjoy the balcony. Saratoga Springs was nice but we didn't get the best view. We walked over to the Tree House Villas and Old Key West one day which was quite enjoyable.

We had a great time with my brother. We had two wonderful dinners with Stephanie - T-rex and Tony's. Her grandson is a sweetheart. He & I took pictures together at T-rex. I promised I'd post them so she could give them to him. She wiped him out though! He fell asleep after dinner/before dessert the night we had dinner at Tony's. He was so cute trying to wake-up to eat his ice cream.

I have been quite busy since our return. There is major stuff happening at work plus my sinuses have went crazy. I'll get around to giving more details once things calm down.

If I can save the money, I get a do-over in October. We both are looking forward to it.

 

[mommykds]

Well we are back. Alice was GREAT!! Nothing was too scary & the special effects were great. I'd buy this when it comes out on DVD.

We got half way home & Katie screams "OMG, where are my glasses?!" so we head back to the theater & looked all around. We had also gone to the mall food court to get a bite to eat afterwards & checked there with no luck...even checked our parking spot but nothing.....

Those glasses were covered last year (she got them in the fall) & this year she does not have coverage (we get glasses every other year) anyway now we have to pay for new glasses for her. She has really bad sight & her lenses are condensed so it's even more than regular glasses like Daniel's...So that was our drama for the day...it just never ends.

Well at least the movie was good...

 

[Steffy]

Stephanie why did TSA keep the guidebooks?

Ah yes. Homeland Security..

A very quick trip report....

We got to BWI and my DGS had his backpack and I had my carryon that held my laptop. We were so excited. He was having a nice time at the airport playing with his DS and then he had to run to the bathroom. When he came out the stall (I was standing right outside the stall) he gave me his jacket and hat and washed his hands. It wasn't until they called us to board that I noticed he no longer had on his backpack.

Back to the bathroom; no backpack. Over to the food court, no backpack. A kindly gentleman gave me two scenarios. One was a patron picked it up and took it to lost and found, the other more likey scenario was that it was considered "unattended baggage" and surrounded by the police and taken to the TSA.

I texted my DD, asked her to call lost and found and find his backback, we were getting on the plane and going to Disney World. When we got off the plane, she texted me that they had the bag and all of the contents,(two guidebooks and her old Blackberry that he uses as a camera, video camera and for UNO) and she had to make an appointment to retrieve it from a secure location.

We got to AKL and everything was fine. Room was ready. We went to the room, got the Owners locker delivered, washed up and took the bus DTD to meet Chuck and Vicki for dinner at T-Rex. What a great place. He wanted the ribs, which were not on the childrens menu. He also got his Icee in a "bone" The pics on all on FB.

It was late and he had been up since 6:00am. For whatever reason, he thought this was his whole vacation. He was there at Disney and went to dinner. No rides. He was crestfallen and melted into a pool of tears. He wanted to go home. I promised him we would do rides the next day. I really needed to make him happy.

 

[Steffy]

Our first park day was EPCOT. We went in and pulled a fast pass for Soarin'. We had breakfast at Sunshine Seasons. He wanted eggs, I wanted French toast. I gave him the adult meal and I ate the kids meal. Score!

While we were waiting for our fast pass time, we rode Living with the Land. He loved it. Gave me a big hug. Then it was time to ride Soarin.' He said he didn't want to ride. I got in line. He keep saying he didn't want to ride. Got the little girls behind us all upset. I told him he loved the ride and had been talking about it non stop for weeks. We get up to our flight and he sits down in line. "My stomach hurts"

Okay, no problem. As soon as I get off the flight, I will take you back to AKL and put you to bed. He got up and stood on his arrow. Anyway, he squealed with delight the entire ride. Thank heavens the little girls enjoyed it too.

We walked over to Innovations and the character lines were 45 minutes deep. So I went next door to the Chase character spot and the line is really small. And we get in the room and there is Mickey and Minnie! And who is that standing with his back to the wall! Goofy! The three of them hug him, Minnie kisses him, 3 times! What great character interaction.

