How long are you going for again? - A May 2011 Trip Report

[Lillian Gracey]

Subscribing! That's so nice that you stayed club level with your Grandma! Sounds like a really luxurious vacation We arrived at wdw on May 9 as well, so I'm interested to see another vacation during the same time frame as my own!
Your grandma looks fantastic! I would say she was in her 50s or maybe early 60s, if I had to guess! I can't believe she is 78...she must have found a fountain of youth somewhere.

It was very luxurious! I loved it! That's so cool you arrived on May 9th as well! I want to know my gramma's secret so I can look that good when I'm almost 80 years old! lol

Sorry it was so hot for you Hannah. Looks like you were having a great time Love the CL view

All I kept thinking was, "It's better than being in Chicago." The weather was cold in Chicago. Weather here is so crappy it's terrible. I would love to stay club level again!!!

In all my trips to the World, I've never played mini golf there, but you have inspired me! On our little anniversary getaway (with DD), we did play a round, but Fantasia looks extra challenging and extra fun. Was there any shade? Are most of the holes par 3s?

Nice job with the FG sign. You didn't turn it into FantaGardens

If you love Fantasia, it is a great course! I love the theme and it's pretty challenging. I got so frustrated with it. There was some shade and all the holes are par 3, even the 18th hole. I would post all my pictures of the course because I took a picture of like everything, but that's like 110 pictures alone. And thanks! I'm glad I did a swell job with the sign.

With the blond wig on you look a lot like my step daughter Goldie. (Her real name is Zahava which means "gold" hence the Goldie)

Anyhow, you look a LOT like her.

And your Grandma doesn't look her age at all.

Ready for more and sorry I'm late!

Thanks! I hope that's a good thing! And I'm glad you made it! I was wondering where you were!

Love the pic of the Castle from the CR lounge. Ok now I am regreting moving our ressie to BC

Have never gone mini golfing while at Disney and doubt it is something we will do this trip even though we get some sort of voucher in our package.

I can just imagine your grandmas surprise when the buckets dumped water as she was walking under. I would have been laughing too

Can't wait to hear about your night at MK

You should move it back! It's such a beautiful view! I loved every second of seeing it!

You should try it some time! It's a lot of fun!

It was great to hear and watch it. It was the highlight of that mini-golfing trip. lol

I will be typing up about MK some time later tonight. My boyfriend is over watching the Bulls game and I have to look like I'm somewhat interested in it.

 

[Lillian Gracey]

Chapter 3 - "Did we really do everything I wanted to do in 6 hours?"

So after we finished mini-golfing, we hopped on a bus to MK. It was about 4:30 pm or so when we arrived and I was so excited! I had people telling me Happy Birthday!

The first picture I had taken was this:

Dorky, I know, but I couldn't help it! My gramma needed a hat so she bought this adorable mickey mouse hat! It was a white fisherman-looking hat with little blue mickeys on it. I don't have a picture of it.

We decided to go to Adventureland and work our way around since my gramma really likes the PotC ride. So there was a long line, but not going out of the building. When we get there, we can go through the fastpass line. I didn't know it was that. Everyone was going into the line that had like no people. The guy behind me asked a CM if they could go into this line and she said we could go into either line or something along those lines. It was perfect timing because we got onto PotC in about 5-7 minutes. We even sat in the front row! It was wonderful!

Next stop, Splash Mountain! The wait time said 45 minutes, but I was willing to wait that long since I love this ride! My gramma sat in the shade underneath the bridge the train goes over and waited for me. When I walked to the line, I was give the card they give to people to keep track of wait times! I felt so special!

After waiting about 45 minutes, I get to the part where the fastpass and regular line meet up. The CM who is collecting fastpasses notices my birthday pin. He tells me Happy Birthday and gives me two fastpasses that he collected from the fastpass line! I thanked him and went on over to the area to get in the log boat. They asked how many and I said, "One." and they told me to go to the very front! I was going to be riding in the front!!! I was so excited because I had never done that before! The day was going great! As I rode the ride, I sang along to the songs because I knew them so well! My favorite drop is when you go into the laughing place! After getting off the ride, I went on over to my gramma to tell her about the fastpasses. She was very happy for me! She loved the button and how much pixie dust came with it!

After going on Splash Mountain we went on over to Big Thunder Mountain Rail Road and my gramma waited by the BTMRR fastpass machines. The line was very short and I got on in about 15 minutes. It was a lot of fun! When I got to the fastpass machines after the ride was over, I found my gramma talking to another gramma. My gramma loves to talk.

After BTMRR, we went on the Haunted Mansion. The sign said there was about a 15 minute wait, but we got in about 7 minutes. We chose not to go through the interactive part because we just wanted to get onto the ride. Though I was mad I missed the ring because we didn't go through it. I was lucky enough to catch the aging portrait, well, aging! It was awesome! The stretching room is one of my favorite parts of the ride! I loved seeing the tightrope girl portrait! She's my favorite! It was interesting seeing the new technology for this ride! I hadn't been to the WDW HM in 11 years and I don't remember it all that well, but a lot of it seemed new to me! I tried to point out the Hidden Mickey in the ballroom to my gramma, but she didn't see it in time.


