msudawgs30
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2004
- Messages
- 145
Welcome to possibly the most planned out trip to Disney that has ever exsisted 
. What can I say, I'm an obsessive compulsive planner/list maker and I had 10 months on my hands 
.
The Cast:
Me: (Amy) OCD woman (no kidding, germ-a-phobe and plan-a-holic).
DH: (Kevin) How much is this going to cost me guy/Magic stealer (before he can unsqueench his cheeks and have fun this question will be asked many times).
DD: (Katie) Birthday girl (5) loves all things Disney and is convinced she herself is a princess (wink wink aren't they all???).
DB: (Shane) Never been to Disney and is always up for a good time.
DSIL: (Tiffney) Been to Disneyland and said she saw Yogi Bear there when she was 10 or so.
DN: (Joseph) He is 4 years old and has never been to Disney. He thought the monorail was such a cool ride when we first arrived.
The Baby: (Carter) Newest Nephew who is one and will be sitting this trip out.
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Everyone is really enjoying naptime but were all looking forward to seeing Wilderness Lodge and eating at the famed Whispering Canyon so its all butts outta bed here. We all get ready and eventually make it out to the van. AAAHHH! Complete room to move in here this time. We put the kiddies in the very back this time uhhh geee this would have been a much better idea on the way down here. This time we manage to make it to our destination without any wrong turns (obviously because I was driving, thank you very much). Can we all say OOOOOOOOOOH and OHHHHHHHHH together? This place was so awesome and my DH (Kevin) was so impressed with its sheer magnitude. Being a forestry guy himself he appreciated its structure more that its general appeal. The whole feel in this resort is like youre at a wonderful ski lodge in Colorado then you look out the window and theres no snow, just palm trees. Works for me!!! On to Whispering Canyon yeah! I check in just a few minutes before our PS and she says, wow, everyone is arriving early tonight. Okay, is that a good thing or a bad thing? We get this little buzzer thingy and decide to hit the gift shop and look around at the cool artifacts that they have displayed all over the lobby. DD (Katie) and DN (Joseph) went with Kevin and immediately found the neat bridge and gushing water underneath. We had to dig out all the change we had with us to appease the kids (who were just chocked full of wishes). Since Disney donates the change to childrens charitys we gladly give in. Within just a few moments were buzzed and told our table is ready. It was different than I had been picturing for the last year. It was open to the lobby and I guess I was expecting it to be a little more private, but thats just fine, just different. We immediately saw the waitress wielding a HUGE fork around and loudly complaining about people who cant hold on to their utensils. Another was yelling about needing some ketchup over here at this table and the ENTIRE restaurant poured over in their direction with bottle after bottle after bottle of ketchup. Such a fun and loud kid friendly place! Our waiter was cute and fun enough. I had designated Kevin to be the refill guy because I was determined to get the 5 gal bucket of coke at our table. See, about 10 years ago, when we were dating, we went out to eat and before Kevin could finish his drink the waitress filled it back up and it finally became a game to see if he could actually get a drink completely down before she could refill it again. I think our count ended at about 8 glasses of Dr, Pepper (what a champ!). This time was different because they serve your drinks in these HUGE mason jars. After Kevin finally choked down the first he moaned and looked at me and said, I CANT DO ANYMORE!!! . Disappointed, I ask, Are you sure???. He then moaned again and said, I think Im gonna be sick!. Right-O!!! You better put a hold on that quest. Our waiter brought him another mason jar of Coke and it just sat there for most of the meal. I, on the other hand, ordered one of those sun set grown up drinks and WOW it was sensational!!! I had no trouble putting that baby away and promptly requested, Ill have another sunset thingy please!. I ordered the river run special which was a fish dish of some kind. Maybe if I hadnt had two sunset thingies I may have been able to tell you how it was. Must have been good because I ate it all and seem to remember a few, Mmmmm Mmmmms!!!. Picture brother in law Eddie on Christmas Vacation at the dinner table.
The kids got a huge kick out of the ketchup swapping that went on all evening and a few times the wait staff made complete idiots out of some of the customers. One time in particular this 20 something guy was celebrating his birthday and they tied up some type of napkin do-rag on his head and sang happy birthday to him. They brought out this HUGE scrumptious looking cake smothered in chocolate syrup and then all of the wait staff proceeded to dive into the cake each stealing a bite and devouring it right in front of the birthday boy. The kids were invited to do a horse race around the restaurant on stick horses while we parents hooted and waved our napkins above our heads. As we wrapped up dinner and waited for our ticket, our waiter kept passing us by and totally ignoring us. At first I was ticked because we wanted to get on the road and back to MK, but then I began to realize it was yet another one of the tricks they do there I think. He would pass every now and then and say, What??? Im busy!!!. It was funny once we caught on.