We went to the firehouse and played there. Got pictures with the fire truck and emailed them home. We rode Spaceship Earth while we waited for our pictures to develop. Went to the Kodak shop and I let him pick which picture he wanted and also let him put the boarder around it.

We hopped on the monorail and got to the TTC. I asked if he wanted to take another monorail or the Ferry to the MK. He decided the ferry. When we got to the MK, Pluto was outside! Score! Then who did we see but Chip N Dale. Not a peep out of him he just walked to the back of the que and lined up.

We saw the show in front of the Castle and then he wanted an Icee. Off to the TomorrowLand Launching Pad. We got the Icee and he wanted to ride Buzz. Can't with the drink, but we could do the TTA. He loved it!

When we got off the TTA, Buzz was at his spot, so off we went to get pics! Then we rode Buzz. By now we're getting hungry. It is Friday and Lent, so I'm off to find fish. Columbia Harbour House.. closed. Pinchaus closed. Cosmic Rays was open and I found a veggie burger.

By the time we finished eating it was time for Wishes. He was so tired. My legs won't move. We stood in front of the Castle and watched Wishes. He loved it.

Somehow we made it back to Jambo House. Forget the bath, I stuck him in his pajamas and off to Neverland he went!

 

[Steffy]

Day three was a great day. We started off with his bath. We ate breakfast at Boma and then took the bus over to EPCOT. We went to Innoventions and picked up our Kimmunicator. We had to go to the spot between France and England. Our mission was in France. Off we went to save the world! He really loved this mission.

We stopped at America and saw my friend Lou who writes trivia books and also does a podcast. My DGS was getting ansy again and needed a ride. We did Malestorm in Norway. We walked around the rest of the world, and I knew it was time to make it over to the MK. We hopped on the monorail and this time took the MK express monorail over. When we walked into the MK, the cast members we playing with hula hoops. Well, my DGS is the world's greatest hula hoop player, bar none.

I asked him, do you want to do rides or play hula hoops? Hula hoops. Well did everyone who entered Main Street that day get a treat. He was swinging 2, 3 hoops at a time. Two at a time on his knees. Big kids, little kids, cast members, college kids, didn't matter. Everyone was amazed at how long he could just effortlessly swing those hoops. Pretty soon it was time for SpecroMagic. He had a front row seat.

We walked across the street to Tony's and had dinner with Chuck and Vicki. It was so good seeing them again. I just can't tell you how much we enjoyed the meal. Little guy was exhausted. Pics are on FB.

Somehow we got back to Jambo House.

 

[Steffy]

Sunday was our best day. We got up late and had leftover ribs for breakfast. We stopped at the Marketplace and bought an autograph book to go with our fat pen. Then we hopped on the bus and got to Hollywood Studios. As soon as we got off the bus, I noticed DGS no longer was holding his autograph book. I went back to the bus. No book. He must have left it at the bus stop.

As soon as we went through the turnstiles, we went to Guest Services. I explained how he left his book at the Animal Kingdom Lodge bus stop. Not even an hour old. “Dude” The Cast Member said.
“Come on with me Dude.” “Dude, what are you doing? What happened Dude?”
DGS didn’t know what to say. We went outside to the concession stand. “Dude, what’s your name Dude?” He told him. He filled out a sheet and gave him the identical autograph book and pen, like he was expecting him. Which I think he was. “Hold onto this one Dude, okay?” DGS thanked him and we were on our way into the Hollywood Studios.

The first place we went was to Star Tours. I had packed the video camera so I could tape him doing Jedi training. On our way to Star Tours, he saw a Jedi sword that retraced! Score. I told him if he found one that retracted I would buy it for him. We walked on to Star Tours. Darth Vader was out there giving a gaggle of kids Jedi training. Doesn’t that look fun? No.
Do you want to go ride Star Tours? No.