After Haunted Mansion, we went on IASW and it took a good 20 minutes for us to get on it. What annoyed me was how short of a distance they were putting the boats. Same with Splash Mountain. They were trying so hard to get as many people through the ride as possible that it caused the ride to back up! It's a cute ride, but you can only stand the song for so long.

After that, we decided we were ready for dinner. We looked at the Village Haus and we didn't really find anything we liked so we went on over to Cosmic Rays since I wanted to see what the lines were like for Buzz and Space Mountain. I took some pictures of the construction on our way to Cosmic Rays!

We got in line for our food and after we ordered, this CM asked me how old I was since she noticed my birthday pin. I told her that I was 21 and she shouted to everyone in the restaurant that it was my 21st birthday. They sang their happy birthday cheer and it was awesome! I was grinning from ear to ear like the cheshire cat. It made me feel so special. I was really happy.

After that we checked the lines for Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear and I thought they were too long so we decided to wait until our next MK day to ride them. Well, I would ride Space Mountain and we would both ride Buzz Lightyear.

We decided to go to Peter Pan because the line wasn't too bad. I think it took us about 20 minutes to get on the ride. I loved the CM who snapped and the lap bar went down seconds after the snap. It was so cool to see that! Even if it was just timing it. lol I loved seeing Ariel in he Mermaid Lagoon! I do think the ride needs an update and I'm not a fan of the neon glow-in-the-dark look. It looked really weird. Same with the Snow White ride, which we went on after Peter Pan because it was a really short line. I was glad I went on it before it would be taken down!

We went in to the store after Snow White and I found the mickey mouse ears that I wanted to get my boyfriend, Corey. He wanted me to bring him back some Mickey Mouse ears and so I told him I would get him the 40th anniversary pair. Which brings me to a side story!

When my boyfriend was in high school, one of his drumline mates was going to Disney World and she asked if anyone wanted anything while she was there. He said if she brought him back Minnie Mouse ears, he would wear them for a whole day at school. She brought him back a pair and he wore it for a whole day. That story cracks me up every time I think about it.

We decided to try to go to Splash Mountain to use my fastpasses and to waste time before we could use our Winnie the Pooh fastpasses, but we couldn't get through because the street was being blocked off for the Electric Light Parade. We decided to see if we could go around the other way, but we couldn't, so we wandered around. I think we went into some shops, but I can't recall. It was about 5-10 minutes before we could use our fastpass, but the CM was nice and let us through. I love the ride. I wish it didn't replace Mr. Toad, but it was fine. It was very cute! I went into the shop and took a picture of the piglet plushes and posted the picture on facebook for my co-worker.


After that, we went on over to Splash Mountain and I got on almost right away. I was in the front row again and the best part is, I got to see the fireworks from Wishes at the top of the ride. Not just before you go down the big drop, but when you are going around the mountain. I was sad that I gave my gramma my camera and other stuff that I didn't want to get wet because the view was perfect! It was a wonderful experience! Since we were tired, I decided I would just hold onto my other fastpass as a memory and put it in my photo album. Since the line was long for the monorail, we walked on over to the Contemporary. It was so nice having that convenience. I want to say we were done and back by 11:00 pm. So roughly 6 - 6 1/2 hours of MK time.

Here are a couple of pictures of the castle after Wishes!

It was a perfect start to a perfect vacation! Next time on Hannah's Birthday Trip Report, "That's a T-Rex Going Rawr!"

 

[WDWKOOK]

Chapter 3 - "Did we really do everything I wanted to do in 6 hours?"

So after we finished mini-golfing, we hopped on a bus to MK. It was about 4:30 pm or so when we arrived and I was so excited! I had people telling me Happy Birthday!

The first picture I had taken was this:

Dorky, I know, but I couldn't help it! My gramma needed a hat so she bought this adorable mickey mouse hat! It was a white fisherman-looking hat with little blue mickeys on it. I don't have a picture of it.

We decided to go to Adventureland and work our way around since my gramma really likes the PotC ride. So there was a long line, but not going out of the building. When we get there, we can go through the fastpass line. I didn't know it was that. Everyone was going into the line that had like no people. The guy behind me asked a CM if they could go into this line and she said we could go into either line or something along those lines. It was perfect timing because we got onto PotC in about 5-7 minutes. We even sat in the front row! It was wonderful!

Next stop, Splash Mountain! The wait time said 45 minutes, but I was willing to wait that long since I love this ride! My gramma sat in the shade underneath the bridge the train goes over and waited for me. When I walked to the line, I was give the card they give to people to keep track of wait times! I felt so special!

After waiting about 45 minutes, I get to the part where the fastpass and regular line meet up. The CM who is collecting fastpasses notices my birthday pin. He tells me Happy Birthday and gives me two fastpasses that he collected from the fastpass line! I thanked him and went on over to the area to get in the log boat. They asked how many and I said, "One." and they told me to go to the very front! I was going to be riding in the front!!! I was so excited because I had never done that before! The day was going great! As I rode the ride, I sang along to the songs because I knew them so well! My favorite drop is when you go into the laughing place! After getting off the ride, I went on over to my gramma to tell her about the fastpasses. She was very happy for me! She loved the button and how much pixie dust came with it!

