How "just one trip" became three (babies)... update 6/29, huge triplets photo update

Your pictures--especially the castle ones, with or without Wishes!---are just.....

Okay, I'm lost for words.

Can I take full credit for taking the pictures because I said "yes" to buying the camera? I'm kidding of course, Code does a great job :)

great pics :) as per the usual .... glad to hear the official announcement (even though I can officially say that I knew before! yay, I feel special!)

but I defnitely will be getting a gorrillapod!

Well you certainly are special :) You'll love the gorrillapod, it's had more use than I ever thought it would.

Congrats guys on your impending return to the world!! That will be awesome. DH and I thought kind of the same thing after our first trip as a family with our DD, then 3.5. We went in Dec '06, which was a fantastic time to go! Now we head back to Run Amuck in Jan '08!! We will miss you by four days!

Tell me, anything you will do differently the next time around?

Suz

Sorry we'll just miss you :( What we'll be doing differently...hmm well a couple rides were down so we are both looking forward to our first ride on Rock N Roller Coaster and a few others we some how missed. I'm looking forward to wandering around Tom Sawyer's Island. This next trip we are not going to do the water parks so we'll have more time to roam the parks re-ride the things we really like and we will be attending the Pirate and Princess party one night while we are there. Off property we'll be going to Bahama Breeze for dinner one night and one thing I'm really excited about is another day at Discovery Cove, I did the dolphin swim this trip(Day 6). Next time I'm going to do the Trainer for a Day which is more time spent in the water with the dolphins.
 
I am hopelessly behind on my replies.. you might have forgotten you made some of these comments ;) but I'm going to reply anyway.

First, a mass THANK YOU so much for all the photo compliments :goodvibes

I saw Lease had one of those peanut butter brownies, how good were they??!! Loved 'em!

Yummmmmmmm

I'd love to get a DSLR and learn a whole lot more about photography. Right now, I'm completely camara-less (stolen out of my car during an oil change :sad2: )

Ouch on the stolen camera :headache: A good excuse to get the DSLR maybe? :) I really enjoy photography and I wanted one for a long time, it has been a lot of fun.

Looking forward to seeing and reading it. I got the Evolt 510 on Saturday and have been practicing. I think it is a big improvement from the 500.

Still liking the 510? I saw the NY shot you put on the photo board, really cool.

Tell me, anything you will do differently the next time around?

Good question.. the biggest difference to me will be the lack of dining plan, and I'm looking forward to that. It was a great experience to do once, but we think it just ate up too much time.

That picture with Lease & the background blurred out is very nice - how do you do that

You blur the background by using a large aperture. My 30mm lens can open to f/1.4 (small number = large aperture), giving a very shallow depth of field, thus a very blurry background (the blur is called bokeh).
 
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Day Two--Pirates, Turtles and Food
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I'm getting anxious to finish the trip report, since we need to finish the report before starting another pretrip, right? I typed up my notes from the trip when we got back and Code has been using them to put in the installments. Usually edited as I tend to be longwinded and they end up being grammatically correct. However due to my lack of patience I'm going to continue on with the posting and Code will follow with pictures either inserting them in or adding them after my post. So here comes day two:

After a very long first day we were counting on Disney magic :wizard: and Dr. Pepper to get us going for morning EMH at Magic Kingdom. No worries on a lack of energy, something about Disney just made us giddy and full of energy. As soon as we entered the park we rushed to Space Mountain. I’d forgotten how much fun this ride was and can’t believe I got my grandma to go on it when she was 75. After Space we walked onto Buzz twice, each winning one round. We stopped at twice because it's nice to end with a tie. What a fun ride! It does make me wonder just how cool Toy Story will be when it's completed. We then went on Peter Pan, this ride I remember from Disneyland when I was 4 because it scared me to death. I have no idea why it scared me so much, but it was pretty cool this time around. Cody laughs at my fear of Peter Pan as a kid, but he had a meltdown at Disneyland on the Storybook Canal boats. According to his mom he really really didn’t want to go into the whale’s mouth. We were young and who knows what either of us thought was going to happen.

We then walked over to Mickey’s Philharmagic and both loved it. The jewels that Ariel throws were really cool and the smell of fresh baked pie during the Be Our Guest part was awesome. Continuing down the row, we took Snow White next. Here is the first indoor ride that we really wish people would not use the flash on their cameras. The people in front of us made it seem like we were riding behind a strobe light. :sad2:

Next I convinced Code to go to Toontown for some character pictures, he still wasn’t really sold on the whole character thing, but it was only day two. Minnie’s house was up first. The house was cute and we enjoyed the interactive kitchen especially the cake in the oven. Sadly Minnie wasn’t that great, I was expecting her to be energetic and well she just kind of stood there for the pictures.