Well this wasn’t going at all like I planned it. Okay fine. Let’s go get a fast pass for Toy Story Mania. Ok. As we walked through the Streets of America, we came upon Sully and Mike from Monsters, Inc. Score! Then we walked a little further and there were the Power Rangers. We got pictures and autographs of the Red Power Ranger, the Blue Power Ranger and the Power Ranger Mobile. Score!

We got to Toy Story Mania and got our fast passes. We stopped in Mama Melrose to check on our Fantasmic Package. Score! We rode the Great Movie Ride. DGS loved it. We went to the Animation Studio and got autographs from Sorcerer Mickey, Dug and Carl from Up, Froze and Mr. Incredible. By this time it was time for lunch. Off to pizza Planet. We split a pizza and walked around some more. We decided to ride the Great Movie Ride again. Then it was time for dinner.

Off to Mama Melrose. We had a great dinner. Of course DGS had spaghetti. After dinner it was time to go and do Toy Story Mania! We loved it, so I used my golden fast pass Vicki gave me and we rode again. Then it was time for one more ride on the Great Movie Ride. Then off to Fantasmic.
We were seated in the Ursula section which is reserved for people with the Fantasmic package. Really nice seats. I had heard the first two rows you get wet, so I always stuck to the back rows. Well DGS followed these two little girls to the very front. I figured I was about to get soaked. The mother of one of the girls assured me she sat there every time and they were good seats. Well when the show started, I knew what she said was true. They were great seats! DGS really enjoyed the show.

We got back to the room and DGS asked if he could take his bath in the morning. I told him no problem. He promptly put on his jammies and fell asleep. I did too. What a great day!

 

[Steffy]

Monday was an interesting day. DGS was so tired; he couldn’t get up for breakfast with Donald. I figured this would be a non-park day. So we got to the bus and went to Downtown Disney.

We went to several shops looking for swim trunks. Nothing. So we took a bus to the Grand Floridian. Nothing. But we found a pressed penny machine. Score! We took the monorail to the Contemporary. And found not only trunks, but Lightning Mc Queen trunks. Score!

We got back to the villa and went swimming. He had a blast. When he finally got out of the pool he was starving. So was I. I decided we needed a good meal. So we took a taxi to Downtown Disney and ate at Wolfgang Pucks. It was the best spaghetti of the trip for him. Plus he loved making his own dessert sundae. What a nice day.

He was so tired, he slept on the bus back to Jambo House.

 

[Tammi67]

I will tell you what I tell everyone that asks - my trip was relaxing but CHILLY!!! It was a wonderful trip but a disappointment compared to previous trips. For the 12 days we were there, only three were over 60 degrees and it was never over 66. Most days, the wind was 15-25mph which made it even chillier.

We liked Jambo House. We will definitely stay there again. I was happy with the Savannah View room but wish that the weather had been better for us to enjoy the balcony. Saratoga Springs was nice but we didn't get the best view. We walked over to the Tree House Villas and Old Key West one day which was quite enjoyable.

We had a great time with my brother. We had two wonderful dinners with Stephanie - T-rex and Tony's. Her grandson is a sweetheart. He & I took pictures together at T-rex. I promised I'd post them so she could give them to him. She wiped him out though! He fell asleep after dinner/before dessert the night we had dinner at Tony's. He was so cute trying to wake-up to eat his ice cream.

I have been quite busy since our return. There is major stuff happening at work plus my sinuses have went crazy. I'll get around to giving more details once things calm down.

If I can save the money, I get a do-over in October. We both are looking forward to it.

I can commiserate! We froze our patooties off in January. We are also thinking of doing an adults only trip in October, to enjoy the F&WF. It would be nice to have a mini-meet!

Anne Marie - I'm so sorry about the glasses.

Stephanie - I'm enjoying your TR! It's so funny hearing about the all the new experiences of little ones!

Don't forget to "Spring Ahead" tonight!

 

[mommykds]

We are "sprung ahead" already.

I know in the scheme of things, a lost pair of glasses is not a big deal. I am just so bummed since they were fairly new & Katie was really upset. Teenagers can be so dramatic ya know?

 

[mommykds]

Stephanie,
Sounds like a nice time...your DGS is lucky to have you!

