Drinking The Kool-aid, DISney-washing the DH (COMPLETED 12/13) New!!!

[NAB]

That was my favourite thing when we were there in Aug. Watching the faces of my kids watching Wishes.Having my hubby's arm around me and just taking it all in. Pure magic indeed.


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[Grammyof2]

where of where can you be

 

[nicolemarie]

I guess it's a good thing Grammy is over here bumping up TR's. Yet another one that I've read, yet never posted to.

Lovin' your report and lovin' hearing of all the adventures that I missed. Hope everyone is doing better around your way!

NM

 

[javamom]

Getting Our Full Geek On At MGM

Before I get to the MGM Full Geek Experience, I must tell you about a smaller geeky experience that occurred this next morning.

I had designed some very Viking t-shirts for the Maelstrommers and I had printed a set for Haley. I woke up at the crack of early and headed down to Everything Pop for some more of the brown liquid that they call coffee and to see a CM at the front desk about getting the set of iron-on transfers to Haley and Mr. Silly. I knew that they would be needing them for the planned rendezvous in Norway the next day. SO, I walk up to the counter and try to explain to the CM that, while I do know their name (thank the Lord I did not have to explain that they are my internet friends and their names are Haley and Mr. Silly), I do not know where they are staying exactly and (because we BOTH forgot to pack our cell phone chargers) I cannot call them to tell them via Sheridac. So, I ask if I can leave them there at the desk and they could call them to come pick them up. I swear, for a second there that it would not have surprised me in the least if she checked the package to see if it was porn. Lo and behold, the lady picks up the phone and then hands it to me. I stand there for a second expecting it to ring and it doesn’t. She looks at me like I just flunked telephone and tells me to leave a message. She had dialed straight into their VM. So I leave this really lame message that I was not prepared to leave and feel like a kindergartener that just flunked scissors. I think it went something like this (maybe Haley can corroborate): “Oh leave a message… Ok, umm, Hi Haley this is javamom, Steph, I have left your t-shirt transfers here at the front desk… at Pop in your name. Hope I got them to you in time, see you tomorrow, Steph.” It was something riveting like that as I recall. At any rate, that awkward moment over, we headed to MGM.

We made it there early and I took these pictures:

First in line at the turnstile

I went to rope drop to get a pic of the hat and the photopass castmember mugged for my photo. All of us that were lined up for rope drop got a chuckle out of it. When the rope dropped, we went left. Yes, I know everyone goes right to get to ToT and RnRC. Again, Crashdad not so much of a thrill seeker. I would have loved to ride RnRC, but the truth is that this trip was really all about him. Besides how am I gonna DISney-wash him if I scare the begeebies out of him? Instead we went left, and headed toward Star Tours because we are the quintessential Star Wars geeks:

Have you ever wondered what you would look like in a movie poster??? Well we found out: WARNING this is guaranteed to make you crack up or pass-out whichever comes first
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Warning: Extreme Geek Moment Caught for Posterity
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I warned ye, I did.
We enjoyed our trip to Endor and a chance to battle the Empire!

Next is was off to Muppets 3D

This sign cracked me up!

We really liked this one too. It was neat to sit in the Muppet theatre complete with Waldorf and Statler. I forgot to look for the key!!! I wish I would have taken pics of the theatre. After this, we headed over to the Great Movie Ride.

I forgot to set the camera to motion mode, so it is a bit blurry

We really enjoyed the castmembers here as they gave the ride more interaction than it would have had otherwise and one of them reminded me of my nephew.

After this we headed over to Indiana Jones to grab Fastpasses, then we headed for Beauty and the Beast. We waited at the rope for the seating to begin. They came late. It has hot and there was no shade to be had. Finally a castmember carrying a clipboard came through and headed up the ramp. In short time, another cast member came down the ramp to let us through. I took lots of pics of this show. Crashdad was less than thrilled to be going, but said afterward that it was good and he was glad that we saw it. He enjoyed the live theatrical performances:

This man had an amazing voice

Ok, that’s all for tonight.

Up Next: Pixie Dust at MGM and Onward

 

[HaleyB]

I think that is just about a word for word transcript of that phone message.
I pretty much always sound like that when I leave messages.

 

[Backstage_Gal]

Yay, Steph, you are back!!

I can soo relate to awkward moments, LOL!

And what do you mean about the star trek pics, looks like movie stars to me!!

Keep on trucking, I look forward to it!

 

[Minnie_Moo]

Yay, another episode!

Love the Star Wars pic!!!!!

 

[Jake & Crew]

looking forward to more kool aid!

 

[NAB]

Steph loving your report. We love the Beauty and the Beast. I love the colourful dress and DD always asks me which one I would want to be.

DS has his face put to Ob one ?? Can't spell but I am sure you know.



