Delicious Indeed!

[Jennifer48]

I'm a huge TTA fan but sometimes, a nap is just what you need!

Man I shouldn't have read this installment just yet, I'm starving and your burger with cheese sauce is making me drool!

 

[RachelNinja]

First off, LOVE LOVE LOVE the TTA but I can't believe they put all five of you together! I like having plenty of room to relax and put my feet up.

Secondly, never have done Pecos Bills. I am not a dipper so no appeal there. The cheeseburger does look pretty good though!

I love TTA too! I love that it's long enough to get a break off your feet, and it can be made longer by asking to go around again! I imagine taking my kiddies there when they get grumpy and need nap time. At least I can enjoy my time while they sleep! But yeah, that was crazy that he put all 5 of us in one! And we're not all skinny either!

I'm pretty sure it's the same stuff as everywhere else, at least in terms of what Howard and I ate. I like the option of putting tons of stuff on a burger based on my preference at the time. Yum!

I'm a huge TTA fan but sometimes, a nap is just what you need!

Man I shouldn't have read this installment just yet, I'm starving and your burger with cheese sauce is making me drool!

Napping on the TTA is perfect because it's not deadly quiet, and it's all the sounds of MK that can lull you to sleep!

Haha, sorry! I get hungry when I read disneyfoodblog.com and catch up on the food reviews on DIS. I totally get you!

 

[LilAnn]

The birds were totally out of control in February! I think I mentioned it in my TR, but I found them crazy in Epcot. They are definitely not shy and have no qualms about dive bombing you for food. Then again, isn't it wierd that they would go after the turkey leg? Seeing as how they are birds, and turkeys are birds. Isn't it a bit macabre for them?

Anyways, thanks for making me hungry for a burger. at 10am. ...

 

[RachelNinja]

The birds were totally out of control in February! I think I mentioned it in my TR, but I found them crazy in Epcot. They are definitely not shy and have no qualms about dive bombing you for food. Then again, isn't it wierd that they would go after the turkey leg? Seeing as how they are birds, and turkeys are birds. Isn't it a bit macabre for them?

Anyways, thanks for making me hungry for a burger. at 10am. ...

Seriously! They all must have gotten together to plot their attacks on humans. If Nik hadn't just paid for that turkey leg, it would've been interesting to use it as a club to whack them away.

Haha, you're welcome. Burgers taste good at all times of the day. I've had part of a leftover burger for breakfast before!

 

[RachelNinja]

Wednesday, February 23: Nighttime Festivities

Full of delicious cheese sauce (oh, and a burger too), we were ready to have some more adventures! We walked back to Fantasyland to hit an attraction we didn't see yet. We saw our favorite eating area as we walked. Did you know that the facade is different on both sides? One side has to fit Liberty Square, and the other side has to fit Fantasyland! I love those little extra Disney trivia things that I can read about because no way would I notice that on my own!

Mickey's PhilharMagic was our next stop. I was beyond excited to have the 3 of them see this. They were really amazed by this show. I mean, you really don't think that a 3-D (well, 4-D really) show can be THAT fantastic, but it is! I think this was the first time that I realized just how big the screen is. Last year, I must've just accepted the fact that the curtains opened so wide and that there was a huge span of space for the actual movie. Howard didn't notice it in 2010 either! I do have to say though that the show is LOUD. Maybe I'm getting old, but when the orchestra is playing, it hurts my ears!

The ending is always so fun, in my opinion. I love that a "real" Donald is in the back of the theater and that he then falls through the hole! I always remember he'll be back there, so I'm ready to turn around, but then when he falls in, I laugh because I forget each time for some reason!

We spent a bit of time in the gift shop afterwards. Howard did his usual "take a picture of a snow globe" thing.

I, on the other hand, was tempted to spend some of my souvenir money. I saw these really cute keychain type things, and I wanted to get one to hang on my bag.

I liked this one the most because I love the idea of Mickey bars, but I would never actually eat one because I'm lactose intolerant (not severely, but I very rarely risk ice cream).

I did a lot of debating, but I eventually settled on taking a picture with it. Haha. I really don't know how to part with my money. It was kind of expensive for what it was though, so I think I was comparing it to the amount of crafting goodies I could get with that money instead.

