Don't Fear the Rain, We Have the "Ducky of Death!"-Jan '14 **Bonus TR DCA 9/1 x2

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Awesome that the kiddos got picked! Joaquin was super bummed that Gavin got picked and he didn't. However, I'm going out on a limb and saying it was purely because Gavin got picked. Not because he actually wanted to do something.

Wait.....your DB doesn't remember watching Beauty and the Beast? Travesty!

World Showcase can definitely slip through the cracks a bit, especially with kiddos.

I'm glad that you enjoyed the food at Via Napoli, I'm just sorry that the service was lacking a bit.

The nostalgia is what makes Peter Pan great. It's not the most mind blowing ride, but that's what makes it beautiful.

Haunted Mansion....best attraction ever! It was my favorite ever since I was 4 years old. Apparently nothing about it phased me.

Lizard smacking bird! LOL.

To tell you the truth, I'm no longer sure that my brother has ever seen Beauty and the Beast! I probably should ask him.

Our DS is sort of the same way as Joaquin. Some things only become interesting to him because it's interesting to his sister.

You know Dave, I think that the guy wanted his noggin in your frame because you take such amazing pictures, everyone wants to be in them!

GREAT shot of the Eagle and posing handler (big camera, right?). Funny too that the Bald Eagle being the symbol of America was once so sparcely seen in the States. Yet here in Canada, they're everywhere.

Yep, it was the "big camera effect" again. Although I don't think it's just the size because I don't see them posing like that in front of iPads. Which is a good thing because we don't need any CMs encouraging this puzzling photography behavior.

I loved your names for all the birds! lizard smacking bird and hair ruffling bird!
Great shots, but oh, so too bad about the guy standing up in front of the dollar stealing bird!
Ahh the eagles. We have a camera club around here who go every Sunday to feed the eagles and get pictures. Sometimes there are up to 25 bald eagles in one place, it's pretty awesome!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

Both you and Rob pointing out how many Bald Eagles there are in Canada is pretty cool.

Yeah, that guy who stood up in front of my dollar bird shot may have been related to the family who walked in front of my boulder shot at Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular.

4 year old conversations. Often entertaining. Sometimes scary.

Well, aside from the blob, the picture looks great. You did all you could do there.

What??? A chicken???? Fried or grilled???

If I wanted to see a chicken, I'd just go over to Flame Tree.

Haha! Yes, the chicken seemed to be an odd choice especially in the mix with some of the more exotic looking birds.

I guess I could have tried photoshoping that blob of an head and turned it into something with Mickey Ears.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

I've enjoyed your naming of the birds .... though I wonder if "Hair Swooping Bird No. 2" works really hard he can move up to be ing "Hair Swooping Bird No. 1"

I like Ben Franklin's take on our national bird, the Bald Eagle:

"... he is a bird of bad moral character, he does not get his living honestly... Besides he is a rank coward; the little kingbird, not bigger than a sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the district."

instead, he felt the turkey should be our national bird, writing:

"...the turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America . . . a bird of courage, and would not hesitate to attack a grenadier of the British guards, who should presume to invade his farmyard with a red coat on."

though I guess it would be a bit awkward when we would eat our national bird every year for Thanksgiving

Those are very interesting quotes! Just imagine how different our Thanksgivings would be if indeed the turkey was chosen as our National Bird.

I really hate birds, they freak me out. So obviously, I have never seen this show in person! However, your photos and descriptions made me feel like I was there, so now I don't ever have to.

Happy to have helped out!

Wow!!! I think out of all your pics I have seen, your bird pics take my breath away.

Thank you so much!

I love Flights of Wonder! It's a great show. I had no idea either that there was a Guano Jane. Equal opportunity I guess!

That show is a photographer's dream and catching that bird grabbing the dollar bill is awesome! One time I got this woman's expression as she was literally freaking out as the bird flew at her. It was too funny!

Yes - it would be wonderful to just run on over to AK after your son's soccer practice. In fact, how great would it be to play outdoor soccer in January!