After going on Splash Mountain we went on over to Big Thunder Mountain Rail Road and my gramma waited by the BTMRR fastpass machines. The line was very short and I got on in about 15 minutes. It was a lot of fun! When I got to the fastpass machines after the ride was over, I found my gramma talking to another gramma. My gramma loves to talk.

After BTMRR, we went on the Haunted Mansion. The sign said there was about a 15 minute wait, but we got in about 7 minutes. We chose not to go through the interactive part because we just wanted to get onto the ride. Though I was mad I missed the ring because we didn't go through it. I was lucky enough to catch the aging portrait, well, aging! It was awesome! The stretching room is one of my favorite parts of the ride! I loved seeing the tightrope girl portrait! She's my favorite! It was interesting seeing the new technology for this ride! I hadn't been to the WDW HM in 11 years and I don't remember it all that well, but a lot of it seemed new to me! I tried to point out the Hidden Mickey in the ballroom to my gramma, but she didn't see it in time.


After Haunted Mansion, we went on IASW and it took a good 20 minutes for us to get on it. What annoyed me was how short of a distance they were putting the boats. Same with Splash Mountain. They were trying so hard to get as many people through the ride as possible that it caused the ride to back up! It's a cute ride, but you can only stand the song for so long.

After that, we decided we were ready for dinner. We looked at the Village Haus and we didn't really find anything we liked so we went on over to Cosmic Rays since I wanted to see what the lines were like for Buzz and Space Mountain. I took some pictures of the construction on our way to Cosmic Rays!

We got in line for our food and after we ordered, this CM asked me how old I was since she noticed my birthday pin. I told her that I was 21 and she shouted to everyone in the restaurant that it was my 21st birthday. They sang their happy birthday cheer and it was awesome! I was grinning from ear to ear like the cheshire cat. It made me feel so special. I was really happy.

After that we checked the lines for Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear and I thought they were too long so we decided to wait until our next MK day to ride them. Well, I would ride Space Mountain and we would both ride Buzz Lightyear.

We decided to go to Peter Pan because the line wasn't too bad. I think it took us about 20 minutes to get on the ride. I loved the CM who snapped and the lap bar went down seconds after the snap. It was so cool to see that! Even if it was just timing it. lol I loved seeing Ariel in he Mermaid Lagoon! I do think the ride needs an update and I'm not a fan of the neon glow-in-the-dark look. It looked really weird. Same with the Snow White ride, which we went on after Peter Pan because it was a really short line. I was glad I went on it before it would be taken down!

We went in to the store after Snow White and I found the mickey mouse ears that I wanted to get my boyfriend, Corey. He wanted me to bring him back some Mickey Mouse ears and so I told him I would get him the 40th anniversary pair. Which brings me to a side story!

When my boyfriend was in high school, one of his drumline mates was going to Disney World and she asked if anyone wanted anything while she was there. He said if she brought him back Minnie Mouse ears, he would wear them for a whole day at school. She brought him back a pair and he wore it for a whole day. That story cracks me up every time I think about it.

We decided to try to go to Splash Mountain to use my fastpasses and to waste time before we could use our Winnie the Pooh fastpasses, but we couldn't get through because the street was being blocked off for the Electric Light Parade. We decided to see if we could go around the other way, but we couldn't, so we wandered around. I think we went into some shops, but I can't recall. It was about 5-10 minutes before we could use our fastpass, but the CM was nice and let us through. I love the ride. I wish it didn't replace Mr. Toad, but it was fine. It was very cute! I went into the shop and took a picture of the piglet plushes and posted the picture on facebook for my co-worker.


After that, we went on over to Splash Mountain and I got on almost right away. I was in the front row again and the best part is, I got to see the fireworks from Wishes at the top of the ride. Not just before you go down the big drop, but when you are going around the mountain. I was sad that I gave my gramma my camera and other stuff that I didn't want to get wet because the view was perfect! It was a wonderful experience! Since we were tired, I decided I would just hold onto my other fastpass as a memory and put it in my photo album. Since the line was long for the monorail, we walked on over to the Contemporary. It was so nice having that convenience. I want to say we were done and back by 11:00 pm. So roughly 6 - 6 1/2 hours of MK time.

Here are a couple of pictures of the castle after Wishes!

It was a perfect start to a perfect vacation! Next time on Hannah's Birthday Trip Report, "Double Surprise!" or "Don't tell my boyfriend, but you're my favorite!"

What a great day you had. First the mini golf and then the MK. Gramma was a very patient waiter at the MK. Did she have a Dole Whip to make the time pass faster?

I know the hat you're talking about. I have a pink polo shirt like that with blue Mickeys all over it that I got on Main Street. It's a bucket hat, right? DD has one that's white with all the characters and their autographs in blue (it came this way).

