I Dragged a Grumpy DH Back to the World and He (Kinda) Liked It...10/29 UPDATE!!

[Angies1274]

Hi Joining in!! I'm really enjoying your TR!! Great WL pictures!!!---and I love the pictures of the castle at night!!

Can't wait for more....

 

[NYDisneyfamily]

Great TR! Your pictures are awesome. Thinking I might need a better zoom or something for my next trip.

 

[annnewjerz]

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Beauuuuuutiful!!!

And that monorail shirt was my second favorite from our last trip. My very favorite? .... The Nemo seagulls. Mine! Mine! Mine!

 

[WDWRocksMySocks]

YEAH, that is when they are going too! They've got a 1BR booked at the Boardwalk Villas. I have to decide if I want to go then (when I'd have to request time off even if it is just from subbing), in April at the new AKV (which would most likely be by myself since half my family will have just gotten back), or May after my other sister is out of school (and also uses way less DVC points)! As you can see I have a rough life, trying to figure out when to go to WDW.

Ha, that's funny! Now you have to go so we can actually meet this time!!! That's so funny that we're somewhat on the same schedule for WDW trips.

argh ive got a subscription to you and I'm not getting the emails even though i sent it to instant notification!

You do not understand the power of cheese sauce... it's amaaazing and worth the risk of getting burnt.

Boo! That happens to me a lot, too.

You sound just like my DH! Don't mess w/ him and cheese -- it will most certainly get ugly FAST!

I would try BCV first its location to things is great you 've got DHS and Epcot also the Boardwalk. I went in January last year and kids dont care if its cold as long as pool is fun.

If BCV is unavailable I would AKL there is alot to walk around and look at, also there pool is pretty cool too.

Yeah, you have a great point about BCV. I love the close proximity to both parks. Being a boat ride away from MK at VWL was so much fun. Plus, I'd be right there w/ the boys...Stormalong Bay looks so cool!!

Hi Joining in!! I'm really enjoying your TR!! Great WL pictures!!!---and I love the pictures of the castle at night!!

Can't wait for more....

Thanks for stopping by! Thanks for the compliments...I was so happy how the night pictures came out. I just got the camera earlier this year and told the guy at Best Buy I wanted it to take awesome night pictures at Disney World. You should've seen his face!

Great TR! Your pictures are awesome. Thinking I might need a better zoom or something for my next trip.

Thanks!! What kind of camera do you currently have?

Hey Anne!

Beauuuuuutiful!!!

And that monorail shirt was my second favorite from our last trip. My very favorite? .... The Nemo seagulls. Mine! Mine! Mine!

Thanks, that's one of my favorites!

Ooh, I love that Nemo shirt...cracks me up. Another one I really like is the Mr. Potato Head one that says "Don't Make Me Use My Angry Eyes" or something like that.

 

[WDWRocksMySocks]

Sorry, I've been a bad TR writer this past week. I was busy hanging out w/ my family that was in town...FUN! Oh, and I embraced my inner farmer and helped my FIL with his vast garden. Who knew hoeing potatoes could be so much fun?! Hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend!! Now...back to the good stuff!

DAY TWO, PART ONE

On the schedule for Monday was Epcot and DHS. I know this may come as a shock to most people on here, but DH and I are not huge Epcot fans. Here's what Aaron thinks about it:

I could really take it or leave it. Although, I do love Maelstrom and Test Track. Yep, I'm not a big Soarin' fan. (Those are my flame shield glasses.) I think my indifference to Epcot stems from years of spending multiple days there suffering as my family spent HOURS and HOURS in each country. I think this instilled the dislike in me. So, anyway...we decided to just spend a brief morning at Epcot so I could ride Test Track, Maelstrom and pin trade. I might add, Tour Guide Mike suggested this would be the best day to visit. Heaven forbid if we don't heed his advice. More on that later...

We arrived at Epcot around 10:30ish. I thought about riding SSE because I LOVE when they take your picture on the ride. Here's a pic from my sister's b-day trip last year:

Sadly, the stand-by wait time was 40 minutes and the picture wasn't worth that long of a wait. So, we decided to head up to the pin trading station. I was pretty bummed. I didn't find any new pins I wanted to buy, nor did I find anything trade worthy. BOO! I was starting to feel defeated so I wanted to head over to TT to make me feel better. Well, it was DOWN! Whatta shocker. I swear, when is that ride NOT down?! At this time point, I was thinking we should just leave Epcot and be done with it. However, I had to make a stop at Mouse Gears. It's one of my absolute favorite gift shops at WDW. I love looking around there.