Howard liked the monorail one, but he didn't get that either.

We left the gift shop without any purchases. We saw the back of the castle at that point and really took notice over the fact that they had this big screen over the part they were fixing. It's kind of interesting how they put the tarps or whatever up with the least amount of visual interruption as possible.

I cannot wait for the new Fantasyland stuff! If anything, it'll help spread out the crowds, haha. And they can take down these walls!

I think we wanted to go on Winnie the Pooh again since our original ride in the morning had stopped so often.

We figured we had some time to kill before getting a spot for the nighttime shows. However, the FP line was actually really long, so there was no way we were going to do that. I was already struggling to remain upright!

I did go inside the tree to see if I could find the 20,000 Leagues submarine etched in the door frame, but it wasn't there. Was it in the tree? I don't know if I'm mistaken. I think the others came in right after, but then a kid came in so we left. Haha, we didn't want to be the weirdos in there.

(continued in next post)

 

[RachelNinja]

(continued from previous post)

We decided to get a spot for all the nighttime festivities. For not getting there early, we were able to get a decent spot by a railing. You might be able to figure out where we were based on our view of the castle. Only later on did we realize how much we better the "Magic, Memories, and You!" show would've been had we moved to get a better view of the entire castle.

We were just happy that no one would really be standing on all sides of us since we were up against the railing. I hate the compressed feeling. Next year though, I'd like to find a spot to sit on the curb with a snack so that there's no dealing with people pushing strollers and trying to get through the walkway. Masses of people kind of get me a little nervous!

It started getting really dark out, which I was waiting for. I was thinking, "It's so bright out; how do you have MSEP when it's so bright out?" Haha, can you tell I don't normally stay for nighttime shows?

I was in anticipation of the moment when the lights go out. I was afraid that it wouldn't because I saw Main Street lights go out, and since we were by the hub, we were still in light. I started fretting about it, and Howard probably wanted me to hush up about it. Haha, he was like, "Don't worry, it'll happen!" I forgot who posted a video of it and talked about the thrill of the moment when the lights go out.

But thankfully, the lights did go out, and the Main Street Electrical Parade was about to start! I know there are a ton of people who prefer SpectroMagic, but I actually don't remember Spectro enough to compare the two. The last time I stayed for one of these shows was when I was closer to the stroller age. I do have to say that I really do love the MSEP music even if others are annoyed by it. The reason for it is because it's baroque music, and I love love love the harpsichord! I just love how it sounds. When I took Intro to Art in college (liberal arts requirement), we had to study all these famous paintings and music as well. A lot of people had trouble memorizing paintings and artists and techniques as well as music and composers, but I had fun. It was a challenge! We had to listen to the classical music and be able to identify the song and composer from a clip (and some of those songs were rather long, and the professor played a clip from ANY part of it, not just the beginning!). I loved anything by Bach because I enjoyed playing easier versions of his song when I first learned the piano. Plus, he often used the harpsichord!!! Anyway, ever since then, I love the unique sound of the harpsichord. That's why I have such a love for the MSEP music!

Um, that was quite a digression! Howard ended up taking a lot of pictures from the parade, but I'll only post a few of them with my comments. I think it's funny that I'm not a huge fan of Tinkerbell (haha, even though I'm probably like her with her moodiness; I just prefer to identify with Grumpy instead), but I have a Tinkerbell trip journal (with the other fairies!). Seeing her in parades makes me happy though because she's in a good mood, haha.

Look at Goofy! I think it's hilarious how everyone tends to say the name of the character that's approaching. It's just part of it, I think!

I love seeing Mickey and Minnie as well even though meeting them kind of makes me nervous. From far away, it's very easy for me to believe that it's really Mickey and Minnie. Up close and taking a picture, I start thinking, "Who's inside?" But of course, that's because of my strange fear of things in costumes due to that bunny incident (explained in the 2010 TR).

It's funny how their eyes are because even though they're "fake," it really is easy to believe that the character is looking directly at you!

I totally <3ed this nerdy turtle. Put glasses on anything, and I love it (hence my love for the Nerds series!).