So SM doesn't have a single rider line? Did you buy the photo of you in the front row? I can't recall if you can add it to your PhotoPass account for no extra charge. Did you end up pre-purchasing PP?

Happy Memorial Weekend everyone! Oh, are you going to the Dells, Hannah?

 

[pas130]

Hannah, I am really enjoying your TR. Sounds like you had a great MK day The view of wishes from splash mountain...AWESOME

 

[kaffinito]

What a great MK day! It sounds like a lot of fun!

 

[merbobear]

Yay for all your birthday pixie dust! That's so fun that they sang for you at Cosmic Rays!
We spent our first day at MK too and we also got a ton accomplished! It was so nice to practically walk onto rides during EMH that evening!

 

[Lillian Gracey]

What a great day you had. First the mini golf and then the MK. Gramma was a very patient waiter at the MK. Did she have a Dole Whip to make the time pass faster?

I know the hat you're talking about. I have a pink polo shirt like that with blue Mickeys all over it that I got on Main Street. It's a bucket hat, right? DD has one that's white with all the characters and their autographs in blue (it came this way).

So SM doesn't have a single rider line? Did you buy the photo of you in the front row? I can't recall if you can add it to your PhotoPass account for no extra charge. Did you end up pre-purchasing PP?

Happy Memorial Weekend everyone! Oh, are you going to the Dells, Hannah?

Gramma didn't have a Dole Whip. I actually forgot about those. My gramma doesn't like roller coasters or big drops (She's ok with little drops like in PotC) so she was ok with waiting. She was getting calls somewhat often. She didn't bring her notebook to make notes about the day this day. I think she forgot it. If SM didn't have that giant drop, she would go on it because the little drops aren't that bad.

Unfortunately SM doesn't. The only ride I recall having a single rider line was EE. Which I will talk about very soon! I didn't get a picture because it was expensive and I didn't like the pictures of me. I didn't pre-purchase the photopass. I am glad I didn't because the only pictures that would be on their were the ones with the princesses and other characters whose autographs I was getting. I should take a look at the pictures though because I got the 20% off photopass card during our stay.

And no, I didn't go to the Dells. I was working 2-10. I usually go to my Uncle's in downtown Chicago, but because of work I couldn't. My boyfriend had the day off which was so unfair because I had to work so I didn't get to see him. :'(

 

[Lillian Gracey]

Chapter 4 - "That's a T-Rex Going Rawr"

Having decided the night before to get up at 8:00am so we had a good amount of sleep, we didn't wake up until 9:00am. Which was ok. We were exhausted. My gramma was up since 3:00am and I was up since 5:00am. My gramma freaked out, but I told her it was ok and that we didn't need to rush. My gramma takes a while to get ready. It's mostly because of the make up. She says she would scare everyone if she didn't put it on. I didn't think so, but if that helped her sleep at night, then more power to her.

As she was getting ready since I was already ready, I went on down to the Contempo Cafe to make use of my refillable mug that I got the night before! I filled it with hot cocoa and brought it upstairs to drink. It was delish!

After my gramma finished getting ready, I believe we went to the lounge and got a little something to eat and headed on over to the monorail. After getting on the monorail we took it to the TTC and transfered to the Epcot monorail. I was hoping to get on the Tronorail, but no such luck.

We got to Epcot around 11:00am and I immediately took some pictures of the topiaries and my gramma took a picture of me in front of the pretty fountain!

Here's me with Donald! He's my boyfriend's favorite of the Fab 6!

My favorite is Daisy so my boyfriend and I are totally meant to be together.

After getting pictures of some topiaries we went on over to Soarin' to get a fast pass. The fastpasses weren't good 'til about 4:30 pm so we decided to wait since the wait was 60 minutes. We went to a little concession stand after getting the fastpasses and my gramma got a coffee slushie or cappuchino slushie. I forgot what it was called and we went on over to Mexico because I wanted to go on:

I'm such a sucker for Panchito Romero Miguel Junipero Francisco Quintero González III! or Panchito Pistoles for short. I love that bird. As well as the other Caballeros!

Unfortunately we had to wait for my gramma to finish the drink because no drinks or food were allowed on the ride. There was like no one in line for this ride so after she was done, we hopped on and got our own personal boat!

I loved this ride! It was so cute! I knew the Three Caballeros song by heart and sang along. It is such an awesome song.

After the Gran Fiesta ride, we went on over to Maelstrom which was a pretty short line. I got the wait time card again! It was a fun ride! I loved going backwards. That was fun!

After going on Maelstrom we decided it was time for lunch and we went to the Japan Pavilion to eat. We ate at the Yakitori House. My gramma got sushi and I got udon and miso soup. It was so yummy! I love Japanese food.

We took plenty of pictures of the topiaries on the way to the Japan Pavilion.

We stopped by the German Pavilion and saw this booth with glass objects. They were so pretty! I ended up buying a couple of things and my gramma bought one of Cinderella Castle because it doesn't scream Disney. It looks like a regular castle to those who don't know that it is supposed to be Cinderella Castle. My gramma collects crystal figures.

