I'm Not As Tink As You Kronk I Am - Final Thoughts on Mustard's January Trip to WDW

[earthfaries]

First of all I'm so happy to see another update and it's a great one too! It must be hard to keep up with a TR being so busy! Me on the other hand , I have no problem I've just completed the last day on my TR and am about to do final thoughts!

All the pictures are wonderful as usual, I love the photo pass pics, esp. the girls with Pluto and Chip and Dale, they're so cute

What a bummer about forgetting the cards, then taking the wrong way twice!

You all had lots of fun once inside though!

That's great your sister joined you guys, it's nice to be at WDW with your family isn't it? I know she had fun ~ had she been before?

Coral Reef...sour tummies... doesn't sound so good. We ate their a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. We had the giant lobster

As always, I'm looking forward to the next installment!!!

 

[Leger13]

Yup, it lasted really well - I was suprised. Well it wasn't really the printer at this point ...more the ramifications of not having it all together earlier Tune in soon and you'll see what fun we have

oh man...I hope everything turned out well in the end,...


I just read your updates

getting turned around twice after forgetting the tickets?? I know my DH woul dhave been fuming. Way to keep your cool

I love that you are wearing your Dis shirt

I absolutely love your PhotoPass Pictures! The ones with your DDs and Chip & Dale are so great! They really took their time to get good pictures huh? I must do that character thing next year. We just didn't take time last year to get lots of character pictures and now I regret it

I cannot believe you rode Mission Space twice in a row. Are you crazy? I got SO sick after my first ride that I vowed never to ride it again. And that is not like me for disney rides. It was just too intense for me. Glad your Sister made it in safely.

I don't think I read if you said how your meal was at Coral Reef. So, how was it? I was thinking about going there this year but I decided we're gonna try Le Cellier instead. Maybe next year we'll check out Coral Reef, but my God, there are sharks in there?? I think I might spew out my food.

Ah, Living With The Land. Used to be such a great ride when there was a real live person on the boat with you telling you about everything. I hate that stupid recording!!

Sour tummies dos not sound good! Was it from the food at Coral Reef?

 

[jordanyosh]

Bummer about having to go back.....but it doesn't seem to have put a dent in the day...until the sour tummies....did they have the greek salad at Pop?

 

[Tat2ddisneymom]

Oh, no...you're surrounded by women!! You poor thing!!

I'm guessing you were the one with the sour tummy. I know I can't do the orange side of MS, and I LOVE thrill rides. Hope you didn't get something nasty from the Coral Reef...

 

[mnmrmustard]

First, to everyone keeping an eye on my TR, I wasn't able to do any updates over the weekend because we were up in Portland for DD11's Cheerleading Nationals Competition!

They did very well on day one and got to come back for the finals on day 2. They got knocked out pretty early on day 2 but not because of mistakes, they were just outclassed with the technical ability of some of the bigger teams (more stunts and such).

I had some serious camera difficulties and missed their entire first performance and got things working just before they started their routine on day 2. Only a couple of pics turned out, but we're buying the DVD of their performance, so at least we'll have that. Here's one decent pic ...DD11 is on the far left holding up one of the "flyers":

The girls all had a good time and got some good experience and we ate dinner at The Cheesecake Factory as an extra bonus

great update and pics.

ending up by SW twice. sorry not funny.

sour tummies does not sound good at all.

Thank you! LOL, yeah - I guess all roads lead to SW that morning

The sour tummy was not fun as you will see in a few. But you can't have all this fun without a speed bump here and there, right?

First of all I'm so happy to see another update and it's a great one too! It must be hard to keep up with a TR being so busy! Me on the other hand , I have no problem I've just completed the last day on my TR and am about to do final thoughts!

All the pictures are wonderful as usual, I love the photo pass pics, esp. the girls with Pluto and Chip and Dale, they're so cute

What a bummer about forgetting the cards, then taking the wrong way twice!

You all had lots of fun once inside though!

That's great your sister joined you guys, it's nice to be at WDW with your family isn't it? I know she had fun ~ had she been before?

Coral Reef...sour tummies... doesn't sound so good. We ate their a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. We had the giant lobster

As always, I'm looking forward to the next installment!!!

You’ve finished yours??? Wow, I’m sooo behind where I wanted to be with this thing, but RL does seem to get in the way. I’m just glad I have some peeps still checking in on it

Yes, I had my own pics from the character spot, but they did a really good job so I just posted theirs …plus the borders and sigs really add something. Oh yes, Chip and Dale especially did a fun interaction with the girls.

