I'M ENGAGED! a.k.a. A Freak, a Closet Case and 2 Noobies...(FINISHED w/ PICTURES!!)

[blue_river]

Thanks for posting more.

Keep them coming.

 

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

Hello??? Hello!!!!!!!!!!!!

Shucks. You must be off somewhere planning your WEDDING!!!

Looking forward to more report!

Kerry :O)

 

[DestinationDisney]

You still there??

I'm highly anticipating the rest of your trip report!! Especially the engagement part!! Please come back!!

 

[briar*rose]

Sorry about the delay...this weekend was SO hectic with Halloween and all that stuff...so without further ado.....here's the next part......with photos of 10/3 and 10/4 to follow...

_____________________________________

Wednesday October 4th, 2006

Seven days down, only 1 more to go, and I was feeling it. We had my two favorite parks left for the last two days and everyone knows park days go fast. Today, we got an early start. DF27 and I got up early to run down to the Boardwalk Bakery for coffees, a cinnamon bun for DBF and I and a crousant for DF27 & DF30 (you know, to go with breakfast ) At about 9am we started cooking, DF27 was in charge of the bacon (I'm scared of bacon...) and I was in charge of the potatoes and eggs. Having the kitchen was awesome because we had the option to do things like this and all in all we had a really awesome morning.

Then we showered and got ready to leave for the Animal Kingdom.

Side Note: When re-planning the itinerary to fit in "Lost" I wanted to make that day as Lost-y as possible...I chose the Animal Kingdom because not only did it close early (which allowed us to eat a sitdown dinner) but it's very jungle-like and well, they are stranded on a somewhat deserted tropical island so why shouldn't we be "stranded in a tropical theme park"? Then I re-scheduled Cape May's Clam Bake Buffet for this night, it was close to the Boardwalk and it's a clam bake,....fish.....ocean...island....I dunno...I tried.

Soooo, we arrived at the Animal Kingdom via the Disney bus at about 11:30a. We wasted some time in the Oasis and we saw the Tree of Life, which was spectacular as usual. It actually kind of snuck up on DF27 since you don't see it as soon as you walk in the park, we're walking thru the oasis and I saw the Tree ahead and right before it came into view she turned around to talk to DF30 and when she turned around again she screamed and said "that's the most beautiful tree!!. Yes, it is.

Aside from that we were really trying to move along to Expedition Everest, our first stop in AK. We got to the cue line and the sign said 40 minutes.....the fastpass was for 4:15p.....soooo we opted to wait on line. It didn't take too much convincing because of the late time of the Fast Pass but I had also heard that when you use the Fast Pass line you miss alot of the props and things along the way and that's part of what sets Disney rides apart from others....the ride really beings on the line. I totally didn't want to miss that so I was happy to wait 40 minutes. And acutally it didn't even really feel like 40 minutes, there's a series of "scenes" that you go thru to make it seem like you are shopping and packing provisions for your "Expedition" and toward the end of the line there is actually a Yeti Museum that was really very interesting.

I don't want to give ANYTHING away but Expedition Everest was awesome. Period. Disney Imagineers are awesome and that Joe dude with the tribal earring that designed the park, he's awesome too.

After EE we moved on to Kali River Rapids where we (but mostly I) got soaked. I was soaked from head to toe...DBF and I were lucky enough to go down the drop backward therefore receiving most of the spash....yay for us. After trying to ring out my clothing we stopped for ice cream and headed over to the Kilamanjaro Safari. The line was over an hour long when we got there so we decided to get some Fast Passes and walk the Pagani Forest Trail to waste some time.

For some reason I've never noticed this particular trail...I thought AK only had the Maharaja Trek and never thought twice when I saw Pangani on the AK map, can we say duh?. It was only when reading trip reports etc. that I realized that I had missed this large part of the AK!!! Yeah, I'm observent.

Sooooooo we saw hippos and meercats and all sorts of zebras and birds and fish......but there was a BIG problem.....WE RAN OUT OF MEMORY CARD SPACE!!!!!! I have a 7.1 pixel camara and 2 memory cards which, together, fit about 110 pictures. So we used 110 pictures from 9am-2:30 and we only arrived at the park at 11:30!!!!!!!! Grrr....either way the show must go on and after we were done at Pangani our Fast Pass time was up so we headed next door to the Kilamanjaro Safari. We saw TONS of animals and our driver was great, it was very obvious that she loved her job!! (I wish I could say the same for myself )

After the safari we moved on to the Maharaja Jungle Trek (where we took NO picutres...yes, I am still bitter). Then we hopped over to It's Tough to be a Bug and then over to DinoLand U.S.A. to hit the Primevil Whirl (which had no line and was soooo much fun) and Dinosaur! (no line again!!! DBF sat off this one...it hurts his knees, but he did wait on line with us). By the time we got off of Dinosaur! it was about 4:15p so we decided that we had seen everything we wanted to see at the AK and we walked toward the bus to beat the end-of-the-day rush. We were back to the Boardwalk in no time.