Butterflies are kind of creepy. I refuse to go into those gardens where the butterflies are allowed to land on you. I know I'd start swatting them away.

When Alice came by, we started hearing talking, but we didn't know that the live characters actually spoke until later on!

Um, what's the story behind this guy? Is he smoking? Is that a hookah?

In the movie, did the coach actually still look like a pumpkin?

I liked all the dancers under this canopy thing.

Is that the prince holding the glass slipper?

Hook is one SCARY character. That nose? That huge head? I mean, you'd think I'd be used to big heads because of Howard's, hehe, but this guy is massive. Plus, all his features are so angular!

Pinocchio shakin' his tail feather.

Oh wait, he's sitting. HAHA. And there's a creepy donkey boy behind him or something. Pinocchio is definitely one of the scarier of the Disney movies. I also HATE big whales, and part of it might be because of Monstro.

I have one word for you, Disney. Why?

I wonder what it's like to ride like Elliot does. This is when Howard and I realized that the live characters had mics, so they were the ones actually talking. Yeah, we were a bit slow.

Giddyap!

Time to be patriotic. This seems like a very RANDOM parade. Haha, at least I like the music!

After the parade was over, we watched the castle projection show. Man, we were AMAZED. We were all audibly going, "WOW!" at so many parts. This trip was back in February, so it was still rather new. It was fun being able to experience all these new things with many others who hadn't experienced it yet either. We also stayed for Wishes, which was an excellent idea (except it was chilly and Nik was starting to get a headache) because WISHES is what got Ray ADDICTED to Disney. He was enjoying himself a lot up to that point, but Wishes is what hooked him for good. Every night thereafter, he was talking about how he wanted to see Wishes again!

When the shows ended, we had to deal with the massive crowds exiting. We counted how many monorails it took before we got on. It wasn't as bad as 2010 though during Easter week. Even though there are tons of people waiting in line, it actually goes by quickly if you count the monorails. It'll only be like, the 3rd or 4th monorail, which is pretty efficient, in my opinion. What was good was that we didn't have to wait for a tram afterwards since we had parked so close. We just walked to the car. And of course, as trams drove by, I waved to all the people. Haha. Great way to end the night!

Back at the condo, we just showered and relaxed knowing that we had a rest day planned for Thursday. We're old. We can't do these things every day, haha.

 

[JolllyHoliday]

I really enjoy your trip reports. You all seem to have so much fun together and your love for all things disney really shines through in your reports!

 

[LilAnn]

I totally love Wishes! It's my favorite way to end the day at the parks. and the new castle show is quickly becoming a close second. I also loved Spectromagic, and we talk all the time about how we miss it. I think it has to do with the music - just gave us more of a magical feeling. The floats for MSEP are fantastic though.

 

[RachelNinja]

I really enjoy your trip reports. You all seem to have so much fun together and your love for all things disney really shines through in your reports!

Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying them, and it's not just for own entertainment, haha. I really love how Disney can be so therapeutic and relaxing while still being exciting and adventurous!

I totally love Wishes! It's my favorite way to end the day at the parks. and the new castle show is quickly becoming a close second. I also loved Spectromagic, and we talk all the time about how we miss it. I think it has to do with the music - just gave us more of a magical feeling. The floats for MSEP are fantastic though.

I am definitely going to have to watch Wishes every trip now! Howard and I are itching to go back and watch Fantasmic too. I just never really got into nighttime shows before because my dad was always like, "We gotta leave; let's go" because we'd eat outside the parks or need to go shopping or something. Haha, such a waste of a ticket if we didn't stay for as long as we could! Very un-Chinese!

 

[Jennifer48]

Thats where we sit when we eat at Columbia Harbour House! I super love that view!

I'm not a big fan of Tink either. She kinda annoys me HAHA.

I do love the MSEP music, no doubt but I do like Specto just a teeny bit better.

 

[jelloarms]

Ugh, I can't stand Tinkerbell either. They've turned her into this hero of sorts but I know she's still a (insert non-DIS friendly word here). Ugh! No one ever remembers that she tried to kill Wendy!

 

[jane2073]

I love your breakdown of the MSEP!
I love the parade! But you are right, it is pretty random.