Yeah, we just weren’t thinking that morning and paid for it. I’m just glad it didn’t slow us down anymore than it did. And yes, we had lots of fun once inside.

Oh yes! Having my sis come down was such a blessing …there were several family members who originally were going to come/hoping to come, but it just didn’t work out. Having her come down made it so much more special. Yes, she had been to Epcot before …but had not been to AK, so we got to do that later on with her

Coral Reef was good, I had a pasta and shrimp dish that was wonderful and most of us really enjoyed our meals. It was probably a combo of 2xMission: Space on Orange + questionable dressing, plus sheer tiredness that did in the wee one.

Update coming today!

oh man...I hope everything turned out well in the end,...


I just read your updates

getting turned around twice after forgetting the tickets?? I know my DH woul dhave been fuming. Way to keep your cool

I love that you are wearing your Dis shirt

I absolutely love your PhotoPass Pictures! The ones with your DDs and Chip & Dale are so great! They really took their time to get good pictures huh? I must do that character thing next year. We just didn't take time last year to get lots of character pictures and now I regret it

I cannot believe you rode Mission Space twice in a row. Are you crazy? I got SO sick after my first ride that I vowed never to ride it again. And that is not like me for disney rides. It was just too intense for me. Glad your Sister made it in safely.

I don't think I read if you said how your meal was at Coral Reef. So, how was it? I was thinking about going there this year but I decided we're gonna try Le Cellier instead. Maybe next year we'll check out Coral Reef, but my God, there are sharks in there?? I think I might spew out my food.

Ah, Living With The Land. Used to be such a great ride when there was a real live person on the boat with you telling you about everything. I hate that stupid recording!!

Sour tummies dos not sound good! Was it from the food at Coral Reef?

Hehehe, yeah – it was frustrating as I was driving it, but I got over it by the time I got back to Epcot, at least it didn’t take me too far afield – lol. Thank you on the Dis shirt. We washed our tie-dye’d ones almost every night but I wanted to wear this one too at some point

The photopass pics were really worth it and I know we’ll use them at every opportunity next trip to make buying the CD even more worthwhile Yeah, Chip and Dale were great and danced and played with both girls so well

Yup, M:S twice on orange …not something I’ll repeat but still a pretty cool ride and not one I’d do right after eating.

We were glad my sis could come down, if only for a couple of days.

The meal as a whole at Coral Reef was really good. I had a nice pasta and shrimp thing, both moms had a surf and turf plate, and I forget what DW and my sis had. The only drawback was the lack of kids options. I would still recommend it to people. And watching all the sea life swimming by while you eat is pretty neat. Yes, there are sharks but they’re pretty small ones …maybe 4ft at the max.

Oh, LWTL used to have a guide? That would have been better …wish I could have gone on it then

The sour tummy was a combo of things, not just food.

Bummer about having to go back.....but it doesn't seem to have put a dent in the day...until the sour tummies....did they have the greek salad at Pop?

Nope, didn't put much of a dent in the day, it was probably worse for the rest of the fam who had to just sit next to the entrance until DD8 and I got back Yup, good day until sour tummy kicked in. Ooooo, sounds ominous - is the greek salad at Pop something to avoid?

Oh, no...you're surrounded by women!! You poor thing!!

I'm guessing you were the one with the sour tummy. I know I can't do the orange side of MS, and I LOVE thrill rides. Hope you didn't get something nasty from the Coral Reef...

Yup, just a bevy of ladies and me that day ...well most of the days. Nope, actually not me with the tummy. But my whole fam rode M:S on Orange twice so you can guarantee it was one of us

The salad dressing at Coral Reef may have been a factor, but not the total cause of the tummy issue.

 

[mnmrmustard]

The moms and I continue on our journey through The Land

We met back up with our TT riders outside The Seas since the DDs wanted some more time in there and we had a couple of hrs to kill before Soarin’. Here they are posing with Nemo and Friends

We went inside and got on The Seas with Nemo and Friends. Yes, I was a bad boy and used flash a couple of times …I plead ignorance on that one and won’t do it again ;-]

We went straight from there to Turtle Talk with Crush. If you are in a group with a person in a wheelchair they actually take you to a different entrance and we had to wait a few minutes there. While standing there I couldn’t help but notice the very cool lighting fixtures they had and had to snap a pic (well a few pics, but I’ll only post two – lol)

And then it was in to say hello to Crush

This time I had my lighting settings right and was able to snap some pics without flash. You can just see my DDs up front (pink Minnie ears and Goofy spotted bandana):

DD11 was spotted yet again for her cool bandana and got to talk to Crush – Whoohoo!