I wanted to get my mom this:

Her favorite Disney movie is Beauty and the Beast and I wanted to get her something special as a late Mother's Day present. (She loved that I got her her favorite yogurt. That day she told me that she had a plain yogurt the other day and it didn't taste as good. lol) I texted her a picture and she said she liked it, but she would have nowhere to put it and to get her a shirt or something instead. So I didn't get it, but I really wanted to.

I ended up getting this for my boyfriend and I:

Isn't it so cute? I asked him if he would be ok with me buying it. We joked about the price because he wanted to know because he hates it when I spend money on him. I texted him that it was less than $30. He replied with: "29.99?" It cracked me up! He is such a dork. I also got one similar to that that was Alice in Wonderland! They are still boxed up, but I need to clear some space off my shelves to put them on there.

After eating, we went back to the Germany Pavilion to buy chocolate covered apples and caramel corn since we didn't want them to melt on our way to eating lunch. It was about 3:00 pm or so and we didn't want to wait 1 1/2 hours to be able to use our fastpasses and we were done with Epcot even though we didn't go to the other half of WS. One our way back to the entrance, we saw the drummers that play on trash cans. I think they are called the Jamiters or something like that. My boyfriend is a drummer so I took some pictures and a video for him.

After the awesome performance we tried giving our fastpasses away. The first pair we tried had just gotten finished with Soarin' so they didn't want them. This lady came up to us and asked if we were giving them away. I told her that we were. She asked how it worked and I told her that she can use them any time after the time on the fastpass until the park closes. A lot of people actually don't realize that you can do that so I explained that to her so she doesn't have to rush to use them. She was very grateful.

We took the monorail to the TTC and went back to CR to catch a bus to DTD. Why we didn't wait for one at the TTC, I don't know. lol We got on a bus to DTD and stopped at the Pleasure Island stop because TREX is close to that stop. We went there so I can make my boyfriend's T-Rex because he loves T-Rexes. It's only because his favorite Moto GP racer likes T-Rexes.

These are the videos that show why:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiVCbMlXxNM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MIAy66veDs (3:30-5:30 are the most important part, but the whole video is hilarious)

I don't have any pictures of Ben Spies (the name I gave the T-Rex), but he is adorable! I even bought him some shades. lol I sent a picture to him via my cellphone and he loved it. He showed his friends who would get the joke and they said I was a keeper.

I had to explain it to the cashier who mispronounced his name (It's pronounced "spees" not "spies") because he seemed confused. lol

Once Ben got all packaged up, we went shopping around DTD. My gramma isn't a shopper, but she was willing to do it for me. I got my picture taken with the Aurora statue!

I loved this lego statue!

I ended up buying quite a bit of stuff! I got 5 pictures from The Art of Disney to go with my framed lithographs. My gramma and I discussed what I would do with them and we though that putting the one of Walt toward the bottom and have the other pictures sprouting from it like thought bubbles. I thought it was a cute idea! I ended up not getting the haunted mansion portrait ones. They were a bit expensive, but if they have a website, I will buy it from there or ask for it for the holidays. The other pictures were one of Ariel, one with Ariel, Belle, Snow White and Cinderella, one of old-school Mickey Mouse and a Haunted Mansion mural. I can't wait to get them framed! I also bought a 40th anniversary deck of cards and a Haunted Mansion deck of cards. My gramma also bought a couple deck of cards for her canasta group.

After we bought some stuff and browsed the shops, we went to the bus stop to go back to the Contemporary. We just missed a bus and because the sign said buses leave every 20 minutes, I got frustrated because I thought we were going to be late since it was already 6:30pm and our reservation was at 8:00 pm. A bus showed up a few minutes later and we hopped on. I was happy again. I couldn't wait to surprise my gramma with the cake I ordered.

Next time on Hannah's Birthday Trip Report, "Double Surprise!"

 

[Belle83]

Fun! I'm jealous you went to Fantasia Gardens. I really wanted to do that on our trip but we never had time.

Can't wait to read more.

 

[sjs314]

Epcot is my favorite park especially WS I love the countries and the shopping and the food and and ...........

Will you be going back to Epcot to do the countries you missed?

We try to hit DTD at least once during our trips, I just have to visit the World of Disney Store.

Your crystal Donald and Daisy is cute.....had to laugh at BF comment of $29.99 men just do not understand our need to shop

 

[WDWKOOK]

Chapter 4 - "That's a T-Rex Going Rawr"

Having decided the night before to get up at 8:00am so we had a good amount of sleep, we didn't wake up until 9:00am. Which was ok. We were exhausted. My gramma was up since 3:00am and I was up since 5:00am. My gramma freaked out, but I told her it was ok and that we didn't need to rush. My gramma takes a while to get ready. It's mostly because of the make up. She says she would scare everyone if she didn't put it on. I didn't think so, but if that helped her sleep at night, then more power to her.

As she was getting ready since I was already ready, I went on down to the Contempo Cafe to make use of my refillable mug that I got the night before! I filled it with hot cocoa and brought it upstairs to drink. It was delish!

