Flowers, Segways & DIS Meets, Oh My! - Updated 10/26, Final Thoughts-FINALLY!

[SoonerGirl]

Wow, you got some awesome pictures from Spectromagic!

How cool you had a good server at the GF too. I always enjoy talking to all the CMs. Oh, and what is up with the Big 12?! We're Michigan fans so I kind of follow the Big 10 and now Nebraska is joining the league! I think now the Big 10 should become the Big 12 since U-N will make 12 teams. haha Crazy.

Thanks Sarah!

I guess maybe we just need to switch names since the Big 10 now has 12 schools and the Big 12 has 10! Our league is a mess and really has been since it's inception. Texas is the big money school and basically calls all the shots, Nebraska had finally had enough and decided to leave. Colorado left for the Pac 10 because they believed 5 of the Big 12 South schools were also going to join and make a 16 team super conference. That didn't happen, because Texas decided it wasn't a good idea - ugggg, they drive me nuts the way they run everything!

Great update Michelle!

I am another one who rents cars primarily due to the fact that we dine at some many of the resort restaurants. I HATE dressing up for dinner and taking a bus, or standing around in the heat getting sweaty!

(Stress-free transportation for rope drop and Outlet shopping are also strong motivators for the rental car!)

I have never been to the GFC - I will have to try it someday.

Great that you got to see Spectro - I think those rumours about it going away permanently for the timebeing just might be right.

Isn't Spectro the greatest way to end the nite. That sound warms my heart!

Looking forward to more!

I like not having to drive when we're in WDW, but I'm not above taking a cab from now on when dining at a resort!

I'm glad that I made time to see Spectro, especially if it's not coming back, it really was a great parade

I had hoped to post another update today, but I was at the ballpark with Justin from 10am until 4pm - ugggg, long, hot day! I've got one written, just need to add pics, I'll try and get it posted later tonight

 

[MEK]

I just might rent a car next time, that was a nightmare trying to get where we wanted to go in the short amount of time we had allowed. I love not having to drive anywhere while on vacation, but I really hate that we lose so much time waiting on Disney transportation.

!

I feel exactly like this. I think it you have a lot of resort dining planned then it makes sense to rent a car for the shear convenience of it. When DH and I did the DXDP last september during free dining it was sort of a toss up between staying at a mod with no car or staying at a value and adding the car. We did the later and it got us everywhere we needed to go. It's nice to leave your room 15 mins before dinner instead of 1 hr.

 

[Spartangirl]

I did enjoy Spectro, but I'd love to be able to see the MSEP this summer too - it's not going to happen though. Are you going to do a TR? You take such fabulous pictures, I'd love to see them and read about your trip!

Thanks, Michelle! I've been toying with the idea of writing one......I feel so "out of the loop" with the TR writing....It's been a year and a half since my last one!!! But, I'll probably break down and do one!

 

[SoonerGirl]

I feel exactly like this. I think it you have a lot of resort dining planned then it makes sense to rent a car for the shear convenience of it. When DH and I did the DXDP last september during free dining it was sort of a toss up between staying at a mod with no car or staying at a value and adding the car. We did the later and it got us everywhere we needed to go. It's nice to leave your room 15 mins before dinner instead of 1 hr.

Speaking from experience - sometimes even and hour isn't enough! I might try renting a car one trip just see the difference, of course I'm afraid if I do I may never go back to not having one!

Thanks, Michelle! I've been toying with the idea of writing one......I feel so "out of the loop" with the TR writing....It's been a year and a half since my last one!!! But, I'll probably break down and do one!

Yay! I hope you do. Make sure you let me know if you decided to

******************

I'm so sorry I didn't get an update posted last night, I spent my DIS time trying to catch up on my subscribed threads instead.

I just got back from taking Jared to see Toy Story 3 and just like the first two, we loved it! There were a couple little things that I took issue with, I think there were adult references in the movie that could have been left out, mainly between Ken and Barbie. AND, after seeing the movie I'm surprised that Lotso is the character that was chosen for the new meet & greet - he is NOT a nice bear! We spent the extra money to see it in 3D, I'm sorry we did that because there were really no 3D effects - so if you go see it, save your money and buy the 2D ticket

I've got about 45 minutes or so here before we have to leave for Jared's game, so I'm getting an update up ASAP while I've got a few minutes!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Day 4 - Tuesday, May 4th

We got up at our usual time and had no bus issues this morning so we made it to the Magic Kingdom in plenty of time to see the opening show.