After Mouse Gears, we headed to the World Showcase Pavilion. I'm really quite ashamed of myself. I didn't take any pictures while we were there. I guess it's all that pent up animosity I have towards Epcot. Who knows for sure? I promise though, in January I'm going to take pictures of EVERYTHING that I encounter. It's a vow! Here's the one picture we got while we were there...and look, I even added an Epcot border to prove it:

While we were in the World Showcase, we stopped by Mexico so Aaron could get some salsa. Then we headed over to Norway to ride Maelstrom. It was a walk-on. I go on it for the trolls and the backward drop -- so fun! Haha, I'm lame I know. We walked through Germany, Italy and I made an obligatory stop at America for a popcorn bucket. I swear, Disney popcorn is far superior to all other popcorn! So good. After the popcorn stop, we made another food run -- this time to France's Boulangerie Patisserie. Mmm...this place is the BEST! Aaron got a Raspberry Schuss and I got all daring and got a pain croissant. It was a great way to end our Epcot adventure.

Yep, so I'm sure our fun-filled Epcot day was an exciting read. Stay tuned for our trek over to DHS. I promise, it will be more exciting!

Jump to Day Two, Part Two​

 

[Angies1274]

Aww...sorry that TT was down and you couldn't find any new pins you liked.

I never seem to take very many pictures in the WS, not sure why?

Great picture of you and DH!!!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Aww, bummer about Test Track! It does seem to be down an awful lot. But then again it is a ride that opened 2 years after it was supposed to...

LOL about WDW popcorn being superior to all other popcorn. For me it's the chicken nuggets. That used to be a huge tradition for us...since we'd always arrive around lunchtime we'd make sure to get those chicken tenders!

 

[Lynn5700]

Awe man that stinks about test track! Cute picture of you guys! Pj and I know what you mean about no pins worth trading in epcot. That's the one park where we trade the least.

Looking forward to your next update!

 

[DisneyObsessive]

I'm not a fan of Soarin' either, i think it's sort of overrated... so you are not alone! Epcot is actually up there as one of my favs, but mostly for atmosphere above all else.

As for Disney having better versions of food, their funnel cakes are to die for. no other place has em the same i swear.

 

[suzimar57]

just coming onboard now, enjoying your TR and photos!

your Aaron is just like my DH - a WDW hater! - i've even got DH with the same bored, "i-wish-i-were-anywhere-but-here" look on his face in some of our disney photos, too!

so - what's the deal with "flat rachel"?

(i'm thinking of "borrowing" your novel idea and creating a "flat scruffy" of our pet for our next WDW trip, for photo ops!)

 

[WDWRocksMySocks]

Aww...sorry that TT was down and you couldn't find any new pins you liked.

I never seem to take very many pictures in the WS, not sure why?

Great picture of you and DH!!!

Yeah, I was really bummed about our Epcot outing. Although, I was excited to ride the boat over to DHS so that helped make up for a little part of it. I was amazed how empty the WS was. It seemed like we were the only ones there at times.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't take a ton of pics there. It's funny too b/c there are a lot of great photo ops there.

Aww, bummer about Test Track! It does seem to be down an awful lot. But then again it is a ride that opened 2 years after it was supposed to...

LOL about WDW popcorn being superior to all other popcorn. For me it's the chicken nuggets. That used to be a huge tradition for us...since we'd always arrive around lunchtime we'd make sure to get those chicken tenders!

Yeah, I wasn't too surprised by TT being down. I guess we should be more amazed when it's fully operating! Seriously, there hasn't been a trip where it hadn't shut down before. Sad!

Haha...those chicken tenders are pretty good. Mmm, that sounds good right now in fact!

Awe man that stinks about test track! Cute picture of you guys! Pj and I know what you mean about no pins worth trading in epcot. That's the one park where we trade the least.

Looking forward to your next update!

Thanks!

You know, I had some luck two years ago but ever since then I never find anything good at Epcot. Such a bummer!!

I'm not a fan of Soarin' either, i think it's sort of overrated... so you are not alone! Epcot is actually up there as one of my favs, but mostly for atmosphere above all else.

As for Disney having better versions of food, their funnel cakes are to die for. no other place has em the same i swear.

Yay, I'm glad someone else doesn't get the Soarin' hype either. My sister thinks I'm mental -- it's her favorite.

Ooh, those funnel cakes are delicious! I've only found one funnel I didn't like -- it was microwaved at a local fair. Who microwaves funnel cakes?!?!

just coming onboard now, enjoying your TR and photos!

your Aaron is just like my DH - a WDW hater! - i've even got DH with the same bored, "i-wish-i-were-anywhere-but-here" look on his face in some of our disney photos, too!

so - what's the deal with "flat rachel"?