After my gramma finished getting ready, I believe we went to the lounge and got a little something to eat and headed on over to the monorail. After getting on the monorail we took it to the TTC and transfered to the Epcot monorail. I was hoping to get on the Tronorail, but no such luck.

We got to Epcot around 11:00am and I immediately took some pictures of the topiaries and my gramma took a picture of me in front of the pretty fountain!

Here's me with Donald! He's my boyfriend's favorite of the Fab 6!

My favorite is Daisy so my boyfriend and I are totally meant to be together.

After getting pictures of some topiaries we went on over to Soarin' to get a fast pass. The fastpasses weren't good 'til about 4:30 pm so we decided to wait since the wait was 60 minutes. We went to a little concession stand after getting the fastpasses and my gramma got a coffee slushie or cappuchino slushie. I forgot what it was called and we went on over to Mexico because I wanted to go on:

I'm such a sucker for Panchito Romero Miguel Junipero Francisco Quintero González III! or Panchito Pistoles for short. I love that bird. As well as the other Caballeros!

Unfortunately we had to wait for my gramma to finish the drink because no drinks or food were allowed on the ride. There was like no one in line for this ride so after she was done, we hopped on and got our own personal boat!

I loved this ride! It was so cute! I knew the Three Caballeros song by heart and sang along. It is such an awesome song.

After the Gran Fiesta ride, we went on over to Maelstrom which was a pretty short line. I got the wait time card again! It was a fun ride! I loved going backwards. That was fun!

After going on Maelstrom we decided it was time for lunch and we went to the Japan Pavilion to eat. We ate at the Yakitori House. My gramma got sushi and I got udon and miso soup. It was so yummy! I love Japanese food.

We took plenty of pictures of the topiaries on the way to the Japan Pavilion.

We stopped by the German Pavilion and saw this booth with glass objects. They were so pretty! I ended up buying a couple of things and my gramma bought one of Cinderella Castle because it doesn't scream Disney. It looks like a regular castle to those who don't know that it is supposed to be Cinderella Castle. My gramma collects crystal figures.

I wanted to get my mom this:

Her favorite Disney movie is Beauty and the Beast and I wanted to get her something special as a late Mother's Day present. (She loved that I got her her favorite yogurt. That day she told me that she had a plain yogurt the other day and it didn't taste as good. lol) I texted her a picture and she said she liked it, but she would have nowhere to put it and to get her a shirt or something instead. So I didn't get it, but I really wanted to.

I ended up getting this for my boyfriend and I:

Isn't it so cute? I asked him if he would be ok with me buying it. We joked about the price because he wanted to know because he hates it when I spend money on him. I texted him that it was less than $30. He replied with: "29.99?" It cracked me up! He is such a dork. I also got one similar to that that was Alice in Wonderland! They are still boxed up, but I need to clear some space off my shelves to put them on there.

After eating, we went back to the Germany Pavilion to buy chocolate covered apples and caramel corn since we didn't want them to melt on our way to eating lunch. It was about 3:00 pm or so and we didn't want to wait 1 1/2 hours to be able to use our fastpasses and we were done with Epcot even though we didn't go to the other half of WS. One our way back to the entrance, we saw the drummers that play on trash cans. I think they are called the Jamiters or something like that. My boyfriend is a drummer so I took some pictures and a video for him.

After the awesome performance we tried giving our fastpasses away. The first pair we tried had just gotten finished with Soarin' so they didn't want them. This lady came up to us and asked if we were giving them away. I told her that we were. She asked how it worked and I told her that she can use them any time after the time on the fastpass until the park closes. A lot of people actually don't realize that you can do that so I explained that to her so she doesn't have to rush to use them. She was very grateful.

We took the monorail to the TTC and went back to CR to catch a bus to DTD. Why we didn't wait for one at the TTC, I don't know. lol We got on a bus to DTD and stopped at the Pleasure Island stop because TREX is close to that stop. We went there so I can make my boyfriend's T-Rex because he loves T-Rexes. It's only because his favorite Moto GP racer likes T-Rexes.

These are the videos that show why:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiVCbMlXxNM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MIAy66veDs (3:30-5:30 are the most important part, but the whole video is hilarious)

I don't have any pictures of Ben Spies (the name I gave the T-Rex), but he is adorable! I even bought him some shades. lol I sent a picture to him via my cellphone and he loved it. He showed his friends who would get the joke and they said I was a keeper.

I had to explain it to the cashier who mispronounced his name (It's pronounced "spees" not "spies") because he seemed confused. lol

Once Ben got all packaged up, we went shopping around DTD. My gramma isn't a shopper, but she was willing to do it for me. I got my picture taken with the Aurora statue!

I loved this lego statue!

I ended up buying quite a bit of stuff! I got 5 pictures from The Art of Disney to go with my framed lithographs. My gramma and I discussed what I would do with them and we though that putting the one of Walt toward the bottom and have the other pictures sprouting from it like thought bubbles. I thought it was a cute idea! I ended up not getting the haunted mansion portrait ones. They were a bit expensive, but if they have a website, I will buy it from there or ask for it for the holidays. The other pictures were one of Ariel, one with Ariel, Belle, Snow White and Cinderella, one of old-school Mickey Mouse and a Haunted Mansion mural. I can't wait to get them framed! I also bought a 40th anniversary deck of cards and a Haunted Mansion deck of cards. My gramma also bought a couple deck of cards for her canasta group.