With dinner reservations at 5:40p for Cape May's we started getting ready for dinner pretty much as soon as we got back to the hotel. I emptied my memory cards. All showered and changed we started out on our walk to the Beach Club at about 5:20 and arrived at about 5:35. We waited about 10 minutes to be seated and we had one of the most painful meals of our entire trip....there is just SO MUCH FOOD at Cape May's and it's all amazing so we all left there about 10 pounds fatter then when we came. We had a wonderful time drawing on the table and had many a hearty laugh about DF27's inability to spell the word "Burp" and my decision to cover the table in drawings of fish. All in all it was one of the greatest dinners that we had, it was certainly the funniest. We finished up at about 7pm and started the walk back to the Boardwalk.

We had some time to kill before "Lost" at 9 so we dilly-dallied at Sea Breeze Point and took our time getting back to the resort. We made the obligatory stop at the Boardwalk Bakery for some snacks and I tried to get my hair wrapped (which didn't happen...they wanted like $40 bux to wrap my hair!!). So with snacks in hand we went back up to the room to watch "Lost".

Once we were back to the room we drank some, and pulled out the pull-out couch so we could all have a prime view of the T.V. and at 9pm we watched "Lost" which, as usual, was AWESOME!!!! We spent most of the rest of the night talking about "Lost", drinking and making periodic trips to the hot tub. Eventually everyone fell off and went to bed....DF27 and I had reservations for the Princess Storybook Breakfast at Akershus at 8:55a the next morning so we had an early wake up but the boys didn't and they decided that they were going to sleep in. Aaaaand that's pretty much it!!

Tune in tomorrow for our last day!!! THE day!!!

 

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

aaaaaaack cliff hanger! cliffhanger !!! lol! can't wait!

 

[blue_river]

but there was a BIG problem.....WE RAN OUT OF MEMORY CARD SPACE!!!!!! I have a 7.1 pixel camara and 2 memory cards which, together, fit about 110 pictures.

ACK!!! Nothing worse than that!

Waiting impatiently for THE day!!!!

 

[Glendamax]

Lovin your report! I went to the GF for tea in September and loved it!

Looking forward to more!

 

[briar*rose]

Lovin your report! I went to the GF for tea in September and loved it!

Looking forward to more!

I actually read your trip report....it was great!! It made me so exited for tea...but I still didn't expect it to be so very awesome

 

[brookelizabeth]

Awesome trip report! Can't wait to read THE DAY!!

 

[swankybeth]

Woo hoo! It's almost THE day. I've been really enjoying your report, but I'm getting impatient waiting for THE day. And now it's almost here! Yay!

 

[pooksma]

Hey!
I have read from top to bottom and was ready for THE DAY! AAARRRGGGG.

Sorry-no pressure. Congrats and you guys look great together!

 

[tubachick]

waiting for the DAY!!! loved the video too!!!!

 

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

la la la... nope. nothing to see here. sigh. nothing. siiiiiigh......

*tap * tap * tap * hmmmm. sigh. maybe tomorrow....

woe is me.


LMAO ! Come on girl, you can do it! LOL! ;o)

 

[BriarRosie]

Hmm, quite a fun filled trip! There were many things I could relate to.
I tend to split stay my time between resorts, too. (Although I've decided
to bank my DVC points to stay the weekends for next October!)

You also have eaten at some of my favorite places, but you really should
not have skipped Boma! Seriously, you don't see to have skipped many
buffets. LOL! Boma is really good for breakfast or dinner. You must
try it. Next time.

And someone took a picture of me wearing the tea cozy from the GF tea
as a "Pope hat". I'm not posting it, but I'm sure you can get the idea!

I'm now anxiously waiting for the rest of your report!

 

[blue_river]

la la la... nope. nothing to see here. sigh. nothing. siiiiiigh......

*tap * tap * tap * hmmmm. sigh. maybe tomorrow....

woe is me.


LMAO ! Come on girl, you can do it! LOL! ;o)

hahaha......

I'm with you!