Then we went to see Mickey, just like the Minnie’s house we appreciated the attention to detail. Code notice the oven with it’s fun heat settings. In the short line to meet Mickey we had our first Dis-meet with Mickeymouse2003, a couple of big Disney cruisers proudly sporting lime green shirts. Mickey was great, he saw our buttons and made a big deal about them.

After Mickey we decided to pass on Barnstormer and take the train to Frontier land. As it is Code's favorite we went to Splash Mountain enjoying the lack of wait to get on. We were in the front row this time and got soaked! It seems we made a wonderful water shield for the kids behind us. We went on pirates next, it was cool to see the changes and spotting Captain Jack.

On the way out in the pirating spirit we got in line to meet Captain Hook and Smead, the line was pretty long and soon after we really settled in for a wait they went on break so we gave up and headed down the street and saw a pirate pulling a cart yelling “Watch out, little man with a big cart” we watched him set up and found out his name was Mack and Captain Jack Sparrow would soon be joining us. It was great timing on our part. Mack was really funny and Sparrow looked so much like Johnny Depp it was amazing. I got picked to be an apprentice pirate scroll and everything (yay free souvenir).

The heat and sun started getting to us so we bought our first souvenir, I forgot to throw the sunblock in my bag that morning. So we spent $11 on sunblock (painful I know..but a burn is worse), they definitely know they have a captive audience. It was getting very hot so we decided get our first Dole Whips. We both got Pineapple Floats and they were amazing! After finishing our floats we did a quick walk through Swiss Family Robinson treehouse.

After seeing the wait for the Jungle Cruise was 40 minutes we decided to go to the Tiki Room: under new management. Ugh…we should have just waited for Jungle Cruise. I never saw the original Tiki Room but it had to be much better than the new one. I think the word travesty was used.

We then got in a short line to meet Genie. He was a lot of fun. By then it was around 2 in the afternoon and time for our midday break. We used Disney transportation that day, so we headed to the bus lines there were two people with ECVs waiting for the bus. They had to be loaded first and it took over 20 minutes, they were not able to drive them on correctly. Lucky for us another passenger was able to drive them in by standing in front and steering.

At the hotel we both crashed for about an hour long nap before hopping over to Epcot. We stopped at the concierge to change an ADR for Kona Café so we could make the Wishes cruise with Abbybeth and the ‘rents.
We drove to Epcot and went straight for The Land, had a late lunch at Seasons both having turkey sandwiches. I got the strawberry shortcake for dessert and Code had the cheesecake.

Soarin’ was our first ride. We were top row on the left side, it was amazing! We then headed over to Living with the land which is always cool. Next up was Figment and it was…interesting. We then went to meet Figment in what had to be the loneliest character spot in the park. We snapped some quick pictures and headed on our way.

Next was the Living Seas/ Nemo the ride was cute, I loved the clamshells. We then decided to wait for Turtle Talk with Crush. We read all the displays and watched the jellyfish for a bit. We enjoyed Turtle Talk, it was pretty funny thanks to audience interaction. During the time kids could ask questions one kid asked a question and his parents were pointed out in the audience, then his brother raised his hand. Instead of a question he said “I hate bubbles” his big brother was kind enough to explain he doesn’t like bubbles because they smell bad when the get to the surface.:rotfl2: There was no need to explain what he meant and we all had a good laugh I’m sure the parents were proud of their not so shy little boy :) .

We wandered through the aquarium watching the dolphins and turtles and spotted our first dream team member. We traded a pin with her, it was her “mystery pin” turned backwards so we had to trade sight unseen. We traded an aesthetically challenged pin for an equally unattractive pin, but hey it was worth trying to strike up a conversation. I'm not above seeking out dream teamers in hopes of scoring dream ears.

Next up was Mission Space – Orange Team. I can say I rode it and I’ll never do it again. It took me almost 2 hours to feel okay again (I'm such a lightweight). I was pretty worried since it was our night to eat at California Grill. I didn’t start feeling normal again until we sat down for dinner. We had stayed as long as we dared to while leaving enough time to shower and change for dinner. On the way from Epcot we somehow missed a turn or a sign or something and ended up at Coronado Springs.:confused3 This was our first Coronado Springs sighting in what became a running joke for the trip.

We made it back to the hotel after some creative driving and had just enough time to get ready for dinner and head over to the Contemporary arriving exactly on time for our ADR.

California Grill was excellent. :thumbsup2 Our server was Joy and she was wonderful. We both got a flatbread appetizer I got the roasted chicken and Cody ordered the triple cheese. For the main course I had the oak fired fillet of beef and Cody had the grilled pork tenderloin. Both were amazing. I never get steak, but boy was I glad I took Joy’s recommendation on it. About 5 minutes into our food we headed to the observation deck to watch Wishes. It was really neat to see again, I still giggle at the exploding blue fairies (I understand they fireworks are not meant to be the blue fairy exploding, but really it's a blue fairy shaped explosion..hence the exploding blue fairies). When we returned to our table we found our meals had been covered which was completely unexpected and very nice. For dessert I had the “Year of a Million Dreams Cake” it was yummy. Cody had the Banana and Butterscotch “Buzz” it was better! The best custard we’ve ever had.