Dory came in and said hello to Mr. Whale

We made our way out and got a couple of shots with the sharks. I think DD8 was still a wee bit jealous of big sis because of getting to talk to Crush ;-]

DW joined in on the fun

I still may photoshop that kid out of the frame on these two shots – lol

And then me with the hammerhead to finish the tour in there

Next installment coming up in a few – stay tuned!

 

[mnmrmustard]

We move on to some of the aquarium displays and among others, watch the really “Live” version of the Nemo cast

We then headed upstairs and happened to be there just before the dolphin show started. And you guessed it, our girls were chosen again!

After the show ended we wandered the Seas for a bit more, then moved back to The Land Pavillion as it was getting close to our Soarin’ FP timeframe. We looked around a bit and then headed downstairs and did Soarin’. It was only a few minute wait and we got front row – yippee! The moms hadn’t rode it before and were pretty blown away by it …oh, and the rest of us enjoyed it too ;-]

After the ride DW had to leave to take care of the payroll stuff that she hadn’t been able to finish the night before. I borrowed her ticket long enough to get more FPs for Soarin’ and then we said our goodbyes to her. Both moms were feeling a little tired and I was suffering from either allergies or a cold that had been slowly progressing to the point where it was hard for me to talk without coughing.

We were all a bit ragged and getting hungry so decided to go ahead and grab an early dinner at Sunshine Seasons. I don’t remember what any of us had because I wasn’t feeling all that good and DD8 started feeling worse and worse. She had a headache and after picking at her food had a stomach ache too. After I got her to eat a little I gave her some children’s Tylenol hoping to at least kill off the headache.

We finished dinner and saw there was no line for Living With the Land (which the DDs hadn’t been on yet) so jumped back on it. DD8 half watched it and half snuggled into me for the ride. We finished that and went upstairs for the Circle of Life movie. By that time I was carrying DD8 and she just sat on my lap snuggled into my shoulder for the show.

When it was over Bean was looking pale and needed to go to the bathroom. I walked her down to do the standard “dad stands outside the bathroom” bit when she looked up at me and said she needed to throw up. I sent her in and immediately called Maria, who was standing up near the entrance to the pavilion with the moms. Mucho thanks sis for being there for her! ><

She came down quickly and went in to be with Bean. She ended up having to go back into the bathroom two more times with her to throw up. In between we just had her lay on one of the benches near the entrance. I called Roxy and asked where she was and she said she had just gotten back in the park so I asked her to get a double stroller for Bean. I made a huge mistake and told her not to hurry.

Here’s where my ability to think completely turned off. Everyone had been looking to me for what we were doing and where we were going and between me feeling sick and being on cold meds and dealing with a sick kid I just didn’t have it in me to do anything for the rest of the fam :-[

I should have told them to go check out another pavilion or something, but instead they all ended up stuck sitting there wanting to help but not really being able to do much. I kept waiting for Roxy to show up with the stroller and finally called her back. Since I hadn’t told her that we were all basically waiting for her she thought that she had lots of time and had actually been shopping for stuff for the
girls so we wouldn't get stuck doing it at the end of the evening like we had on other days.

I was a bit bent out of shape and told her she needed to get here as soon as she could. Roxy showed up a few minutes later and we got Bean loaded up into the stroller padded with a couple of coats. By then she was completely out.

It was too late to really do anything in World Showcase as it was fast approaching time for Illuminations. Nana wasn’t up for anymore that day so it was decided that Roxy and Nana would go back to the van and get Bean comfortable and they would watch the fireworks from the parking lot.

So DD11, my mom, my sister and I all made our way to the lagoon. I caught this shot on the way up there:

There was just enough space in one of the handicapped spots at the Showcase Plaza for my mom, so I sent her in there with DD11 who sat on her lap. My sis and I found a decent spot next to one of the docks and waited for the show to begin. I took a pic of the castle across the way while we waited

The crowds of course got thicker and thicker but I was able to hold on to my spot. Finally the show began (I was glad because it was getting a bit cold and I had given up my jacket to make Bean comfortable in the stroller). So without further drama or ado, here’s my shots from Illuminations!