 

[briar*rose]

Okay so I was going to post some pictures before I posed my last reports but that is taking way longer then I had expected, so without futher ado....

_______________________

Thursday, October 5th, 2006

This day was a very sad day.

Our Last Full Day.

Our Last Park Day.

Our Last Night.



For me, the last day always goes by quicker then all the others, but it started out like any other. DF27 and I woke up at around 8am to get ready for the Princess Storybook Breakfast at the Akershus, (leaving the men to forrage for themselves). We left the resort at about 9:30a for our walk to Norway. All and all the walk was pretty good, the day was warm and sunny and we arrived at the podeum to check in at around 9:50a. Being only 2 people we were seated prety quickly, about 10 minutes after check in. We took a picture with Belle, whose dress was amazing!!! Then, to my suprise we were seated at the same table my sister and I were seated on the very same day last year!! Okay, so it's not really that exiting, but the table was in a good spot. The food and characters were amazing as always. We saw Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Jasmine (the worst Jasmine I've ever seen may I add) and Mulan (which made DF27 happy). We ate everything that was brought out including an extra serving of cinnamon buns (YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM!!) and extra sausage. I really wanted more potatoes but I felt to gross and fat asking all these beautiful, skinny, nordic women if i could have more potaotes when I was clearly full. Oh well....next time haha.

We finished up at around a quarter to eleven and we walked via the direction of Mexico back to the Internation Gateway. World Showcase was just opening up so there were NO people around which allowed DF27 and I some time to make a pit stop at the Ireland kiosk to get a glass of O'Mara's Irish Cream. Shhhhhhhh...don't tell the boys. Hehe. Soo with our O'Mara's in hand we walked back to the Boardwalk to gather the men and make our way back to Epcot to spend the day.

When we got back DF27 and DF30 informed us that they would have to get to a bank sometime this morning (it was a whole problem with DF27 not having her ATM card...a long boring story) so they left to find a Washington Mutual bank while DBF and I decided to head to Epcot anyway and meet them later on.

DBF and I took our time on the walk over making quick stops to take some pictures and look around and we arrived back in Epcot at around 12:30p. Now, I'm not complaining at all but this was the ONLY time that DBF and I had in a park alone, so we took the opportunity to really enjoy it. We decided that since World Showcase was DEAD that we'd stay around there for a bit. We entered the International Gateway and started toward France. We took our time in Italy and got a Chocolate Zeppoli from the Food and Wine kiosk and ate it over near the Faux-Venice. We also saw ALOT of performers all around the showcase (one of the best things about the Food and Wine Festival!). We saw a magician in Italy, and musicians in Norway and Mexico. After heading out of the World Showcase we decided to waste some time at Innoventions while waiting for DF30 and DF27. The park really was not busy at all so we took our time playing with all the silly gagets and giggling like children. At around 1:45p we got a call to meet our DF's at Spaceship Earth. THEY HAD FOUND A BANK!!! Wooo-Hoooo!! Not really.

So, we rode Spaceship Earth (one of my favorites) and headed for the Living Seas. They hadn't yet taken down the barricade but from what I could see the renovations to the front of the building look soooooooo cute!!! We explored the seas for about 45 minutes before deciding to move on. On a side note: we did pass on Turtle Talk, I've heard it's really great but the line was crazy....I could now see why the rest of Epcot was dead, EVERYONE WAS ON THIS LINE!! So we headed to The Land (MYYYYYY FAVORITE....next to the Wonders of Life....which sadly is DEAD! Imagaine my shock when they decided to open it during the holiday season.....DARN YOU DISNEY!)

On last years trip DBF got sick and was unable to ride Sorin' which was a big dissapointment for him so he was pretty exited about getting to The Land BUT everyone was hungry so we decided to stop for a bite first. I hadn't eaten in The Land since they renovated it so we decided that Sunshine Seasons was good enough (plus it was right there). I only had a small side serving of Tuna Salad and a water but everyone else got a full meal and the consensus was that it was great!! In the past, IMO the food there was only sub par (the only thing I ever could eat there was the baked potato which wasnt all that great) and the atmosphere was really lacking...NOW the food area is wide open and really beautiful looking and the food was fantastic for counter service. I really love what they did with it.