You know, now that you mention it you're totally right about soccer practices in January! Ahhhh Florida.

I have to agree with you that there are some amusing reactions to be seen in the audience during the show. I usually see them during the sequences where the bird swoops over everyone's head and people literally jump out of their seats.

Not sure how I got so far behind!

Back in 2008 when I went to WDW with my family, my poor niece was terrorized by Dinosaur and then didn't want to go on ANYTHING. We had to beg her to go on Haunted Mansion because we knew she'd like it. Luckily, we managed to convince her!

I LOVE your HM pictures. Simply amazing... especially the hitchhikers!

The birds are gorgeous, especially that eagle!! But, I can't help but throw a "poor lizard" in there.

Thanks! I just love everything about the HM and photographing it is just icing on the cake!

 

[emmysmommy]

Dave I remember your bird photos from your last trip and was quite impressed but that grape gulping shot - AMAZING!!

Getting caught up with your latest updates covering the dark rides and your server at Via Napoli who needed a good dose of ginko.... Seriously, I thought it was impossible to photograph anything on Dinosaur. You proved me wrong! Awesome job!

That was too funny that your DB and his family hadn't been on HM before. I'm sure they can't picture a return trip without that being an important part of the day. I love, love, love, the attic scene and as much as I think I get decent photos, I look at yours and it looks like I'm using an etch-a-sketch for mine. The hatchet bride photo is absolutely perfect. Glad to know that your DS was all in on that one.

I have a hard time taking photos - even my really bad ones - on Peter Pan because the ship moves too fast with some of the switch backs. One moment you are poised to take a photo of Hook and Peter and the next the ride has taken a right turn. And I even know which direction the ship will go and I still can't get it!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Dave I remember your bird photos from your last trip and was quite impressed but that grape gulping shot - AMAZING!!

Getting caught up with your latest updates covering the dark rides and your server at Via Napoli who needed a good dose of ginko.... Seriously, I thought it was impossible to photograph anything on Dinosaur. You proved me wrong! Awesome job!

That was too funny that your DB and his family hadn't been on HM before. I'm sure they can't picture a return trip without that being an important part of the day. I love, love, love, the attic scene and as much as I think I get decent photos, I look at yours and it looks like I'm using an etch-a-sketch for mine. The hatchet bride photo is absolutely perfect. Glad to know that your DS was all in on that one.

I have a hard time taking photos - even my really bad ones - on Peter Pan because the ship moves too fast with some of the switch backs. One moment you are poised to take a photo of Hook and Peter and the next the ride has taken a right turn. And I even know which direction the ship will go and I still can't get it!

Thanks Brenda! I totally agree with you about taking pictures on Peter Pan. It's pretty fast and I'm just hoping to get lucky with some of these shots.

The attic scene in the HM is my favorite. All those portraits of her husbands whose heads disappear.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Taking a short interlude from all things Disney as the Cherry Blossom Festival was in full swing this weekend here in Washington DC. As many of you know, this is a major annual month-long event in DC where we see lines of tour buses clog up all major arteries along the National Mall and thousands of tourists descend along Constitution and Independence Aves to make it impossible for any vehicles to make legal right turns thanks to the constant stream of folks on the crosswalks. The roads in DC are confusing and bad enough even without the Cherry Blossom crowds.

It is a beautiful sight seeing the cherry blossoms along the Tidal Basin in full bloom as I got to witness firsthand last year. As last year, the peak bloom is arriving a lot later than average thanks to the winter we just had so as of now there are only a few trees that have their flowers blooming mostly around the MLK Memorial. If you have trouble spotting these trees in the next few days just look for the ones where there are dozens of people surrounding it all holding up their cameras.

Around the third Saturday of the festival, they hold festivities along the Southwest Waterfront with multiple stages for live bands and craft stations for the children up and down the marina. It all culminates with the Cherry Blossom Festival Fireworks. Last year, we tried something new where we checked into the Mandarin Oriental Hotel for one night which is pretty much as close as a hotel can get to the Tidal Basin and the waterfront area. No traffic to fight. Easy access on foot to the Tidal Basin to circle the Jefferson/FDR/MLK Memorials. And after watching the fireworks from the marina, it was only a 10 minute walk back to the hotel.