(i'm thinking of "borrowing" your novel idea and creating a "flat scruffy" of our pet for our next WDW trip, for photo ops!)

Haha, I feel for you! All of us w/ Disney hatin' husbands need to form a group. Then, we can all travel together and leave them at home!

Ah, Flat Rachel is coming up soon. I actually kind of forgot about her until our second full day. Isn't that sad?

HA! You totally should. I think it'd be hilarious and I've love to see the pictures. Just be prepared...some people looked at me like I was crazy -- which made it even more hilarious.

 

[WDWRocksMySocks]

So, I left off at the best part of the day...leaving Epcot! We decided to take the boat over to DHS, a first for us, which I was really excited about. Disney boats excite me for some reason. We lucked out and a boat was just about to pull away but stopped to let us board. Even better news -- the cruise director (lack of a better name, he wasn't the boat operator) had a Sleeping Beauty and Prince Phillip pin that completed my set. SWEET!

Here are a few pics of us on the boat:

Aaron, sporting his "I can't believe you're taking a picture of me on this stupid boat" face. Charming, eh?

I asked him to take my pic, and this is what I got...FAIL!!

We headed to bag check and I swear I got the slowest person in the world. The lines weren't long at all, but this woman seemed to be checking every nook and cranny in EVERY BAG. She made the woman in front of me get out her makeup bag and dump the contents on the table. Seriously, why?! I wish I could do Disney w/o a bag -- HA! Like that would ever happen. So, after what seemed like F-O-R-E-V-E-R, we made it into the park and headed towards ToT! Of course, I had to stop the PhotoPass photog for a cute photo op:

We noticed the line for ToT was 15 minutes, so we decided to grab some fastpasses for RnR first (the wait time for that was 40 min). I don't know what it is, but RnR always has the SLOWEST wait. Maybe it's the pre-show, maybe it's the fastpasses...I don't know, but if I see the stand-by time is more than 15 minutes I refuse to ride. So, we headed over to ToT and even though the wait time went up to 20 minutes walked right into the library!

After ToT, we decided we should probably grab some lunch. By time time it was about 2ish, and the popcorn and sweets from Epcot just weren't cutting it. We went over to Toy Story Pizza Planet. I got the cheese pizza combo and Aaron just got a pepperoni pizza. Mmm, the salad was so good! I'm in love w/ the Italian dressing they have. Sadly, are lame-o grocery stores here don't care it. BOO!!! Anyhoo...after we were done eating, Aaron saw an MLB game in the arcade that he wanted to try out. He loved it! Ha, only Aaron (and maybe teenage boys) would love playing in an arcade at a Disney park.

We walked around to pin trade a bit after Aaron finished playing his game. I also found this really cool limited edition Tower of Terror pin:

I wanted to ride ToT one more time before we headed back to the hotel. At this point, it started to POUR down with rain. Blech. Thank goodness we had our ponchos -- even though it felt like a sauna in them. We decided to head back and come back for evening EMH.

Coming up...Sweet Tomatoes and evening EMH!

 

[annnewjerz]

Cute Photopass picture of you guys in DHS! AND, very nice ToT pin. Any chance you don't collect ToT pins? Cause I do and that's one I don't have yet!!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Oooh, love your pins! The Tower of Terror one is sweet.

Again, your photopass pictures are adorable. Love the Mickey one!

Pouring rain?! What day was this? The 24th? Other than one brief downpour that lasted maybe half an hour we hardly saw any rain at all the whole time we were there! I think it just depends on where you are.

 

[Angies1274]

Hey, we were just arriving at Pop when you were heading back to your hotel that day. It was pouring when we arrived...ugh!!! Glad it cleared up later on.

Love the pins!!--and another great photopass pic!! Very cute!!

Toy Story Pizza Planet is a must with our boys!! I agree on the Italian dressing for the salad--yum!!

Can't wait for more...

 

[WDWRocksMySocks]

Cute Photopass picture of you guys in DHS! AND, very nice ToT pin. Any chance you don't collect ToT pins? Cause I do and that's one I don't have yet!!

Thanks!!

I just started collecting ToT pins earlier this year. Aaron just got me the cutest one on eBay, too. LOVE it!!!

Oooh, love your pins! The Tower of Terror one is sweet.

Again, your photopass pictures are adorable. Love the Mickey one!

Pouring rain?! What day was this? The 24th? Other than one brief downpour that lasted maybe half an hour we hardly saw any rain at all the whole time we were there! I think it just depends on where you are.

Thanks! I think I've went a little more pin crazy this past trip. I need a twelve step program.