After lunch we rode Living with the Land, to me, one of the most under-rated rides in Disney. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the greenhouse tour and I took many many pictures of coffee, kale, pumpkins, tomato trees, sunflowers, goards and so on. I know, I get a little too exited about plants, I'd love to take the Behind the Seeds tour next time we visit. After Living with the Land it was time for SOARIN'....which had a 40 minute wait. Oh well.....here were the rest of the people visiting Epcot who weren't on the line for Turtle Talk. We got on it anyway...and as usual it passed in no time. If you've never rode this ride before I would suggest asking for the front row, which we patiently waited for. Everyone was really impressed. even DF30 who is a cinic in every sense of the word. DBF was particularly impressed and happy that he finally got to ride it. Haha.

So having finished The Land we headed for the next pavillion which was Imagination!. We rode the ride that is there (being that the name constantly changes...I have no idea what it's called)......and I sang the song, and I got laughed at....but I love this ride and I don't really care about getting laughed at. We played a little at the Image Works and when we stepped outside THERE WAS FIGMENT!!!! I haven't seen a live character Figment since I was a little girl so I think I might have scared the person inside the costume but we took a picture anyway since there was no one around.

That pretty much made my day. What can I say...I'm easy to please.

By that time it was about 4:40p and we had two-ish more hours to kill before dinner at 6:20p. So we raced over to Test Track (hahahahah raced....to Test Track.....okay, I'm not that funny) and rode it. It was cool because we were on board with a "Disney Quality Tester". Apparently he rides rides ALL DAY.....hey man, WHERE DO I SIGN UP!!!! So, he proceeded to tell us that originally Test Track was supposed to hit 90 mph on the outside loop but since they went through brakes and tires too quickly they decided to drop the speed to 60 mph....which is really actually about 68....says the quality tester. He was quite a useful man to have around...full of ride trivia, but unfortunetly, we had to part when the ride was over .

Next Stop...Mission:Space! DBF sat out this one as well....DBF + G-Force = Sick DBF. So he waited outside and DF27 and DF30 and I went in to ride. I get all clammy before this ride because it's pretty intense, DF27 was pretty nervous too, but everything went well and we had a safe landing . I was feeling a bit questionable afterward but nothing to complain about, just a little flippy in the stomach so we lingered in the Gift Shop to buy my friend back home some space ice cream while I gathered my stomach from my feet.

It was about five minutes to six when we finished in the Mission:Space area so we decided to head over to check in at Mitsokushi/Teppanyaki Restaurant in Japan for dinner even though it was a little early. We were able to check in as soon as we got there and we were seated before our reservation time, which was pretty sweet!! I don't know if anyone has ever eaten here but it's a 4 sided table with a grill in the middle, people are seated on three sides while the cook is on the fourth side and he cooks right in front of you, pretty neat stuff. The other people that we sat with weren't very social but the chef was very funny. He talked with us for a while about the sushi that DF27 had ordered (she's a pro in that department, the girl knows whats good) and where her family comes from (Taiwan/Hong Kong) and other assorted topics. He made an onion volcano and the best part is that he actually cooked my steak rare (something unheard of in New York)!! I'm such a carnivore and I LOVE my meat rare, especially a good steak that just melts in your mouth...mmmmm. I ate so much of it and so much in general on this trip that it was hard to finish, and I didn't wind up finishing but I ate as much as possible. So at about 7:30p, semi-tipsy (from yummy japanease sake & plum wine) and feeling like a stuffed turkey we left the restaurant and walked outside (the steps out of the building by the way...not fun to get down).

It's kind of hard to describe from this point because I only remember bits and pieces...but somehow we left the restaurant a little ahead of DF27 and DF30 and I proceeded to run over to the bridge in the rock garden and joke to DBF that Disney lets you get married on that spot and which point I turn around and he's kneeling down...so me being a jerk, thinking he's joking around gets down with him and I go "what are we hiding from?"....

So. Stupid.

Anyway...he tells me "No dummy get up!!" and takes a box out of his pocket and opens it....

HOLY CRAP THERE'S A RING IN THERE!!!!!

DBF says his piece (which I'm keeping to myself....no offense ), at which point I said "Are you kidding" through sobs.....which he responded with a laugh and "No, I'm not kidding....what do you say?"

And I said Yes.

And he slipped the ring on my finger.

And I had no idea where I was or what was going on...my head felt light and foggy and I was shaking and crying and had no idea what to do next..I looked up ahead and there was the Epcot ball all lit up and beautiful and I looked to my right and there was the Pagoda and there I was standing on the bridge in my absolute favorite spot in all of Disney and I thought I was dreaming and I thought of how lucky I was to have my DBF. And I cried and we hugged and kissed and the moment felt like forever....then DF27 comes running over with the camara saying OH MY GOD DID YOU JUST DO WHAT I THINK YOU DID?...and started snapping pictures like a maniac, at which point she got shuffled away into the Gift Shop by DF30.