The waterfront experience last year was just ok. There were too many long lines for even the simplest of craft stations. Not enough seating in the food service area. Also, the view of the fireworks was not as beautiful as I thought it would be. Basically you have a bunch of yachts parked on the marina serving as your foreground for the fireworks. So this year I did some additional research on youtube and flickr to see if the fireworks would be visible further away from the waterfront, specifically on the Tidal Basin near the MLK Memorial with the idea of having the Jefferson Memorial in the foreground. Sure enough I found video evidence that this was doable.

So instead of braving the crowds again along the marina, we had a very relaxing dinner at the hotel then headed out to the Tidal Basin slowly strolling around the memorials as the sunset and dusk settled in. Our hotel room was absolutely gorgeous and the kids were excited about exploring every inch of the room and the bathroom. They couldn’t get over the fact that there was a TV and a phone in the bathroom. We really lucked out in terms of the view from our room this year. Last year, our room had the perfect view of the train tracks. This year we had the Washington Monument. Doesn’t get much better than that.



The sunset that accompanied our stroll around the basin was absolutely stunning. Jefferson Memorial as the sun began setting.



The cloud cover was perfect that brought out all the colors of the rainbow.





Not surprisingly the Tidal Basin was crowded but didn’t bother us. The kids had fun checking out Thomas Jefferson and FDR Memorials.

Hopefully I'll have more pictures of the FDR to share with you in the next couple of weeks as this is my favorite memorial in DC. Here;s one with the sunset in the background.



And by the time we found the spot I wanted for the fireworks viewing, there were only 15 more minutes to kill. We spread out a picnic blanket and brought out the snacks for the kids. The fireworks looked so much better from this spot. Even though it was further away and the size of the bursts was a bit smaller, having the Jefferson Memorial in our view gave it that distinctive DC feel to the festivities.



So as we were touring around I gleefully noted that the last of the scaffolding around the Washington Monument had finally come down. I looked at DW and declared that I **had** to go out for a sunrise to take some pictures from the Lincoln Memorial which she was fine with. This morning I got up at 4:55am and headed out the door at 5:30am. It was absolutely worth it. There are still three construction cranes to the left of the monument which will be up for awhile as they continue construction on the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. But after having to stare at the scaffolding around the Washington Monument for over a year, it was absolutely a gorgeous sight to see.



I’ll end there for now with promises for a few more of these updates as we near peak bloom time for the cherry blossoms.

 

[afwdwfan]

Beautiful pictures, Dave!

So did they repair the Washington Monument so that it can be re-opened to visitors, or did they just basically repair it to the point that it won't crumble upon itself?

 

[scrpbookr]

These DC pictures are completely amazing! Thanks for sharing!

 

[jordansmama]

Great pictures of the Flights of Wonder show- I've never seen it and your pictures have convinced me to see it in August.

Gorgeous pictures of DC- absolutely stunning!!

 

[white306]

So excited to get caught up on this thread! My boyfriend and I got into the World that same week on the 29th. After a trip to urgent care (we were both battling something awful and the flight did not help!) we were worried our trip was going to be a disaster. But luckily the next day we felt pretty good and the rain really helped us get stuff done even though we were moving at a slower pace due to not feeling well. This was our first trip to Disney World and I really did not expect to love it as much as I did. We are hoping to do a long weekend in October as well and we want to stay at AKL for part of our trip. So your TR is really getting me excited about finishing the planning process! Only on page two so I got to get reading!

 

[ksinniger]

You mean you didn't consider the "retro" appeal of the Pier 7 Inn when making your hotel reservations last year? Shocker!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Beautiful pictures, Dave!

So did they repair the Washington Monument so that it can be re-opened to visitors, or did they just basically repair it to the point that it won't crumble upon itself?