Pinocchio is sitting on a chair-no idea why.
The prince does have the glass slipper.

I always wonder how the characters can keep it fresh and interesting. There is only a little space and you have to keep moving and be exciting. How do you not get board?

Totally with you on the characters-love them in parades but never have a picture made with them. For me it started with a Jack-in-the-Box (restaurant) incident when I was three.

The Nautilus is hard to find but it is there. When you go in the little doorway of the tree immediately turn around-it is on the top part of the door frame (or somewhere right near there).

 

[khertz]

I'm all caught up!!! I didn't realize you had a Feb TR going. Hopefully I can stay on top of the updates now!

 

[RachelNinja]

Thats where we sit when we eat at Columbia Harbour House! I super love that view!

I'm not a big fan of Tink either. She kinda annoys me HAHA.

I do love the MSEP music, no doubt but I do like Specto just a teeny bit better.

That view is the greatest! I think I'd like to enjoy the IASW view too one day.

I can't wait to watch Spectro in the future when they bring it back! I want to compare.

Ugh, I can't stand Tinkerbell either. They've turned her into this hero of sorts but I know she's still a (insert non-DIS friendly word here). Ugh! No one ever remembers that she tried to kill Wendy!

Yeah, they shouldn't be praising someone who has such a nasty attitude accompanied by nasty actions!

I love your breakdown of the MSEP!
I love the parade! But you are right, it is pretty random.

Pinocchio is sitting on a chair-no idea why.
The prince does have the glass slipper.

I always wonder how the characters can keep it fresh and interesting. There is only a little space and you have to keep moving and be exciting. How do you not get board?

Totally with you on the characters-love them in parades but never have a picture made with them. For me it started with a Jack-in-the-Box (restaurant) incident when I was three.

The Nautilus is hard to find but it is there. When you go in the little doorway of the tree immediately turn around-it is on the top part of the door frame (or somewhere right near there).

Haha, the parade kind of reminds me of the muppets show because it ends with (or is supposed to end with) this big patriotic segment!

Ooo, what happened with your Jack-in-the-Box incident?!? I'm curious now!

I'll have to go back and search more for the Nautilus! I knew it was on the door frame because I had seen pictures of it, but I just couldn't find it!

I'm all caught up!!! I didn't realize you had a Feb TR going. Hopefully I can stay on top of the updates now!

Yay, so glad you're here! Haha, you can see all the Vinylmation trading that we had going on during this trip. I wonder if they'll soon understand that "Vinylmation mold" that your DH mentioned!

 

[RachelNinja]

Thursday, February 24: A Lazy River Rest Day

Disney vacations are a lot easier to deal with when we have built in rest days. That's not to say that I'm not excited to have annual passes next year and be able to go to the parks every single day! But considering how much we were all having to save money on this trip, we just went for a day and spent as much time as possible. Thursday ended up being another rest day. In the morning, I believe we had breakfast burritos! I'm surprised we didn't take pictures of it, but we had bought tortillas, eggs, sausage, bacon, cheese, guacamole, and salsa. It was really good!

This was the day that we watched Inception in the morning. Thank goodness it was on DVD because I had to keep asking questions, haha. I was the only one that hadn't seen it at all, but they were watching it again for the 2nd or 3rd time and catching things they missed the previous times. I was a bit afraid of the parts when the wife was psychotic!

We took our time just relaxing and getting ready for the day. The other plans we had included going to the lazy river! The one thing I love about our timeshare is that there's a lazy river and a bunch of water slides on the property. No having to go to Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach especially since I actually don't like water slides (I don't want to go underneath the water unexpectedly!). We eventually got ready to head on out. While I was waiting for the others, I was on Howard's netbook (I downloaded pictures, and I emailed my mom updates too), and he apparently snapped a picture of me!

Thankfully, Nik brought extra clothes because I completely forgot to bring a t-shirt as a cover-up for the pool! That's her gray shirt that was super soft! I'm usually much better about not forgetting things, but lately, that seems to happen more often. I guess it's because I'm working so there are more things taking up space in my mind!