Once back at the van theres a small scurmish over whos driving. Obviously with two sunsets under my belt and little memory of dinner I wasnt the best choice so Kevin it is. We pulled up at MK at about 10:00pm and fast walked our way to the disembarking ferry. We were the last family they allowed on before actually departing (YEAH!). As we took off Wishes began and it was so whimsical to see the fireworks show and hear the music as we were nearing this awesome park. We entered and began making our way back down Main Street. Okay, have you ever been to MK really late at night after wishes, but before the second showing of Spectro? Very eerie indeed! It was literally EMPTY. It was so empty that I stopped and asked a CM if there was in fact a second showing of Spectro at 11:00pm. She said indeed there was and I jumped up and down because here we were with free reign over MK for a whole hour. We decided that we would catch the rides that are a little more eerie at night (outdoor rides). First stop, Jungle Cruise always a hokey ride, but always an old favorite, mainly because of the humor in the drivers. Oddly enough Katie remembers this ride from when she was three as the one where the big snake is. I assure her shes mistaken and we board with her still insisting that there is a snake. Yea, yea, Shhhhhhh! We rounded each corner and had a few laughs at the captains jokes and then what do you know? There IS a snake on this ride and its staring me in the face. Sorry hon, you were right!
After Jungle cruise Kevin and DB (Shane) are literally begging to ride HM at night. To fill you in on this experience on our last trip Ill try to be quick. Kevin and I took Katie and Kevins parents during September of 2003 when Katie was 3 yrs old. We had just gotten Katie out of our bed and into her own (for the most part). We had spent a great day in MK and made our way around Fantasyland like good little tourists and we saw HM. Kevin and I decide we didnt remember it being very scary when we came on our honeymoon about 7 years earlier so we go in. IMMEDITELY, Katie starts freaking out at the sounds and behavior of the CMs. I should have taken this hint and exited right then. We pressed on, every minute becoming more and more hellish for me seeing that this was not going to be good. Paw Paw took Katie from me in an effort to console her and then it was time to board the Doom Buggies. The Cm whisked Nana and Paw Paw and Katie into one buggy with me trying to MAKE them squinch together for me too. The CM stopped me and insisted that Kevin and I board another buggy (BIG MISTAKE!). Now I had wasted time trying to fit my rear end on their ride and caused us to be put in a buggy about 4 behind hers. The ENTIRE RIDE all I can hear is Katies blood curdling screams over all the horrific sound effects that youre forced to hear. IT WAS A COMPLETE NIGHTMARE!!! I was literally in tears when we got off because I couldnt console my baby while hearing her fear for her life. For months after we returned she had nightmares and is STILL in my bed. Thanks Nana and Paw Paw!!!
Knowing this was a questionable ride we stop outside and squat and have a little chat about how all the creatures are fake and robots and such and Katie just looks at me and says, Mom Im almost 5 years old, I wont be scared I promise!. Breathe!!! We go in and she points and shakily laughs at the paintings that grow and then age. All the while loudly exclaiming that all of this is pretend (mostly just reassuring herself we surmise!). She did great the entire ride and when the boogers come out of the graves I (being the over protective mom that I am) cover her eyes so as not to evoke nightmares for years to come. We came out of the mansion and decided that maybe we should make our way to Main Street for Spectro while silently wondering if they would really show the parade with only a handful of people to view it. DSIL (Tiffney) volunteered to wait in the line at the bakery for cookies and hot cocoa for everyone. It was pretty chilly that night so we were all up for the hot cocoa part. She made it out at the exact moment that the parade started its way past us. What a SPECIAL feeling having so few people in the park and not having to fight any crowds. You could feel in the air that people were so relaxed and much less stressed. The parade was sooooo COOOL! None of us had ever seen it before because the last 4 trips we made to Disney were fly by the seat of our pants kind of trips and sadly we didnt even know that it existed. We would be seeing many things for the first time this trip which made it all the more memorable. Spectro ended and we lingered just a bit in the shops and made our way over on the Ferry. Funny, everyone in the park just about fit on one ferry boat. We didnt get to see the Kiss Goodnight though, I guess you have to save something for the next trip huh? Okay troops hit the hay because its TOT and RnRC in the morning!!!