After we bought some stuff and browsed the shops, we went to the bus stop to go back to the Contemporary. We just missed a bus and because the sign said buses leave every 20 minutes, I got frustrated because I thought we were going to be late since it was already 6:30pm and our reservation was at 8:00 pm. A bus showed up a few minutes later and we hopped on. I was happy again. I couldn't wait to surprise my gramma with the cake I ordered.

Next time on Hannah's Birthday Trip Report, "Double Surprise!"

I love the Gran Fiesta ride. It is so hokey, but I don't care. DH and DD could probably go without ever riding it again, but I have to go every time. I love it when we get the front row. Donald is so cute and cuddly

I feel like I'm right there with you and Gramma! You're doing great, Hannah and I hope Gramma will get to see your TR when it's all done. I bet she'll love the part where we all think she is much, much younger. You look so happy and refreshed in all your photos. Never a wilting moment!

You left us with a real cliffhanger. Do you make it to the CR in time for Gramma to put more make-up on? Does the bus get a flat and you and Gramma have to help change a tire? Is your ADR lost and they turn you away and you have to eat turkey legs and Mickey bars for dinner?

 

[jelloarms]

The only downside was the sinks. I hated the fact that water just sat there.

Sorry, but what do you mean by that? Was the drain not working properly?

Also, where did you get that Little Mermaid shirt? I love it! I'd totally wear it.

 

[Lillian Gracey]

Sorry, but what do you mean by that? Was the drain not working properly?

Also, where did you get that Little Mermaid shirt? I love it! I'd totally wear it.

The drain worked fine, but because the sink is flat and has almost no depth to it the water wouldn't go down the drain.

This is a picture of the sinks:

See how it's flat? If it were round like a more normal sink, the water would flow down the drain. Since it's flat, it just sits in the sink. Unless you actually poor the liquid straight down the drain, it will just sit there.

I got the Little Mermaid shirt at Delia's. I love it! It's so cute!

@sjs314: I end up going back to Epcot on our last park day. You will get to read what fun stuff happened there.

I loved it when he texted me that. I said it was lower and he would go, "$29.95?" He is such a dork and a smart alack. lol

@WDWKOOK: We got to ride in the front row. It was awesome! Loved having a boat to ourselves. It's cheesy, but so much fun! One of the days they were playing a sing-a-long video and the Three Caballeros song was playing! I totally sang along. Totally doesn't make me feel old. I was listening to the song on repeat the whole time I was writing this entry.

I think she would enjoy the TR. She is probably writing about the trip for one of her memoirs. When we get together as a family she reads a memoir or two. I love it!

I'm sorry that I left ya with a cliffhanger. You will enjoy what happens at dinner.

 

[pas130]

We try to hit DTD at least once during our trips, I just have to visit the World of Disney Store.

Hannah, You are doing a great job! Did you get some rest? You've been working too much...

 

[Lillian Gracey]

Hannah, You are doing a great job! Did you get some rest? You've been working too much...

Thanks! I was worried I wasn't doing this right. I did get some rest the other night. It was nice to just relax after 7 straight days of 7-8 hour shifts. I still got up around 9:00am or so though. I work today, but then I'm off the next two days. It will be nice to relax some more. Now I can get caught up on some Disney movies. I've been buying them in German and I'm having a blast singing along because I know the lyrics pretty well. I'm such a dork. Even though it's not a Disney movie, I watched Anastasia last night before I went to bed and before that I watched Robin Hood. If I get the chance to today, I'm going to watch either Aladdin, 101 Dalmatians or Dumbo.

 

[pas130]

Thanks! I was worried I wasn't doing this right. I did get some rest the other night. It was nice to just relax after 7 straight days of 7-8 hour shifts. I still got up around 9:00am or so though. I work today, but then I'm off the next two days. It will be nice to relax some more. Now I can get caught up on some Disney movies. I've been buying them in German and I'm having a blast singing along because I know the lyrics pretty well. I'm such a dork. Even though it's not a Disney movie, I watched Anastasia last night before I went to bed and before that I watched Robin Hood. If I get the chance to today, I'm going to watch either Aladdin, 101 Dalmatians or Dumbo.

Enjoy your days off, you deserve it May I recommend Aladdin That was my oldest DS favorite when he was little, and now next to the Toy Story series...it's my youngest DS favorite

 

[Lillian Gracey]

Enjoy your days off, you deserve it May I recommend Aladdin That was my oldest DS favorite when he was little, and now next to the Toy Story series...it's my youngest DS favorite

I only have today off now because I took a friend's hours on Friday because she has to go to her grandma's wake. As much as I want to try and hang out with my boyfriend tomorrow, I rather do a good deed and make sure my friend has the opportunity to go to the wake.