It POURED for at least an hour while we were at DHS. But, it cleared up and the rest of the day/evening was really nice (thank goodness)!

Hey, we were just arriving at Pop when you were heading back to your hotel that day. It was pouring when we arrived...ugh!!! Glad it cleared up later on.

Love the pins!!--and another great photopass pic!! Very cute!!

Toy Story Pizza Planet is a must with our boys!! I agree on the Italian dressing for the salad--yum!!

Can't wait for more...

Ha, too funny! I'm so glad the rain didn't last too long -- like it did on Tuesday evening. That seriously put a cramp in our plans!

Oh, I bet your boys had a great time there. It's such a fun restaurant. And isn't that Italian dressing the best? Plus, it's fat free so it's even better! I wish I could find it somewhere locally. Maybe I'll just take a really big bag w/ me in January and stock up. Totally kidding!

 

[WDWRocksMySocks]

Wow, I really suck at this whole TR thing. I need to get on it. Sorry for the lack of updates. I know, I'm lame!

DAY TWO, PART THREE

We headed back to the hotel and Aaron had to detox from all the Disneyfication he was suffering from. I wondered around the Lodge while he took a quick shower. I just can't get over how much I loved it there! Seriously, everything about that place won me over. I can't wait to go back. Here are some pictures I took of the Villas:

I think this sign needs a little TLC. Not sure why I didn't take a pic of the cute topiary Mickey?

Villas atrium -- so peaceful!

I loved sitting in front of the fire...even if it was 90 degrees outside!

After taking some pictures, I decided to do a quick pin sweep of the main building. I had so much luck there. Everyone was so friendly and I found some really awesome pins, including these two limited editions:

I met up with Aaron around 5ish, and we decided to head to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner. Typically, we wouldn't go off-site on a park day but I was seriously craving an awesome salad bar. Plus, I'm IN LOVE with Sweet Tomatoes. In fact, I've started a campaign for them to come to Indiana. So far, it's failed. But, I still have hope!

Of course, I'd take a picture here...who cares about all those other missed photo-ops.

Aaron was only slightly embarrassed I was taking pics outside the restaurant.

Mmm...checkout that salad!

After dinner, we dropped off our car at the WL and hopped on the bus to DHS. We actually made really good timing. We made it into DHS at 7pm! I was impressed. We headed straight for RnR. Those fastpasses were burning a hole in our pocket.

Here's the bootleg version of the ride photo...proof Aaron got excited in a Disney Park!

We rode headed over to ToT, which was basically a walk-on. SWEET! Anyone notice what Aaron has in his mouth?

It was starting to get dark and I wanted to try to get a picture of ToT at dusk. I thought it turned out pretty well:

Once I got my picture, we headed over to TSM to see how insane the wait-time was. I was hoping that it'd be at least 60 min or less. But alas, it was not. It was so bummed. We didn't get to ride it this year. We should've done rope drop one day just so Aaron could have experienced it. BOO! Oh well. We decided to head back over to ToT. I had plans to meet up with Sarah (wdwgirl03) and some other DISers that evening, and I thought I'd have time to squeeze in ToT before we met. Well, sadly...I got held up at ToT and didn't get to meet her. That bummed me out!! I've only met one person from here, and it was so fun! Maybe next time...

We rode ToT a few more times and then decided to walk around. I really didn't think the EMH crowds were all the bad. I know Tour Guide Mike warned us against going, but I was really quite pleased with how the evening turned out. We had one Photopass pic taken, and I took a few of ToT. We decided to call it a night.

 

[wdwgirl03]

LOL, detox from the Disneyfication. Now why would anybody want to do that?!

I don't think I took a picture of the Mickey topiary either! I kept saying to myself I need to get that picture but never did. Boo.

I am bummed we couldn't meet up. You know what would've been funny was if I was in your TOT picture (which turned out great by the way and sadly I'm not in it. haha!)

 

[WDWRocksMySocks]

LOL, detox from the Disneyfication. Now why would anybody want to do that?!

I don't think I took a picture of the Mickey topiary either! I kept saying to myself I need to get that picture but never did. Boo.

I am bummed we couldn't meet up. You know what would've been funny was if I was in your TOT picture (which turned out great by the way and sadly I'm not in it. haha!)

I know, right?! Someday, I swear...Disney will woo him and he'll never understand why he disliked it so much. HA! Who am I kidding? I doubt that will ever happen. Well, maybe when we have kids...I hope.

Aw, boo! At least I'm not the only one who missed that photo op.

Haha, if you were in my ToT picture I would've cracked up. It would've been so fun if we could've met! That's why you need to go w/ your family in January! Are you having any luck finding a teaching job?