Thanks Andy!

According to the Park Services, the Monument is slated to reopen to visitors on May 12th. That's about 2 years and 8 months since the earthquake that caused all that damage. I can't wait for it to reopen!

These DC pictures are completely amazing! Thanks for sharing!

Thank you! Happy to share!

Great pictures of the Flights of Wonder show- I've never seen it and your pictures have convinced me to see it in August.

Gorgeous pictures of DC- absolutely stunning!!

You should definitely see Flights of Wonder!

The more time I spend photographing the DC area, the more I fall in love with all its scenery!

So excited to get caught up on this thread! My boyfriend and I got into the World that same week on the 29th. After a trip to urgent care (we were both battling something awful and the flight did not help!) we were worried our trip was going to be a disaster. But luckily the next day we felt pretty good and the rain really helped us get stuff done even though we were moving at a slower pace due to not feeling well. This was our first trip to Disney World and I really did not expect to love it as much as I did. We are hoping to do a long weekend in October as well and we want to stay at AKL for part of our trip. So your TR is really getting me excited about finishing the planning process! Only on page two so I got to get reading!

First off, welcome to my TR and the DIS!

Sorry to hear that your trip in January got off to a rocky start but very happy to hear that you enjoyed it! Let me know if you have any questions about the AKL! You're going to love visiting in October and hopefully you'll get a chance to experience Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party!

You mean you didn't consider the "retro" appeal of the Pier 7 Inn when making your hotel reservations last year? Shocker!

I did look into it very briefly purely because of its location. Then I saw some pictures and reviews on Trip Advisor and got scared off.

 

[momabbate]

Your pictures never disappoint. Love all the DC photos, with the sunset being breathtaking. Thank you for taking a break and sharing.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Your pictures never disappoint. Love all the DC photos, with the sunset being breathtaking. Thank you for taking a break and sharing.

Thank you! The Cherry Blossoms are now starting to bloom by the basin so hopefully I'll have some more by Sunday!

 

[amazingact21]

Love your DC pictures! I have never been to that area (shameful, I know) and your photographs just made me want to plan a trip for next year. That sunrise over the Washington Monument makes an insanely early wake up sound appealing.

 

[khertz]

Every time you do a DC photo post, I start mentally planning a second trip there!! I just loved it so much when we went, and I hope we can eventually go back at a cooler time of year.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Love your DC pictures! I have never been to that area (shameful, I know) and your photographs just made me want to plan a trip for next year. That sunrise over the Washington Monument makes an insanely early wake up sound appealing.

Thanks! You should make a visit! So much to see and do!

When I'm waking up for those sunrises, I really question my sanity as I drag out of bed. But once I see the sunrise and the pictures I'm finally convinced that it was worth it.

Every time you do a DC photo post, I start mentally planning a second trip there!! I just loved it so much when we went, and I hope we can eventually go back at a cooler time of year.

Come on over! And when you do let me know and I can help out with any part of the planning!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

My final push for votes on the Photo Contest which will close in 4 days! Thank you so much again for all of your help! ***Link to my photo*** (I think I fixed the glitch to the link from my past posts)

Jumping back to our day of pirates and princess adventures, when we left the kids had underwent their transformations at The Pirates League and BBB and we enjoyed a nice dinner at BOG. We departed the BOG and made our way down Main Street to exit the park. We had one last item on our agenda. A big one. We were signed up for the Pirates and Pals Fireworks Voyage. The rain and clouds were still hanging around so I wasn’t so sure whether Wishes would still be on for the evening. I sent the rest of the group to the Contemporary Resort on foot while I took the ferry across the lake back to our minivan at TTC so I could re-park it with the CR valet. Because if there’s one thing I’m not a fan of at Disney, it’s the post-Wishes exodus crowd. Trying to catch the ferry or the monorail with that crowd is as painful as stepping on kids’ Lego pieces in the middle of the night.