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[winkers]

I'm loving your tr! Can't wait to see how your trip with the kids goes!

 

[javamom]

Steph loving your report. We love the Beauty and the Beast. I love the colourful dress and DD always asks me which one I would want to be.

DS has his face put to Ob one ?? Can't spell but I am sure you know.



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Ok this took me a time or three to read over, but I figured it out.

You son had his face put on the Obi Wan poster. It's Fun!!



Will be a couple of days before I can post another leg of the journey, thanks everyone. Glad you are enjoying... more Kool-Aid to come

 

[NAB]

You caught me Steph I am not a Star Wars fan and I asked my son and I thought that is what he said That and I can't spell and thought you would figure it out. Everyone couldn't believe that was my son's face in the picture it was that good.

A few years ago my son and hubby did the Buzz and Woody picture too. DS was Buzz and hubby was Woody.


--

 

[javamom]

Pixie Dust at MGM and Onward!

Next it was on to Mama Melrose’s for dinner on Melrose Ave, our waiter was a handsome guy named Pal, pronounced Paul – complete with Italian accent.

View from our table. Ok I know that many of us would have preferred a view of Pal, trust me on this!

But I didn't want to "go all stalker on him" and shoot his picture.

Butcher Charred Steak w/ Roasted Red Pepper Polenta, Grilled Asparagus and Gongonzola butter, it was delish!!! I spread the gorgonzola butter all over my steak. Sssshhhh!

We had reserved the Fantasmic Dinner Package which included appetizer, entrée, and desserts for 2 and a pass for advanced seating to the Fantasmic show later that night. Not pictured were the appetizer (4 Cheese Flatbread – yummo) the desserts and the Bellini cocktail that I had with dinner. It was all yummo.

After this, we stumbled onto the Disney Animation Tour. We watched a neat presentation about the Animation process and then went through different exhibits. A neat guy took this picture for us and didn’t even steal our camera:

Our brief visit to Radiator Springs was fun!

After this, we went back to Star Tours.
We ran into a really nice CM that stopped whatever it was that she had been on her way to do to give us a guided tour through the Streets of America area and on to The Little Mermaid. This time, I was the one that thought it would be lame, but again the Disney Imagineers did a good job with this show. It was great! However, upon exiting, Crashdad started to feel ill and almost knocked me over. Clearly, he needed to get back to the Pop and rest. So, as we made our way to the park exit, I knew that we needed to find a couple and give away our advanced Fantasmic seating pass. We spotted a young couple. Judging from their accents, they must have been from the UK. I asked them if they intended to stay that night for Fantasmic and they said yes. I gave them the pass, explained what it was and what to do to use it. It made their day a little more magical, and it made us feel better knowing that the pass would not be wasted!!

We made our way to the exit when I noticed a first aid station. We went inside hoping to cool off and use the rest room before making our way to the bus. The CM there checked us in and then Crashdad went to the facilities. While he was there, she asked me all about what happened and what our plans had been for the evening. I told her about the pass and giving it away and all. She asked me if we could wait about 10 minutes, maybe she could arrange a van to take us back to Pop personally. WOW! Sure thing I said. So, Crashdad came out and she disappeared again. When she came back she presented me with this:

front

back

She said that since we had helped to spread some pixie dust, that she wanted us to have some back. So she gave us this: one pin to keep, and one to give away to someone else. The next day, I would get my opportunity!! Anyway, a CM named Pedro showed up and drove us to Pop.

We got the see the backlot of MGM, that was kinda cool too. Within minutes, we were back at the Pop for showers and some sleep. This night I elected to not set a wake-up call.

Next morning, I woke up before Crashdad, with a horrible headache.

I took my refillable mug to the Everything Pop food court to get some of the ummm "stuff that they call coffee" at WDW. This is the only thing that I think Disney does not do rightat all, and when they do sooo many things sooo right, this coffee seems all the worse to me. It is Nescafe, need I say more? Yes? Ok, then it is Nescafe concentrate that mixes as it dispenses, apparently. I know because I was there early enough that morning to watch them refill the machine with the carton dispenser that it comes in. YUCKO!! Bring your own coffee if you go to WDW and a small machine (if your room does not include one). I went back up to the room and got Crashdad up and around. We made it to Epcot only about 15 mins after opening. We headed directly for Soarin’, grabbed Fastpasses and then got in the stand-by line. We waited maybe 20 mins to ride, and chatted with a family from the UK. One thing that we really enjoyed, about WDW, was all of the accents that we got to hear. We “heard” folks from all over. It was neat! This father was telling us how impressed he was with the Disney CMs. Apparently, he lost a camera on a ride and the CM dutifully checked each and every car, as it came by, for his camera. They didn’t find it, but he was blown away that they would do that. He said that back at home, that would never happen and that it is things like this that make the Disney difference. He was wearing a Red Hot Chili Peppers UK tour concert T-shirt, and he and Crashdad talked about how they would each like to have opposite shirts. He wants a US tour shirt and Crashdad wanting a UK tour shirt. They were great folks, we wished them a great ride and trip as we ended up on different concourses for our “flight” on Soarin’. OMG, I cannot say enough about how cool this ride is.