We drove over to River Island, and we went to rent two single tubes (they didn't have any doubles anymore). Even though there were 5 of us, we figured we wouldn't all be on tubes the entire time. Plus, we didn't want to spend so much money on it since we also needed a locker rental. We didn't want to leave our things on a random chair since we'd be floating around, and the chair wouldn't be always in sight. Both things cost $23. I think Howard had to run back to the car to get his credit card; we completely forgot to bring money!

The boys ended up taking all of the girls' things to put it away. We girls didn't want to walk into the locker room and come out barefoot, haha. It took some time to get into the water though because it was a little cold. I mean, it WAS February! And of course, the day we go was a day when it wasn't as sunny, haha. We still had a ton of fun though. It was a very stress free time to float. Oh, except for the few places where cold water was coming down from the bridges, and we had to find a way to hop in the water along the side so as not to get completely drenched! I hate it when water gets in my eyes, and there's no way for me to wipe them. Then there was also a hidden cannon type thing that would shoot a huge stream of water from behind! Haha, we'd get off the tube and wait for the cannon to shoot before scurrying past the spot where it could reach us. Haha.

There was a huge clock at the top of one of the buildings, so we were able to keep track of when we needed to get out of the pool (well, after we asked one of the lifeguards what time it was and he pointed out the huge clock!). Soon we decided to head back to take showers and get ready for our 2nd Disney ADR! YUM!

 

[wdwgirl03]

It might've been me who posted a video of the lights going out for MSEP (I know I posted one for our August TR) but who knows-I'm sure I'm not the only one to ever post a video of that! haha Great pictures of the parade though!

So are you going to take full advantage of those APs next year and go to parks every day? When are you going again?

 

[Nermel9]

Those mini Magical Kingdom things are so cute! I've actually never had a Mickey bar, but I kind of want that keychain thing!

I like MSEP, but I prefer Spectro, just because I like the music better. I'm not really a big fan of either parade!

Yay, rest days are so nice once in a while! They're definitely necessary, but at the same time, I always want to be in the parks!

 

[wingedjojo]

I'm FINALLY caught up and really enjoying your vinylmation adventures. I finally bought one at the end of my trip but it wasn't for me. I wish they were cheaper so I could collect as much as I wanted.

Loving your TR!!! Keep it coming!

 

[RNBelle]

I'm all caught up Excited to hear about your ADR.

 

[RachelNinja]

It might've been me who posted a video of the lights going out for MSEP (I know I posted one for our August TR) but who knows-I'm sure I'm not the only one to ever post a video of that! haha Great pictures of the parade though!

So are you going to take full advantage of those APs next year and go to parks every day? When are you going again?

It could have been from you! It really is such a magical moment! I think the pics that Howard got were really good! He's still learning his camera.

YES YES YES, I really want to go to a park every even if we're not staying from morning to night or even if we have more rest time and just people watch with a snack. I'm so excited about that! We're most likely going again in April with my family. Then we'll go in May for our Disneymoon! Then the tentative plan at this point is to go with the same group as this trip in Feburary 2013. Hopefully, that can happen! Then we'll really get use out of our APs. Either that or I'd like to make a quick trip to see Christmas decorations!

Those mini Magical Kingdom things are so cute! I've actually never had a Mickey bar, but I kind of want that keychain thing!

I like MSEP, but I prefer Spectro, just because I like the music better. I'm not really a big fan of either parade!

Yay, rest days are so nice once in a while! They're definitely necessary, but at the same time, I always want to be in the parks!

Right? They're so cute! I haven't had a Mickey bar either because I'm lactose intolerant. Not severely, but I wouldn't dare have a Mickey bar when I know I'm going to be out all day! I figured that little keychain was a way to have some part of it!

I must must must see Spectro to compare and contrast!

I'm FINALLY caught up and really enjoying your vinylmation adventures. I finally bought one at the end of my trip but it wasn't for me. I wish they were cheaper so I could collect as much as I wanted.

Loving your TR!!! Keep it coming!

Yeah, Vinylmation isn't my thing either, but it really was fun being able to experience the excitement of trading through them. They really are expensive!

I'm all caught up Excited to hear about your ADR.

Yay! You're back!