We lingered behind a few minutes and I asked some questions that I don't really remember right now and then we followed DF27 and 30 into the Gift Shop to look around. I was still pretty out of it and feeling very detached from my body and I was shaking like crazy and DF27 was dancing around us like a pixie going "you guys are getting married" which was really funny. I spent a while walking around with everyone, looking at stuff trying to collect myself. DBF asked me if I wanted to do the Oyster thing (since I didn't do it last year)...but I passed.

After leaving Japan we headed over to the Ireland Kiosk (again) to have a celebratory drink of O'Mara's Irish Cream. We were toasted and we drank. And drank, And drank. Which we wern't really planning on since we had to drive home the next day but no one really cared. Haha. Before leaving for the night (which was no longer overshadowed by the fact that we were leaving Disney) we made a quick stop at Kringla Bakeri og Cafe, the bakery in Norway to pick up snacks, then we watched Illuminations! as we walked toward the International Gateway to get back to the Boardwalk. I called my mom and she was really exited!! and the news was spread thoughout my family within a half hour, at which time I got a call from my sister and DA. Everyone else decided to wait until I got home to call with congrats.

We celebrated a little more when we got back to the room and at around 1:30a we started off to bed. DBF fell asleep as I packed everything up for our departure the next day. It was nice to have a few quiet moments to myself to pack and think. Not that I had to think about if the decision I made was right I just needed it to sink it....it all just felt so surreal still. When mostly everything was packed...I layed down next to DBF....(now my DF) to sleep my last sleep in Disney.

 

[briar*rose]

Friday October 6th, 2006

The official last day.

We all awoke pretty early that day to get everything out on time, we all showered and prepared for a day on the road. At 10:45a we called a bell hop to get our luggage and the valet to bring around the car. Even with the events of the day before I was feeling pretty meloncholy. but DBF was right there to help cheer me up. We packed the roof rack and stuffed all our junk in the car...and headed for The Polynesian. Yeah, that's right....MORE COFFEE!!! We headed for Kona Express for a cup of coffee and DF27 purchased some to bring home with her. Then we headed for Downtown Disney to pick up souvinears.

When we arrived at about 12p and we were pretty hungry. We had talked about going to Wolfgang Puck's so we headed in that direction. We also saw that Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest was still playing at the movie theater and hesitated for a moment while deciding to see a movie or eat but in the end food won out and we went with Wolfgang Puck's. We were seated right away and had a wonderful and quiet last meal. The food was delicious!! I definetly reccomend it. The atmostphere was very bright and colorful with a wonderful view of Saratoga Springs, and everyone really enjoyed it.

After eating, we hit most of the shops looking for just the right gifts to bring back for everyone. We spent most of the time in the kitchen store, the pin kiosk and the Christmas store. We also debated stopping at the Earl of Sandwich for some sandwiches for the ride home but everyone was too full from lunch to even think about sandwiches (no matter how yummy they are).

At about 3-ish pm it was all over. Time to get in the car and get on the road. I had alot to look forward to at home but it still made me sad to leave. Memories were made here that would last the rest of my life, just as they always had been....and I just didn't want to go, but go we had to.

The ride was most definetly non-eventful, when a pair wasn't driving, they were sleeping. DF27 and DF30 drove until 1:30a and then DBF and I took over for the overnight. It rained almost all the way up the coast. We didn't stop for food much, except for when we got gas....we all just wanted to get the return trip over with. We crossed the Verranzano Narrows bridge at about 9am on Sat. 10/7. It was gray and rainy and cold...and pretty accuratly reflected how all of us felt.

When we got to DF's house we unpacked their car and re-packed our car, said our good-byes and DBF and I headed out on our last leg....home.

I hate when you arrive home....and all that happened felt like a dream. But I feel lucky enough to have pictures to remember it all and an engagement ring that everyday serves as a reminder of how dreams really do come true.

______________________________

I hope you all enjoyed reading my report and thank you for sticking with me!!!

I'm working on getting pictures up for the last four days.....so don't abandon me yet!!!

 

[Disney_Mama]

Congratulations on your engagement All the best to you and your fiance. Great trip report too.

 

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

aaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwww that was so worth the wait! CONGRATULATIONS! and you ducking make me giggle out loud, totally something that i would do !

GREAT report, and good luck planning your wedding!

 

[rthutchens]

You gotta show us some pictures of the ring! Don't leave us hanging.