Coming Aunt Amy, my butt came off the seat!!!
. What can I say, I'm an obsessive compulsive planner/list maker and I had 10 months on my hands .The Cast:
Me: (Amy) OCD woman (no kidding, germ-a-phobe and plan-a-holic).
DH: (Kevin) How much is this going to cost me guy/Magic stealer (before he can unsqueench his cheeks and have fun this question will be asked many times).
DD: (Katie) Birthday girl (5) loves all things Disney and is convinced she herself is a princess (wink wink aren't they all???).
DB: (Shane) Never been to Disney and is always up for a good time.
DSIL: (Tiffney) Been to Disneyland and said she saw Yogi Bear there when she was 10 or so
.DN: (Joseph) He is 4 years old and has never been to Disney. He thought the monorail was such a cool ride when we first arrived.
The Baby: (Carter) Newest Nephew who is one and will be sitting this trip out.
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Everyone is really enjoying naptime but were all looking forward to seeing Wilderness Lodge and eating at the famed Whispering Canyon so its all butts outta bed here. We all get ready and eventually make it out to the van. AAAHHH! Complete room to move in here this time. We put the kiddies in the very back this time uhhh geee this would have been a much better idea on the way down here. This time we manage to make it to our destination without any wrong turns (obviously because I was driving, thank you very much). Can we all say OOOOOOOOOOH and OHHHHHHHHH together? This place was so awesome and my DH (Kevin) was so impressed with its sheer magnitude. Being a forestry guy himself he appreciated its structure more that its general appeal. The whole feel in this resort is like youre at a wonderful ski lodge in Colorado then you look out the window and theres no snow, just palm trees. Works for me!!! On to Whispering Canyon yeah! I check in just a few minutes before our PS and she says, wow, everyone is arriving early tonight. Okay, is that a good thing or a bad thing? We get this little buzzer thingy and decide to hit the gift shop and look around at the cool artifacts that they have displayed all over the lobby. DD (Katie) and DN (Joseph) went with Kevin and immediately found the neat bridge and gushing water underneath. We had to dig out all the change we had with us to appease the kids (who were just chocked full of wishes). Since Disney donates the change to childrens charitys we gladly give in. Within just a few moments were buzzed and told our table is ready. It was different than I had been picturing for the last year. It was open to the lobby and I guess I was expecting it to be a little more private, but thats just fine, just different. We immediately saw the waitress wielding a HUGE fork around and loudly complaining about people who cant hold on to their utensils. Another was yelling about needing some ketchup over here at this table and the ENTIRE restaurant poured over in their direction with bottle after bottle after bottle of ketchup. Such a fun and loud kid friendly place! Our waiter was cute and fun enough. I had designated Kevin to be the refill guy because I was determined to get the 5 gal bucket of coke at our table. See, about 10 years ago, when we were dating, we went out to eat and before Kevin could finish his drink the waitress filled it back up and it finally became a game to see if he could actually get a drink completely down before she could refill it again. I think our count ended at about 8 glasses of Dr, Pepper (what a champ!). This time was different because they serve your drinks in these HUGE mason jars. After Kevin finally choked down the first he moaned and looked at me and said, I CANT DO ANYMORE!!! . Disappointed, I ask, Are you sure???. He then moaned again and said, I think Im gonna be sick!. Right-O!!! You better put a hold on that quest. Our waiter brought him another mason jar of Coke and it just sat there for most of the meal. I, on the other hand, ordered one of those sun set grown up drinks and WOW it was sensational!!! I had no trouble putting that baby away and promptly requested, Ill have another sunset thingy please!. I ordered the river run special which was a fish dish of some kind. Maybe if I hadnt had two sunset thingies I may have been able to tell you how it was. Must have been good because I ate it all and seem to remember a few, Mmmmm Mmmmms!!!. Picture brother in law Eddie on Christmas Vacation at the dinner table.
The kids got a huge kick out of the ketchup swapping that went on all evening and a few times the wait staff made complete idiots out of some of the customers. One time in particular this 20 something guy was celebrating his birthday and they tied up some type of napkin do-rag on his head and sang happy birthday to him. They brought out this HUGE scrumptious looking cake smothered in chocolate syrup and then all of the wait staff proceeded to dive into the cake each stealing a bite and devouring it right in front of the birthday boy. The kids were invited to do a horse race around the restaurant on stick horses while we parents hooted and waved our napkins above our heads. As we wrapped up dinner and waited for our ticket, our waiter kept passing us by and totally ignoring us. At first I was ticked because we wanted to get on the road and back to MK, but then I began to realize it was yet another one of the tricks they do there I think. He would pass every now and then and say, What??? Im busy!!!. It was funny once we caught on.