I had things timed pretty well. Once I regrouped with my family there were only 5 minutes remaining before the start of the event. As the CMs began lining up gearing for the opening, I had our group up front at the entrance to the conference room that would double as the pirates lair. I had some advance scouting information from my DIS friend, Sarah, who had done the cruise a few weeks earlier. Based on her experience, I formulated a plan where the adults would divide and conquer. As soon as the doors opened, I took the kids straight towards the meet and greet area for Hook and Smee located at the other end of the room. We were first in line. DW, DB, and DSIL toured the room gathering snacks with a focus on the popular items such as the Mickey Bars while the kids and I waited for our favorite pirates to appear. My brother joined me in line once he had gathered the cotton candies. After a couple of minutes standing there and seeing how no one else was lining up behind us he asked “Are you sure this is the right spot? No one else seems to be lining up” I jokingly said with a wink “Are you questioning my Disney knowledge?” Just as I was finishing that sentence guess who entered the room right in front of us? Yep. Hook and Smee. And that’s when everyone else in the room snapped their heads up from their snacks with a look of “Whaaa?” and then rushed over to start lining up behind us while our kids were enjoying their meet and greet. The kids loved seeing Hook and Smee. DS had colored a picture of Hook while waiting in the lobby earlier and was busy showing Hook his handy work! Not to mention pointing out that his make over at The Pirates League was modeled after Hook.

Once the character meet and greet was completed the kids quickly made some new friends with a couple of other kids who were sitting in the couches and enjoying their snack. Let me tell you. There was a lot of sugar available in that room. Not just the ice cream sandwiches and the fruit bars. But there were bags of cotton candy and chocolate. Oh, did I mention that there was also cake being served?

Soon our fearless pirate leaders for the two boats appeared to lead us out to the docks. Patch and Patch.

Here's a picture of our Patch.



Loved them throughout the entire experience and I think they’re what really makes this whole event fly. Guests had been pre-assigned between two boats named Hook and Smee. We were also pre-assigned rows on the boat. Now judging from the fact that the Hook boat is the first to board and return AND we were assigned the very front rows of the boat, I’m going to guess that these assignments are based on how early each group made their reservation. Yes, I made ours on the morning of the 180 day mark One child was chosen to carry the boat flag over. Since we were on the Hook boat, our group was led by Hook himself along with a girl carrying the flag with Hook on it. It was sort of like a parade following those two down the stairs and out of the CR.



A few of unsuspecting guests that happened to be standing around by the dock area when we walked by must have thought that this was an impromptu character meet and greet with Hook and decided to follow our group down to the boat. I felt a little bad for those kids as they were disappointed to find out that it really was not a meet and greet. By the way, they give out a Pirates and Pals Cruise bandana at check in for each participant and we are asked to don it anyway we want as long as it’s visible and the CMs can figure out who belongs to the party.

Once everyone was seated and accounted for, our boat was off with Hook waving at us from the dock.





Patch entertained us during this whole voyage by interacting with the guests. There was singing. Jokes about where everyone was from. There was also some Disney trivia and small prizes handed out to anyone who answered correctly. Every kid eventually gets a little gift even if they don’t answer a question. I helped the kids out with some of the answers and that’s when DS got a small pirate rubber ducky or as Patch called it “The Ducky of Death!”



DS at first was not impressed as he watched other guests receive prizes that he perceived as superior to his ducky. He kept saying “Hmmmph. All I got was this ducky” with his pout growing by the minute. So I tried to pep him up a bit by telling him how awesome his ducky was. He wasn’t buying it. So I finally asked him “Do you know what noise a Ducky of Death makes?” When he said “Quack” I said “Nope, it says Quarrrrrrrrrrghk” His pout disappeared and he warmed up to his special ducky. DD got a Nemo question right and received a pirate sword. I was thinking “Grrreat. Now we have two light sabers and three plastic swords all capable of bruising my hands and fingers when the little ones takes a swing with it.”

This was the view from our boat before the fireworks began.