Disney Imagineers need to earn a cookie or 2 hundred for this one. It is a fantastic experience. We were so glad that we grabbed those Fastpasses so that we could ride it again!!

Ok, since this is one of the few pics that I remembered to stop and take at Epcot, know that this is a great ride. The whole rest of the day, I did not take hardly any further pics. I was having too much fun to stop!

After this ride, we stopped at Sunshine Seasons so Crashdad could get some breakfast. I wanted to save my counter service credit for something in World Showcase for lunch, so I just had a fruit cup using a snack credit. After this, we walked back toward the park entrance to ride Spaceship Earth, aka the Big Golfball that is the Epcot icon. Crashdad had always wanted to see this, and now he really was! We rode that and then headed back to The Land Pavilion to ride Soarin’ again with our Fastpasses. Time now was about 10:30 and the wait time was now 65 mins!!! We were really glad that we had those Fastpasses, we waited maybe 10 minutes to ride. After that, we headed to the World Showcase to meet up with my crazy DIS viking friends at the Norway Pavilion. We posed for a few group shots and then we all got on two Viking ships and rode the Maelstrom ride in Norway (I mean Norvay). It is a Fastpass, dontcha know?!!

I designed the t-shirts that some of us were wearing that day (only the one that I wore was black instead of white):

After the ride, we posed for more pictures in the dump shop, I mean gift shop:

Fellow DISer KPK89 made me a luggage tag, so I gave her the Pixie Dust pin that I had received the day before and told her the whole story.

Next it was on to the Mexico Pavilion and the Cantina Del San Angel for margaritas by the World Showcase Lagoon. They were yummo and, BTW, made my headache go away – go figure that one out?? After that, the crazy DIS Vikings (or is that Dorkings?) all went their separate ways, more or less, until later that night when we would all meet up again for Illuminations.

Crashdad and I headed out around the World Showcase to peruse the kiosks for the International Food and Wine Festival. We sampled goodies, wines, and champagnes from around the world. Love, love, loved the cheddar cheese soup from Canada. It was yummo. Zzub should definitely try it Me(l)’s right! Wonder if he has? I am so behind on trip reports it isn’t funny.

If you have never been to Epcot, it is huge. You walk and walk and walk. So the little samples of stuff really didn’t seem to fill you up, you walked them off. Finally, it was time to use that counter service credit that I had left and I decided upon the Tangerine Café in the Morocco Pavilion. Because FSUmarchief loves this so much (oh no wait, sorry I mean the food in France) I chose this:

Chicken and Lamba Shwarma Platter with hummus, tangerine coucous, Moroccan bread, and baklava

This was yummo, and I was expanding my dining adventurism by trying it. I am glad that I did! The little gal that served me was stunningly beautiful and her name was just as pretty: Hanane, pronounced Hahn-ahn. He was just lovely. BTW, the Castmembers in World Showcase are mostly exchange students from the “country” in which they work, so they can speak the native language of that country and can tell you all about their homeland. That was the way Walt wanted it to be, so I have been told.

After that lunch, we headed to the Japan Pavilion where we stopped at the Mitsukoshi Department Store. We stopped and purchased an oyster ticket and headed over to the oyster tanks to pick my oyster. I picked one near a rock (just for you Mel) and they opened my oyster to fish out the pearl inside. It was a white pearl 7-1/4mm. They cleaned it and showed me the size. I chose to have it mounted in a silver heart ring. It was a great choice for a trip souvenir!!

By evening, we had walked all around World Showcase, and headed toward the International Gateway to walk to the Boardwalk area for our dinner at the Flying Fish. After changing into a fresh set of clothes, stored in a locker near the Gateway, we were ready for a Disney Signature Dining experience. Here are some pics:

Appetizer: Chardonnay Steamed Mussels with Fennel and Cream Pesto

I know that this looks really strange, but it was SOOOOOOOOOOOOO good. The mussels were very fresh and juicy, not fishy or rubbery. The fennel and pesto gave the dish a slight “bite,” but the chardonnay and cream kept it light on the pallet. It was to die for and the bowl was so huge that I shared with Crashdad. He ordered the cold lobster salad for his appetizer, not pictured. I had the Potato-wrapped Snapper for my main, which was good, but I enjoyed the mussels more!!