Our ADR was pretty late so we milled around the Contemporary gift shop for a while then headed back to the hotel, where we happily fell into a deep and restful night of sleep.

Go to Day 2 Photos, Part 1
 
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Day 2 Photos, Part 1 - Magic Kingdom
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I'm really glad Lease took it on herself to get day 2 written. Here are the photos, with my comments!

First up, a mini-rant related to the first photo... The Year of a Million Dreams decorations, almost without exception, were in dire need of replacement. It seemed like they were all faded, worn, and even torn in some cases. They are set up in great photo spots, but they weren't very picturesque.

Anyway, starting in MK...

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We first headed to Tomorrowland for Space Mountain (just as great as I remember, and when I heard the queue line music it was like a childhood flashback) then Space Ranger Spin x2 (really enjoyed this one, a new favorite)...

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I have to admit that I stole this idea for ride photos from someone else's trip report, but I can't for the life of me remember who. Lease didn't play along this time, so I look a bit ridiculous...

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Then to Fantasyland for Peter Pan, yep it was a low crowd day :goodvibes

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Small World after that, definitely worth 1 ride per trip...

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Then PhilharMagic, another new favorite!

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This one almost belongs in the empty parks thread.. Fantasyland at noon...

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Go to Day 2 Photos, Part 2
 

Ouch on the stolen camera :headache: A good excuse to get the DSLR maybe? :) I really enjoy photography and I wanted one for a long time, it has been a lot of fun.

Not just yet. I want to be able to devote a lot of time to learning how to use it, take a class, etc. and unfortunately time is not something I have a lot of right now.

But, for my birthday, my boyfriend replaced the stolen camera. :goodvibes I got a Nikon Coolpix 200, so I'm camera-less no more!

Great update, Lease and Code!
 
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Day 2 Photos, Part 2
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A quick reminder that the day 2 story is in Lease's post back on page 15.. I'm just the photo guy for day 2, so my comments are brief :)

Picking up where I left off.. after Philharmagic, we headed to Toontown..

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Then we hopped on the train and rode around to Frontierland.

Taken on the train... NO DANCING!
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Our second Splash Mountain ride, this time I took the camera out..

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This time Lease played along on the ride photo...

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Go to Day 2 Photos, Part 3
 
Another great update C&L - makes me feel like I'm back there (which would certainly be better than what I am doing:laundy: ). And Lease, I agree with you on the oak filet at CG - I was prepared for just another filet, and I was very pleasantly surprised, definitely delicious!

Cody, you've got great color saturation in your pictures - is that a function of post-processing, good glass, a polarizer, or what. Nice!
 
Great job you guys! Your photos are amazing! I have some serious editing to do on mine and I have no time so I am just posting them as they came off the camera. Sad but true. Oh well.

Waiting for the next update! popcorn::
 
Code I would like to ask if the Sigma 30mm lens is worth the price and did it do the job you needed it for with the lowlight.Reading your trip report I have made up my mind to buy the 510 with the two lens.The pics where GREAT. They helped me to decide about the camera.So I would like to know if that 30mm helped with the lowlight because I will buy that one as well.You have been a big help for me to make my mind up on what camera to buy.


THANKS:cloud9:
 
ALL ROADS LEAD TO CORONADO SPRINGS!:lmao:

And Code, I'm a little disappointed that you didn't take pictures of the weirdo penguins on IASW. Guess it's a good thing I did!

Cali Grill - total agreement on the review, I had the oak filet for my main course as well and it was wonderful (though I really could have been happily full off of my appetizer, but still!)


yay pictures :) :thumbsup2 :)
 
Day three is in the works, due to my car becoming the center of a three car freeway sammich (no injuries except my poor car :sad1: ) and the holiday it's been a busy week. For those of you that have stuck with us, thank you...more is on the way :)
 
Day three is in the works, due to my car becoming the center of a three car freeway sammich (no injuries except my poor car :sad1: ) and the holiday it's been a busy week. For those of you that have stuck with us, thank you...more is on the way :)

:( :grouphug: :grouphug:
 
Day 3?!?! I still need to finish the day 2 pics :scared:
 
i am still here. sorry about the car but glad no one was hurt.
 
The damages:

The back end
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The Front end
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These were the first scratches to my car, estimated damages 5K :scared1: Let it be known that when I do something I really go all out! The best part was the woman who rear ended me arguing with the officer that it wasn't her fault because cars are not supposed to be stopped on the freeway. :confused:
 
The best part was the woman who rear ended me arguing with the officer that it wasn't her fault because cars are not supposed to be stopped on the freeway. :confused:

:rotfl2: :lmao:

I hope the cop laughed at her.

that is weakest excuse I have ever heard. she was probably on the phone and not paying attention.
 












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