The fire chief and Main Street inhabitants came out to welcome us

And soon the train arrived from Toontown carrying some of our favorite characters and the family of the day. Wouldn't it be awesome to be chosen to be the family to open the MK?!

Looking back on this day I'm a little disappointed in myself. I had dreams of soaking in the atmosphere of Main Street without my boys dragging me quickly to our first attraction, but I allowed myself to get sucked in to hurrying. I was afraid that this was going to be our only MK day (which it did turn out to be) and there was just so much that I wanted Mom to see that I forgot all about stopping to smell the roses. That being said, the crowds were not bad this morning at all and we did get a lot done!

We started off by going to Tomorrowland to grab a set of FPs for Space Mountain, then we headed to Fantasyland - Peter Pan was calling my name! We stopped briefly for me to take this pic, I thought it was so cool how it looked like Alice was holding this bird

We had a very short wait for PP, less than 10 minutes I'm sure. I don't know if Mom got how much I love this ride, actually I'm not sure I can tell you why I love it so much, but I do! The music makes me smile, it instantly puts me in a good mood when I'm listening to Mouse House Radio and it comes on. I love flying over London and waving to Nana and telling her to 'come on'. This attraction transports me to my childhood more than any other - wish I was riding it right now!

After PP we walked across the street to It's a Small World. My boys never let me ride this one, and I informed Mom that it was a Disney rite of passage - she had to ride it! We walked right on, in fact it was only us and 3 other people in the boat.

I enjoyed being able to ride an attraction that I never get to, but I must say after recently finishing the first Kingdom Keepers book, I'll never look at those dolls the same way again!

Continued in the next post

 

[SoonerGirl]

Next up was the Haunted Mansion

Cool, we all know what this means - no wait!

We walked almost straight into the stretching room. This is another of my favorites. The attention to detail here is so amazing, especially with the changes they made a couple years ago - so awesome! I always sing along to Grim Grinning Ghosts, and look forward to seeing which one is going to follow me home! We stopped to take a picture of Mom with the horseless carriage

Then made our way over to BTMRR

We had another short wait here and thankfully didn't lose any hats or glasses during our Wildest Ride in the Wilderness!

We thought about riding Splash, but we had an early dinner ADR today and were planning on being in the park all day and going straight to dinner from there, so we decided not to get wet. Instead we opted to go back over to Tomorrowland and use our SM FPs. I took a few pictures as we walked

And we stopped for a Photopass pic

Before finally making it to

We rode Space Mountain and it was such a quiet ride. I heard no screams, no laughs, nothin' - it was really kind of weird! After Space we walked over and rode Buzz, it was also a pretty short wait, about 10-15 minutes, our car stopped a couple of times during the ride and I was able to rack up a pretty good score - woo hoo!

We were starting to get hungry now - it's lunch time!

Ok, that's all I have time for - to be continued...

 

[MeMom]

There were a couple little things that I took issue with, I think there were adult references in the movie that could have been left out, mainly between Ken and Barbie. AND, after seeing the movie I'm surprised that Lotso is the character that was chosen for the new meet & greet - he is NOT a nice bear!

I am surprised to hear about Lotso, but I am sadly not surprised about the Ken and Barbie chatter. It is disappointing, too. I know I'll love the movie, and I know I would have loved it without any adult undertones. When you teach 7-8-9 year olds, you know that this is the kind of thing they play up on, because they know the adults think it's cute, and they can 'get away' with it. I can assure you I will have students saying 'Nice ascot!' this year. That's the only thing I've seen in the commercials, but I guess from your comment, there will be more.

 

[KatMark]

Michelle, great update. You got a lot accomplished in the morning at MK. I love the photopass of you and your mom; the more I see pictures of the two of you together, the more you look alike (especially your smile).

 

[kschafer]

Thanks for the advice on TS3. We are going tomorrow and were debating whether we wanted to pay for 3D or save the cash for snacks...looks like we will have popcorn! Hoping the adult subtones will go over my boys heads!

A lovely morning at MK! Sorry you forgot to slow down on main street. It really takes effort to stop to soak it all in!! I absolutely adore IASW and HM as a walk on is awesome!!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Me too...Thanks for the heads up on TS3. I had been debating 3D or 2D; looks like 2D it is!

Your MK morning sounded awesome! And I loved your PP pic of you and your mom! I just ordered my PP CD and am getting really excited to get it now.