That first one was one of several I took by the dock but the overhang was blocking part of the sky so I moved over to the left to a big tree planter (so there was nobody directly behind me) and just stuck my camera above people’s heads using my monopod

Next up, the end of Illuminations and we make our way out and home after a very long day.

 

[mnmrmustard]

Illuminations continues…

We followed the mass of people and made our way out as quickly as we could. I caught a couple of quick shots of SE on the way out.

We called my pop when the show finished and he was there by the time we got out and took my mom and sis back to the resort. DD11 and I loaded up and we headed back and put Bean straight to bed. We all pretty much did the same. Oh and yes, I did apologize to DW about snapping at her/being mad about her not getting there quickly after I told her not to hurry ;-]

Tomorrow! Can we turn things around and but the ickies behind us? Where should we go – my sis knows, do you? Check in next time on our continuing adventures through the land that Walt made

 

[scottny]

great update and pics.

those Illumination pics are fantastic.



Sorry she was thowing up. That is the worst thing in the world to have happen.

 

[jordanyosh]

Great pix as usual...

I love the ones from Living with the Land--one of my favorite attractions.

Great Illuminations shots...never seen them come out so good. Must be the camera and your knowledge.....

Sorry about the Ralphing incident.

 

[Leger13]

Poor DD8, first she was jealous of big sis for getting to talk with Crush and then she got sick That is NO fun! I hope the rest did her some good that night.

And you got sick too? oh man! I know how that feels for sure being sick at WDW. I had a bad cold for 3 of the 10 days we were there last Sept as well. I hope you started feeling better the next day too.

That's good that you appologized to your DW for snapping at her. It's hard not to do something like that though when you feel pretty crappy yourself on top of having a sick kid.

You got some very great shots of Illuminations. I felt like I was right there watching it (minus the music and loudness )

 

[mnmrmustard]

great update and pics.

those Illumination pics are fantastic.



Sorry she was thowing up. That is the worst thing in the world to have happen.

Thankyee - it was quite a show. Next time I'm going to make sure and be there early enough to be right on the fence.

Yes, she was in a bad state for a bit there, but at least she was able to go to sleep and rest after she was done being sick. She was better by the next morning.

Great pix as usual...

I love the ones from Living with the Land--one of my favorite attractions.

Great Illuminations shots...never seen them come out so good. Must be the camera and your knowledge.....

Sorry about the Ralphing incident.

LWtL was pretty neat, I enjoyed being able to ride it twice. As far as the pics, I've had some practice with the local 4th of July fireworks shows. You have to shoot in manual mode and tweak the settings a bit to get it right. Thanks for the compliment.

Yeah, the ralphing wasn't fun ...I'm just glad she was able to get to the bathroom in time.

Poor DD8, first she was jealous of big sis for getting to talk with Crush and then she got sick That is NO fun! I hope the rest did her some good that night.

And you got sick too? oh man! I know how that feels for sure being sick at WDW. I had a bad cold for 3 of the 10 days we were there last Sept as well. I hope you started feeling better the next day too.

That's good that you appologized to your DW for snapping at her. It's hard not to do something like that though when you feel pretty crappy yourself on top of having a sick kid.

You got some very great shots of Illuminations. I felt like I was right there watching it (minus the music and loudness )

Yes, she didn't have the best day there. I hope it doesn't ruin Epcot for her. And yes, the rest did her good and she was back up and around the next morning without issue.

Yeah, my sickies had been building for a couple of days and that day was the worst of it (thank goodness). I remember you being sick on your TR ...and specifically that you were sick at Epcot too At least both of us felt better before it was over, right?

I'm usually pretty good about owning up to it when I mess up, and she was just trying to be helpful and save trouble later. I usually want to be left alone when I'm sick, so being in the spotlight was a bit of a struggle that day.

Thank you about the illuminations shots ...yeah, minus the music, loudness, smoke, and crowds

 

[Leger13]

Yes, she didn't have the best day there. I hope it doesn't ruin Epcot for her. And yes, the rest did her good and she was back up and around the next morning without issue.

Yeah, my sickies had been building for a couple of days and that day was the worst of it (thank goodness). I remember you being sick on your TR ...and specifically that you were sick at Epcot too At least both of us felt better before it was over, right?

I'm usually pretty good about owning up to it when I mess up, and she was just trying to be helpful and save trouble later. I usually want to be left alone when I'm sick, so being in the spotlight was a bit of a struggle that day.