 

[Steffy]

Tuesday was a really rough day. We started out really well. We got up early and went to the Magic Kingdom. We walked up a mostly deserted Main Street and walked through the castle. DGS wanted to go into the castle. So we did that. We walked around and rode It’s A Small World, just like he wanted to.

We then walked around to the Liberty Belle and met up with Deb Wills and the allears.net gang. Hugs all around. Met up with some people that I only knew thru Facebook. Saw Beci! It was really nice.

We rode Haunted Mansion together. DGS liked that. He was hungry so we went to Columbia Harbour House and had chicken nuggets, fries, apple sauce and apple slices. I had the fish and chicken. Very tasty. I then asked if he wanted to ride Pirates of the Caribbean. He said no he wanted to ride Everest. I told him Everest was in a different park. He wanted to ride Everest.

So off to Animal Kingdom we went! We got the ferry to the TTC and then the bus to Animal Kingdom. When we got to Animal Kingdom Park he asked where’s the pool? I said that was at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Let’s go ride the safari! On our way to safari we saw Lilo and Stitch! Score!

We went back to the safari and pulled fast passes. I told him we would go to Conservation Station. Where are the Icees? No Icees. I bought him a Sprite. He wasn’t happy. We got on the train to Conservation Station and there was a penny machine. We got pressed pennies. He still was not happy.

We walked around Conservation Station. There was Jiminy Cricket. He didn’t want to see him. The vet station. No. The animals. No. We got on the train back to Harabe to do the safari. He sat on the ground and told me he wasn’t going to do the safari. He wanted to go back to the Lodge and go swimming. I told him we could go swimming after the safari and Everest that he wanted to do so badly. He said no. I called his mother. She tried talking to him. She called his dad. He tried talking to him. He wouldn’t bulge.

So I took his hand and we started walking into the safari. I told him we would see animals that we couldn’t see from our balcony. And then we would leave the park and go swimming.
Well that wasn’t good enough for him. He had to make a scene. So he started crying and screaming. The cast members came over and tried talking to him. Nothing. We boarded the safari vehicle. I told him he could make me miserable but he shouldn’t make everyone else miserable. I then told him he had to stop crying or I wouldn’t take him to the pool today or tomorrow. Period. If he stopped crying right then, when we got off the safari we would go swimming. So he stopped. And we had a nice safari. He kept saying, we don’t see them from our balcony. He enjoyed seeing the elephants and the lion.

We got off the safari and I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. He saw some people playing hula hoops and just stopped to play. He picked up different toys he wanted, and I just looked at him. He put them back. We got outside and there was an Icee machine. I bought him a cherry Icee.

We got on the bus and back to the resort. I called Disney dining and tried to move our reservation with Chip n Dale to a later time. They couldn’t guarantee me anything but noted that he had had a meltdown but really wanted to see Chip N Dale. So we went to the pool.

We finally went to EPCOT for dinner. And he saw Farmer Mickey first! He was so happy. And then Pluto! And finally Dale, then Chip. The food was great. He kept leaning over the railing hollering to Chip n Dale while they were with other people. The cast members asked him really nicely to please sit down for his safety. Chip N Dale came back and hugged him a second time. That made him happy. And then they brought the check.

And he saw Chip N Dale a third time and he got so overworked that he leaned on his side of the table and the table came crashing down. Dessert broke; coffee flew everywhere; dishes crashed on the ground. Pluto came over and pretended to lick up the mess. I retrieved my soaked checks from the floor and put them on the table and we left. It had still been a really nice meal.

It was too late to go to France for the Owners Locker wine meet. We went to Mousegears to get gifts. He finally got the telephone he had wanted. I knew he really wanted something if he asked for the same thing twice. As we stood waiting for the bus, Illuminations started. We saw some fireworks. I knew I didn’t want to stay until the end and wait for the long line for the bus. We were tired.

When he got to the room he asked for his pajamas. And asked for me to tuck him in. And right off to bed he went.

We had tons of fun.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Stephanie, loving your report!