 

[RachelNinja]

How cute is the fire chief?! I was able to see and get a picture with the Mayor this past trip. I think it'd be fun to find the fire chief!

Haha, in the pic of Aladdin and Jasmine, the CM behind looks so into what she's doing!

Didn't Kingdom Keepers just change how you see everything now? Haha. It's going to be odd going to Animal Kingdom because I've only been there once in my life, but now everything will be seen through KK eyes!

Ooo, I love the perspective of the cannon with Thunder Mountain in the background. I don't even know where that is!

 

[Charleston Princess]

I was surprised that Lotso was chosen for the Meet and Greet as well after seeing the movie. Not to mention, you can buy a plush one at Target! I would be afraid he would try to pull a Communist takeover in Connor's room if I brought him home.

I agree about seeing it's a small world through different eyes after reading The Kingdom Keepers. I still love the ride, though!

 

[wdwgirl03]

I enjoyed being able to ride an attraction that I never get to, but I must say after recently finishing the first Kingdom Keepers book, I'll never look at those dolls the same way again!

LOL, I hear ya on that! Just smile...hehehe

Ooh, the fire chief, I don't think I've ever seen him. We've always had the mayor or first lady. Cool how they have all the different "citizens" doing the opening show!

 

[MEK]

Great MK Day. On my september trip I am going to get there for park opening if it kills me. I haven't seen the opening ceremony in years and I MUST see it again.

You got to hit a lot of great rides in the morning. Way to go. And your pictures are really beautiful. I love them. You got some interesting ones of BTM. Probably a good idea to pass on Splash since you were more than likely to get splashed!

Glad you like TS3 and thanks for the tip about the 3D.

Oh - and, yes, the car will spoil you but sometimes you can get really good deals and the car practically pays for itself. It gives you a couple extra hours in the park, too. I think ME leaves way to early to go back to the airport.

 

[SoonerGirl]

I am surprised to hear about Lotso, but I am sadly not surprised about the Ken and Barbie chatter. It is disappointing, too. I know I'll love the movie, and I know I would have loved it without any adult undertones. When you teach 7-8-9 year olds, you know that this is the kind of thing they play up on, because they know the adults think it's cute, and they can 'get away' with it. I can assure you I will have students saying 'Nice ascot!' this year. That's the only thing I've seen in the commercials, but I guess from your comment, there will be more.

Don't be too discouraged MeMom, I went back and reread what I wrote and it sounded probably a little harsher than it should have. There are only a couple of things, the movie isn't littered with them or anything. Honestly after seeing the "ascot" comment in the trailer I think my radar was up and I was probably more sensitive to stuff than I normally would have been. The movie is really good, Jared and I loved it, as did the entire theater based upon the reaction at the end, I'm sure you'll love it too! Take tissue!!

Michelle, great update. You got a lot accomplished in the morning at MK. I love the photopass of you and your mom; the more I see pictures of the two of you together, the more you look alike (especially your smile).

I think we probably look even more alike on this day because we're wearing the same color shirt! When we got dressed that morning I didn't even realize that - it wasn't until I saw the photopass pic that noticed it.

Thanks for the advice on TS3. We are going tomorrow and were debating whether we wanted to pay for 3D or save the cash for snacks...looks like we will have popcorn! Hoping the adult subtones will go over my boys heads!

A lovely morning at MK! Sorry you forgot to slow down on main street. It really takes effort to stop to soak it all in!! I absolutely adore IASW and HM as a walk on is awesome!!

You'll love TS3, and definitely save your money on the ticket and use it for popcorn Jared is all about 3D and even he said we should have just gone to see the 2D version. There aren't alot of adult subtones, I'm sure your boys won't notice them. Like I told MeMom, I think my radar was up after seeing the "ascot" thing in the trailer, so I was probably on the look out for stuff!

Crowd wise it was really nice that morning, all the more reason to slow down a bit. The plus side is that we got alot accomplished!

Me too...Thanks for the heads up on TS3. I had been debating 3D or 2D; looks like 2D it is!

Your MK morning sounded awesome! And I loved your PP pic of you and your mom! I just ordered my PP CD and am getting really excited to get it now.

I didn't get the CD this time, just bought a few pics, I was really happy with the ones I got though.

Make sure that you stretch your TR out long enough that you can post your PP pics on there when you get your CD - I'd love to see them!

 

[SoonerGirl]

How cute is the fire chief?! I was able to see and get a picture with the Mayor this past trip. I think it'd be fun to find the fire chief!