While all of this was going on I began taking note that we were already 5 minutes past the time Wishes was supposed to have started. I began wondering out loud to DW whether the fireworks were indeed cancelled. It was mostly misting at this point but fog and low clouds had rolled in. Patch was about to introduce the start of Wishes but then was pulled over by one of the CMs manning the radio who whispered something to him. So Patch began what he called his “blatant stalling” tactics involving more groups singing. Then he offered photo-ops with each family. About 10 minutes later, Celebrate the Magic projection show began which brought a temporary relief that the show was indeed going to go on.

When Wishes finally began it quickly became apparent that the show was going to be a dud. The music was piped into the speakers on the boat. But noone of the big fireworks that went off behind the castle could be seen thanks to the fog and clouds. I did get some interesting pictures and looks of the castle since some of the more colorful fireworks that went off gave this eerie glow in the sky.





But for the most part nothing was visible. Even the foreground fireworks that are set off next to the Castle became invisible halfway through the show as the smoke began lingering in front of the castle.



Not going to lie – I was very disappointed. I also felt horrible for any guests on the boat who this was their first time trying to watch Wishes. I was worried for the CMs and Patch that there might be some extremely unhappy guests looking to direct their complaints and frustrations out on them.

But here was the best thing about the cruise. Nobody was really pouting or being grumpy after Wishes concluded. Everyone was still in high spirits mostly thanks to how entertaining Patch had been before and after the fireworks. As soon as Wishes finished he leapt up and yelled without missing a beat “Wow!! The fireworks was so intense it even made the castle disappear!!” and everyone just started laughing and clapping. Our kids? They were still very happy thanks to their new toys. Or maybe it was all that sugar before the cruise. All of the positive energy in the boat made it easier for me to swallow my disappointment. I was still a bit disappointed because Wishes is probably my top three favorite experiences at Disney. I completely drowned that sliver of disappointment later in the evening with an Angus Burger from The Mara……at 11:30pm. Nothing like a midnight snack at a hotel for a pick-me-up.

As a lot of you know, there was one more treat waiting for us at the docks when our boat returned. Peter Pan himself was standing at the docks!





Since we were the first group to disembark he yelled out to our kids “Follow me!” and started skipping his way down the pier back towards the hotel. Our three kids began running, laughing, and chasing after Peter Pan who would stop for a couple of seconds to let them catch up a little bit then run off. That was one of my favorite moments of the entire trip. It felt like a playdate with Peter Pan for our kids since all of the other children were still getting off the boat as all of this was happening. Once we finally reached the meet and greet spot, Peter Pan began teaching the boys how to wield their swords. They received a mini private tutorial by Peter!



It was just too magical for lack of a better word. The kids didn’t want to leave Peter but with the line slowly beginning to build up behind us we had to eventually yield the floor. But since it took about 5 minutes for the rest of the group to catch up to us and Peter, we probably had a much longer time with him than anyone else.

Once we finished meeting with Peter Pan we headed out to the CR entrance and loaded up our kids in the minivan once the valet returned with it. No. Wishes. Exodus.

On our drive back to our resort my brother and sister in law said that even without Wishes, the cruise was totally worth it. Between the character meet and greets, the snacks, and the entertainment provided they had a great time. My brother commented on how Patch really made the cruise fun and probably was the reason that we didn’t have a mutiny on the boat. Overall, I would definitely recommend the Pirates and Pals Cruise and it provided us with a good ending to our pirates and princess adventures.

 

[LuvEeyore]

Those spontaneous moments with the characters is always great. Sorry about wishes but glad the cruise was worth the time.

 

[chattadisser]

Glad to hear that the CM's and characters made up for the weather not cooperating.

Even with the less than stellar weather you ended up with awesome photos! Love the one with the red sky, makes it looks so omnious!

Christine

 

[SAT887]

Ok coming out of lurkdom to post... I like the how you diffused the ducky of death situation! Also, so glad your entire family enjoyed the cruise even with how cruddy the weather turned out to be - however you managed some very unique and interesting photos of the castle! Now off to stalk your flickr account for better copies