Once back at the van theres a small scurmish over whos driving. Obviously with two sunsets under my belt and little memory of dinner I wasnt the best choice so Kevin it is. We pulled up at MK at about 10:00pm and fast walked our way to the disembarking ferry. We were the last family they allowed on before actually departing (YEAH!). As we took off Wishes began and it was so whimsical to see the fireworks show and hear the music as we were nearing this awesome park. We entered and began making our way back down Main Street. Okay, have you ever been to MK really late at night after wishes, but before the second showing of Spectro? Very eerie indeed! It was literally EMPTY. It was so empty that I stopped and asked a CM if there was in fact a second showing of Spectro at 11:00pm. She said indeed there was and I jumped up and down because here we were with free reign over MK for a whole hour. We decided that we would catch the rides that are a little more eerie at night (outdoor rides). First stop, Jungle Cruise always a hokey ride, but always an old favorite, mainly because of the humor in the drivers. Oddly enough Katie remembers this ride from when she was three as the one where the big snake is. I assure her shes mistaken and we board with her still insisting that there is a snake. Yea, yea, Shhhhhhh! We rounded each corner and had a few laughs at the captains jokes and then what do you know? There IS a snake on this ride and its staring me in the face. Sorry hon, you were right!
After Jungle cruise Kevin and DB (Shane) are literally begging to ride HM at night. To fill you in on this experience on our last trip Ill try to be quick. Kevin and I took Katie and Kevins parents during September of 2003 when Katie was 3 yrs old. We had just gotten Katie out of our bed and into her own (for the most part). We had spent a great day in MK and made our way around Fantasyland like good little tourists and we saw HM. Kevin and I decide we didnt remember it being very scary when we came on our honeymoon about 7 years earlier so we go in. IMMEDITELY, Katie starts freaking out at the sounds and behavior of the CMs. I should have taken this hint and exited right then. We pressed on, every minute becoming more and more hellish for me seeing that this was not going to be good. Paw Paw took Katie from me in an effort to console her and then it was time to board the Doom Buggies. The Cm whisked Nana and Paw Paw and Katie into one buggy with me trying to MAKE them squinch together for me too. The CM stopped me and insisted that Kevin and I board another buggy (BIG MISTAKE!). Now I had wasted time trying to fit my rear end on their ride and caused us to be put in a buggy about 4 behind hers. The ENTIRE RIDE all I can hear is Katies blood curdling screams over all the horrific sound effects that youre forced to hear. IT WAS A COMPLETE NIGHTMARE!!! I was literally in tears when we got off because I couldnt console my baby while hearing her fear for her life. For months after we returned she had nightmares and is STILL in my bed. Thanks Nana and Paw Paw!!!
Knowing this was a questionable ride we stop outside and squat and have a little chat about how all the creatures are fake and robots and such and Katie just looks at me and says, Mom Im almost 5 years old, I wont be scared I promise!. Breathe!!! We go in and she points and shakily laughs at the paintings that grow and then age. All the while loudly exclaiming that all of this is pretend (mostly just reassuring herself we surmise!). She did great the entire ride and when the boogers come out of the graves I (being the over protective mom that I am) cover her eyes so as not to evoke nightmares for years to come. We came out of the mansion and decided that maybe we should make our way to Main Street for Spectro while silently wondering if they would really show the parade with only a handful of people to view it. DSIL (Tiffney) volunteered to wait in the line at the bakery for cookies and hot cocoa for everyone. It was pretty chilly that night so we were all up for the hot cocoa part. She made it out at the exact moment that the parade started its way past us. What a SPECIAL feeling having so few people in the park and not having to fight any crowds. You could feel in the air that people were so relaxed and much less stressed. The parade was sooooo COOOL! None of us had ever seen it before because the last 4 trips we made to Disney were fly by the seat of our pants kind of trips and sadly we didnt even know that it existed. We would be seeing many things for the first time this trip which made it all the more memorable. Spectro ended and we lingered just a bit in the shops and made our way over on the Ferry. Funny, everyone in the park just about fit on one ferry boat. We didnt get to see the Kiss Goodnight though, I guess you have to save something for the next trip huh? Okay troops hit the hay because its TOT and RnRC in the morning!!!
Coming Aunt Amy, my butt came off the seat!!!