Aladdin was my first choice. So I will watch that today. Maybe Beauty and the Beast as well or some other movie. I have almost as many of them in German as I do in English.

 

[lbuzz52]

Hi!
i found this becuase of May in the title. we were there at very similar times- arrived May 10th. Wasn't it so very hot that week! You had great responses to your birthday pin! makes me wish i wasn't born on presidents day!

 

[Lillian Gracey]

Chapter 5 - "Double Surprise!"

It's the moment you've all (and by all, I mean WDWKOOK ) been waiting for! The dinner at the California Grill!

We got on the bus to the Contemporary and got back around 7:00pm. Just enough time to freshen up before going to dinner. We were ready about 7:20pm and decided to go to the shops to kill some time. I found some stuff I wanted like a photo album, which I believe I ended up buying after dinner. I can't recall. All I know is that it was late at night when I bought it.

At about 7:45pm we went to the desk for the California Grill and they took us and a couple who had just gotten married up to the California Grill. We were pretty early so we didn't expect to get seated right away. Plus, it was really busy. The couple got seated first and they had a great seat next to the window a little after 8:00pm. 20 minutes or so later, they had our table ready, but they were going to seat us basically in the back. We didn't make it to the table because we quickly knew they were not going to put us by the window where you can view the castle even though there clearly were some tables available that hadn't been touched in 10 minutes.

My gramma complained to the guy because we waited about 40 minutes for our table and we were not going to sit in the back. They told us that we could get up after we eat to view Wishes at the observation deck. My gramma wouldn't allow it. She wanted us to sit by the window to view Wishes. She told him that it was my birthday, I made these plans well in advance so I could watch Wishes and there was no way we would be able to get everything ordered and eaten by 9:00pm. People were also getting served slowly.

So the CM took us to the CM who was dealing with the seating arrangements who is from Illinois as well. He's from a town no more than I wanna say, 40 minutes from me? Anyways, my gramma talked to him and explained the situation and he said that we would have to wait longer. We obviously said we would wait so we did. We didn't get seated 'til about 8:40pm I think, but we got a great view. I would have preferred a table that wasn't in a corner, but I wasn't going to complain.

Here is a picture of us at our table that the waitress took of us. She said that Tinkerbell was above my head. lol And I'm sorry I look so terrible! Ick!

The view had some obscurities, I dealt with it because I was at Disney World and I was going to watch Wishes while eating dinner. Though I wouldn't have said anything about getting a table that didn't have a view of Wishes. I would have kept quiet, but I probably would have been on the verge of tears, if not crying when I got seated.

We had a wonderful waitress. I wish I remembered her name. She was a sweetheart! My gramma and I both ordered alcoholic drinks. I got an Apple Martini and my gramma got a Mai Tai. I tried the Mai Tai and it was so yummy! My Apple Martini sucked. I couldn't even taste the apple. There was no flavor to it. It was basically just a Martini. I have vowed to never get an Apple Martini anywhere else but Dave and Busters after the Apple Martini I had at a local restaurant in my boyfriend's town. Dave and Buster's apple martini is fruity and yummy. I couldn't even finish the Apple Martini. I just couldn't stand the taste.

The Appletini:

For dinner, I ordered the Sonoma Goat Cheese Raviloi. I don't remember what my gramma ordered, but it looked really good! We watched the "Let the Memories Begin" show as we waited for our food. You couldn't hear it from the restaurant though which worried me when it came to Wishes. I was worried we wouldn't be able to hear it. We got our food just in time for Wishes! It was really exciting! I couldn't get any pictures because they didn't turn out well. Without flash it was blurry and with the flash I would get a reflection. Being able to hear and see Wishes from such a wonderful view was wonderful! I would do it all over again!

After Wishes, the waitress waved me over to her. She said that my card number didn't go through and asked if I had a different card. I told her I would give her my actual card so I grabbed it and gave it to her. It was really hard to try and keep it a secret from my gramma since I was running back and forth. The reason my card didn't go through before was because they wrote my debit card number down wrong. One number was wrong.

When I got back to the table I had to distract my gramma until they brought the cake out. When they brought it out, my gramma's reaction was priceless. She laughed and smiled and thought the cake was beautiful! Then I confessed that I ordered it a few weeks prior to the trip as a thank you gift. It did end up being a vanilla cake. I never called to make sure.

That was surprise number one. Surprise number two was this:

The waitress brought out a cake for me for my birthday! I was so surprised! I joked with my gramma and asked her if she ordered a cake for me. I was so surprised. I was very grateful. The cake was really yummy as well as the cake I got for my gramma. It was a wonderful way to end the evening! Despite the hiccups earlier, it ended up being a perfect night!

Next time on Hannah's Birthday Trip Report, "We just went to all 4 parks in one day, didn't we?"

 

[Klarah]

I took my grandmother with me to Disney world for my 21st birthday!! I cant wait to read your TR!! This is awesome!

We went May 2004! And we camped in a tent at Fort Wilderness! I also did all the planning, hence thinking camping would be great. Which at the time I thought it was but looking back, what was I thinking?!
I had my first legal beer at hoop de doo revue.

Awesome!