Thank you about the illuminations shots ...yeah, minus the music, loudness, smoke, and crowds

Yeah hopefully it won't ruin it for her. Epcot is one of the best parks (MK being #1 of course). Glad to hear she was up and about the next day

Yeah, we did both end up having our worst sick day at Epcot. Maybe it's something about that park . And right-o on the last statement!

I hear you on wanting to be left alone when you're sick. When you're the trip planner it's hard to do that.

You're welcome

 

[mnmrmustard]

Well after the turmoil of the day before we actually woke up reasonably refreshed. I snuck a quick shot of DD11 and MiL just starting to stir.

I was feeling better already from my cold, the moms were doing better, and most importantly Bean was up and was pretty energetic. Our destination today was Disney's Animal Kingdom specifically because my sister hadn't been there before. Of course none of us had either so score for us too!

We got ourselves together and had a quick breakfast at the resort before rolling out the door. It was going to be another day with me surrounded by the ladies with pop dropping off my mom and sis. We got there just before the 9am rope drop and right as we rolled into the parking lot we had a bathroom emergency with DD8.

DW and her jumped out and ran for the restroom while the rest of us parked and unpacked our stuff for the day. Just as they got to the entrance plaza the characters came out and Bean decided to postpone the bathroom long enough to say "hi" to them while DW snapped a couple of pics with her cell phone.

By the time we got there lines were forming up at the characters so we queued through them. Rafiki was cool

The tree made an appearance

And Baloo was a real kick

Finally we were through the gates...

...and headed straight for the stroller rental station. We had told the girls we would cart them around today to keep them from getting any more drained. It was cute seeing them both shoe-horn into a double stroller

We rolled down towards the Tree of life

And then made a quick pit stop at the big gift shop on the corner. I had forgotten my jacket that morning and since it was a bit on the cold side I took the opportunity to finally ...after 8 days ...actually buy something - lol. I picked up a cool dark blue hooded zip-up sweatshirt with a small Mickey laying on a 1971 logo on the front left side and a larger Walt Disney World logo with Mickey on the back. I've been sporting it ever since - hehehe.

I picked up an event schedule and Finding Nemo was going to start soon so we rolled in there and most of the fam got good seats towards the front, just to the right of the stage. Myself and my mom were up at the top of the theater so she could stay in her scooter. As usual I shot a "couple of pics" of the show ;-]

Back with more soon!

 

[mnmrmustard]

Yeah hopefully it won't ruin it for her. Epcot is one of the best parks (MK being #1 of course). Glad to hear she was up and about the next day

Yeah, we did both end up having our worst sick day at Epcot. Maybe it's something about that park . And right-o on the last statement!

I hear you on wanting to be left alone when you're sick. When you're the trip planner it's hard to do that.

You're welcome

I think she'll be ok and after hearing big sis talk about World Showcase she's wanting to see more. Yup, must have been the park - hehehe. Thank you on the right-o Luckily I recovered well and was back on my game for AK!

 

[mnmrmustard]

Back to the show!

Okay, I'll have to say that I went WAAAYYYY overboard on the Nemo pics ...it's one of my favorite Disney films.

 

[scottny]

gorgeous Nemo pics. positively gorgeous.

Glad she was feeling better.

I never knew the characters come out at opening. I must get there early.

 

[jordanyosh]

gorgeous Nemo pics. positively gorgeous.

He said it best.

It, too, is one of my favorite movies.....

 

[earthfaries]

Great updates!!! All the pictures are wonderful, I esp. love the Illumination pics and the one of SE on your way out

Sorry you guys were feeling yucky...there was definately stuff going around at WDW that week

Glad you guys were feeling better for your day at AK!!!

 

[mnmrmustard]

gorgeous Nemo pics. positively gorgeous.

Glad she was feeling better.

I never knew the characters come out at opening. I must get there early.

Thankyee - I saw the whole show through a viewfinder Yes, she made an amazing recovery. We were all feeling better.

Yeah, the character greet was a happy suprise for us too!

He said it best.

It, too, is one of my favorite movies.....

Thank you Jordan, and yes - it is a great film

Great updates!!! All the pictures are wonderful, I esp. love the Illumination pics and the one of SE on your way out

Sorry you guys were feeling yucky...there was definately stuff going around at WDW that week

Glad you guys were feeling better for your day at AK!!!

Thank you I love taking fireworks pictures - it is just such fun to catch those explosive moments!

Yeah, I was hoping we'd make it through the trip without any sickies, but we bounced back so we at least didn't keep going through it day after day while trying to have fun. Yay for quick recoveries