Haha, in the pic of Aladdin and Jasmine, the CM behind looks so into what she's doing!

Didn't Kingdom Keepers just change how you see everything now? Haha. It's going to be odd going to Animal Kingdom because I've only been there once in my life, but now everything will be seen through KK eyes!

Ooo, I love the perspective of the cannon with Thunder Mountain in the background. I don't even know where that is!

I have never seen the Mayor out and about, I've only seen him in the opening show. How cool that you got to get your picture taken with him!

I hadn't really noticed the lady behind Aladdin & Jasmine until you said that, but you're right - she's singing her little heart out

I've just started the second KK book, so I'm not too far into the AK part yet.

The cannon is on the Liberty Square side, I just happened to look to my right and notice the view as we were walking over to Frontierland - I thought it was pretty neat too!

I was surprised that Lotso was chosen for the Meet and Greet as well after seeing the movie. Not to mention, you can buy a plush one at Target! I would be afraid he would try to pull a Communist takeover in Connor's room if I brought him home.

I don't think I'd want him in my house either!

I agree about seeing it's a small world through different eyes after reading The Kingdom Keepers. I still love the ride, though!

Jared has just started reading the first book, he already wasn't a fan of IASW, and the book certainly isn't going to help that

LOL, I hear ya on that! Just smile...hehehe

Ooh, the fire chief, I don't think I've ever seen him. We've always had the mayor or first lady. Cool how they have all the different "citizens" doing the opening show!

I'll be smiling from ear to ear next time I ride IASW

This was the first time I've seen the fire chief, in the past I've only seen the mayor. I didn't know the first lady did it too!

Great MK Day. On my september trip I am going to get there for park opening if it kills me. I haven't seen the opening ceremony in years and I MUST see it again.

You got to hit a lot of great rides in the morning. Way to go. And your pictures are really beautiful. I love them. You got some interesting ones of BTM. Probably a good idea to pass on Splash since you were more than likely to get splashed!

Glad you like TS3 and thanks for the tip about the 3D.

Oh - and, yes, the car will spoil you but sometimes you can get really good deals and the car practically pays for itself. It gives you a couple extra hours in the park, too. I think ME leaves way to early to go back to the airport.

I try to see the opening show at MK at least once on each trip - it's a great way to start the day!

We did get so much done that morning, wait times were very cooperative

I agree, ME does leave way too early, especially now that you can check your luggage at the resort. And who wouldn't rather spend extra time in Disney instead of hanging around the airport?!

 

[Happydog]

I got behind, but I caught up this morning!

So first, I have never eaten in Norway either, and your sandwiches did look good! Pastries too!

What a haul to the GF, but I am glad you enjoyed your meal, and I was laughing about the monorail stop escapade! I am sure you are not the only one to ever make that mistake! Spectro photos were great! I was glad to see them because I won't be able to this trip -- but I guess the new summer nightastic shows will be fun... I just love the music to Spectro. AND how fun you saw the opening show at the MK! I soooo want to be able to do that this trip... I have never seen it!

 

[disneydusted]

What a delightful morning you two had! I love it when you can move through the parks and not feel like you are dodging people every step. Very cute picture of you and your mom!

 

[stace208]

Looks like a great MK morning! I love the photopass pic of the two of you!

Had to laugh about your Kingdom Keepers reference. I have read all 3 of them and totally agree that IASW, and some other things that I won't mention since you're still reading, will never be the same again!! Both of my kids have started to read the first but not gotten through it and I think it's probably a good thing right now!

Have you read the Peter and the Starcatchers books by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson? Excellent books. I liked them even better than KK.

Thanks for the TS3 tip. We were going to see it in 3D tomorrow but I think we'll just save that money! I bought a pocket pack of tissues today...

 

[MHTeacher]

Well, WOW---Two updates while I've been off this board all week. (My computer got a nasty virus, but I think it's all cured now!)

First--We've never eaten at Grand Floridian Cafe. Your meal looked delicious---I have looked at the menu before and considered it, just never booked it. I know Dana (racefanof88) really likes GFC, too. Maybe I should try it during our next trip.

Oh, and your transportation mishaps sounds like something I'd do!

Second----Glad you got to watch Spectro! I love it---For some reason, now I'm singing, "On this magic ni--ight....."

Third---Sounds as if y'all had a good morning at MK the next day and got a lot accomplished!