The Flying Fish did not disappoint at all. It was lovely, yet not at all pretentious. I am so glad that we got to experience it. For dessert, we both ordered the Chocolate Excursion or something like that. It had a chocolate mouse tart, a warm chocolate phyllo purse sort of thing, and a lemon-grass chocolate tea. It was fun, but if I ever go back to FF I’ll try another dessert. I really wish that I had taken some pics of the Boardwalk at night, as it was so beautiful. We headed back over the International Gateway to find the crazy DIS vikings to watch Illuminations and sip champagne by the World Showcase lagoon. Illuminations was great! After that, the crazy band of Vikings went on the Friendship boat singing songs like “Rock The Boat” and “Michael Row The Boat Ashore.” Needless to say, led by Sheridac, we were the shipboard entertainment. The Captain of the boat was sure to point out that we were indeed on our way to the Boardwalk, where he was sure we were on our way to Jellyrolls!!

Jellyrolls is a piano bar. We all enjoyed adult beverages and sang badly, some worse than others, to tunes such as: Paradise By The Dashboard Light, The Best of Times, Brown-eyed Girl, Bohemian Rasphody, and a few that flat made no sense at all. Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the bottle trick. Something I learned in my wild and wooly 20's that Crashdad had never seen (and has asked me about a few times), so I did it for him and Grampy. It was fun, and I hadn't done that trick in so long, I wasn't sure that I could still do it. If you wanna know more, you'd need to ask Crashdad or Grampy about it. So, having revisited my miscreant youth, we left Jellyrolls and headed back to the Pop.

Time to wrap this little trek up. The next morning we packed our stuff and, sadly, hopped on the motor coach back to the Orlando airport, Horsey was on the same coach with us.

In summation: for 4 days we heard no bad news, we played like kids, and partied like grown-ups, sortof-ish? We had a great time. As we sat there in the Orlando airport listening to CNN and the stories of the Amish school shootings that took place that week, reality hit back at us. It was then, that we really appreciated the Disney difference the most. It was hard to leave that World where we are all a little more like the people that we wished we could be. Well, at least most of us anyway. To come back to the real world where things are not at all that Magical, was a real downer. We finally understand why so many people go year after year, it’s to reconnect with that Magic.

We got home on a Wednesday to find out that our water was still not going to be repaired until Friday (did I mention that the water broke just before our trip, I forget and am not going to go read back), but worse than that, we came home to an ill pet. She was fine when we left and our other dog was fine. But, we lost Lilo on Friday, after she spent a couple of days at the vet hospital. We are sad. She was a great little dog.

However, there is good news. We will be returning to the Magic, and this time, the whole family is going. See, looky at my ticker!!!

We are booked for another Disney vacation. We will celebrate DS’s 17th Birthday and Christmas at Walt Disney World. We will be staying from 12/18 to 12/25 at POR. I cannot wait to watch it all again from my children’s eyes. Yes, it will be a different experience with them. No, we won’t get to do so much of the “grown up” stuff, but we will get to see the Magic light up in their eyes as they experience the Disney difference for themselves, and that will be truly Magical. I can’t wait!

Merry Christmas to all, Happy Hanukah, or whatever you celebrate. PEACE to my DIS friends. The Kool-aid Gang will be back soon with another, hopefully, funnier-wittier-ever-so-much-more-magical trip report after the New Year (hey a girl can dream, right? Maybe Santa will magically write it for me?? "it could happen")!!! So have a great one, until then!

 

[Backstage_Gal]

Steph, what a great report!! And happy it was so good for you (except for Crashdad's illness).

I am so happy you are leaving again so soon, I wish you the most magical trip!!!!!!! It has been a long time coming for you.

Sorry about your doggie and the water and the reality, but hopefully that should all be forgotten again soon.

You will LOVE POR, it is sooooooooooo pretty!!!!!!!!!!

Looking forward to your report when you get back.

 

[Minnie_Moo]

Loved your finale, Steph, especially the Tink pin story!

Have a WONDERFUL Christmas/son's birthday trip to the World. Hope you get some great weather.

 

[nicolemarie]

OK - I'm starving now. All the food looks really good!

I loved your report and have enjoyed getting all the different perspectives from the Viking crew. What a great time y'all had - I could tell!!

I'll be looking forward to hearing about the Christmas trip. That sounds like a blast.

Have a great time and thanks for sharing!!

NM

 

[javamom]

We are off on our next adventure in the AM!

 

[kpk89]

Steph, have a MAGICAL time!!!!! Take it easy, enjoy the holiday, and take in whatever attractions you can. Mostly, enjoy being together with your family in such a happy, happy place!

And, thank you one more time for the pin. I passed it on to Sydney, who found it quite magical. She calls it her "opinion." As in, "Mummy, can I put on my opinion today?"

Have fun! Can't wait to hear about it when you get back!