"Is This A Ride"? Our Disney Honeymoon Adventure 5/16-5/24

[KatMark]

Great update, Kira. I cannot believe all the toads you and Josh saw.

Wow! That was some upset woman. I wonder what really riled her up. I still don't think a lot of people understand what the FastPasses are and do.

I can't wait to see the new castle show...I've heard such great things about it.

Your dinner at Teppan Edo looks wonderful.

 

[DisneyKira]

The rainforest looks ethereal, very cool.

Lol at the mating toads.

Thanks! I really like that picture, too. But I don't really know why. I took it and told dh that I really wanted to frame it .

Great update, Kira. I cannot believe all the toads you and Josh saw.

Wow! That was some upset woman. I wonder what really riled her up. I still don't think a lot of people understand what the FastPasses are and do.

I can't wait to see the new castle show...I've heard such great things about it.

Your dinner at Teppan Edo looks wonderful.

I wonder if it was the time of year for those toads or something. I had never seen one before this trip. We did see a lot of them!

I think the heat was the main cause of her crazies. It was like 96 degrees air temp, and the sidewalk made it feel like 105 (because the concrete just radiates heat). It was as bad (if not worse) than it was in September.

The castle show is really neat. You can't really see the photos that well (even if we were in them I wouldn't have noticed), but the effects on the castle are the real reason to watch. I know a lot of people want to see their photos on the castle (and that is why they watch), but honestly I think that a lot of the photos look the same. You could easily say, "I think that one's us" for most of the pictures. The effects on the castle are why I watched it two nights in a row.

Teppan Edo is always yummy. I have eaten there three times and it has been good every time .

 

[shocky5]

All caught up! I am definitely going to be on the lookout for all of the critters you are introducing to me. What we miss when we don't pay attention - my boys would love it!

I found a centipede last week at church camp - managed to catch it for a bit for my boys to look at... and safely release. They loved it and I hope they understand 'don't pick that up with bare hands.'

On past trips to WDW, I never understood the 'miserable guests.' I know I most certainly have bad days periodically, and most definitely the stress of family vacations, but my reality checks come within what you saw... enjoy the moments, ya know? WDW doesn't happen everyday, for sure.

 

[acejka]

I just wanted to say hi and that the photo looking up the trees in the forest is AMAZING! I want a copy for my wall its so amazing!

Just found your TR and read the whole thing (so far) in one sitting.

Your wedding photos are so pretty!

Can't wait for the next post!

 

[DisneyKira]

All caught up! I am definitely going to be on the lookout for all of the critters you are introducing to me. What we miss when we don't pay attention - my boys would love it!

I found a centipede last week at church camp - managed to catch it for a bit for my boys to look at... and safely release. They loved it and I hope they understand 'don't pick that up with bare hands.'

On past trips to WDW, I never understood the 'miserable guests.' I know I most certainly have bad days periodically, and most definitely the stress of family vacations, but my reality checks come within what you saw... enjoy the moments, ya know? WDW doesn't happen everyday, for sure.

Yeah. If they do end up picking up a toad (or any other amphibian) with their bare hands, it is a good idea for them to wash their hands before they eat, rub their eyes, etc. Most amphibians secrete toxins that taste nasty and can irritate eyes. Southern toads are pretty harmless. They won't make anyone sick (unless they lick the toad...eww), but they can definitely cause some stinging eyes if someone rubs them right after holding one.

I understand being a bit cranky on the trip. I jokingly call it an "adult tantrum" when my dh or I gets really cranky. But this one was a real tantrum

I just wanted to say hi and that the photo looking up the trees in the forest is AMAZING! I want a copy for my wall its so amazing!

Just found your TR and read the whole thing (so far) in one sitting.

Your wedding photos are so pretty!

Can't wait for the next post!

Thanks

 

[DisneyKira]

I am really sorry I haven't updated in awhile! DH keeps taking his laptop to work, and it has all of our HM pictures on it. Speaking of pictures, I exceeded the bandwidth for one of my photobucket accounts. I am going to fix all of those "bandwidth exceeded" pictures here pretty soon.

But in the meantime, here is a quick update of stuff currently going on.

Zoe is doing pretty well. She is catheterizing all by herself now! For those of you that don't read my mom's PTR, the first couple days of her catheterizing were pretty difficult (for all three of us).

Josh has been working like crazy lately because a bunch of people quit at his job. He worked for several weeks straight without a single day off (no weekends or weekdays off)...or any extra pay. But they are reworking his schedule again so hopefully everything will turn out better.

I am being moved to a MT am/pm schedule instead of a WThFS am schedule. I will still work every other sunday am. But I don't have to get up at 4 am 4 times a week anymore (just two times). Yay! I can finally be a night owl again . The only downside is that it sucks if I have to work any holidays because I have to work from 4am-8am, then 6pm-10pm on the same day. Halloween this year is on a Monday, but Christmas is on a Sunday (and thanksgiving is on a thursday, obviously). It does mean I get to do black friday, though (originally I would have worked from 4am-8).

And I finally got a new vacuum cleaner ! I have been stuck with this crappy little dirt devil since we first moved in last year. And the dang thing broke just before Christmas (the pine needles were really hard on it, I guess). It turns on, but it clogs two seconds after you start it up . So I finally broke down and bought a nice Bissell yesterday. It has this cool little lint bar on the front for pet hair (I specifically bought the pet kind. It sucks up so much fur)!

Anyway, that is it for now. I will post a HM update as soon as I get my hands on H's laptop.

 

[ronnmel]

Glad to know things are going well for your sister!

Hope your DH's work schedule gets better.

 

[DisneyKira]

Glad to know things are going well for your sister!

Hope your DH's work schedule gets better.

Thanks! Have fun on your Disneymoon! I am excited to hear all about it

 

[KatMark]

I wondered where you'd been and why you hadn't posted. I kept meaning to ask your mom, and then I'd forget.

I hope Josh's hours get straightened out soon, and I'm glad you are happy with your new hours (I would HATE getting up at 4 a.m.).

Congrats on the new vacuum. I never heard of one that was made with pets in mind; may have to look into that myself.

 

[tatar63]

Hi! I am new to your TR, I have really enjoyed it so far I will be watching for an update Monica

 

[DisneyKira]

Hi! I am new to your TR, I have really enjoyed it so far I will be watching for an update Monica

Welcome an thank you for reading! I will post an update here soon. Sorry I haven't posted in awhile, work has been a little crazy.

I wondered where you'd been and why you hadn't posted. I kept meaning to ask your mom, and then I'd forget.

I hope Josh's hours get straightened out soon, and I'm glad you are happy with your new hours (I would HATE getting up at 4 a.m.).

Congrats on the new vacuum. I never heard of one that was made with pets in mind; may have to look into that myself.

I LOVE my new vacuum. It is a work out to push it around (it is like 20 pounds heavier than my last vacuum), but it is a powerful thing. Besides, who doesn't like a little workout when they clean? Its good for me



I have an announcement to make: PHOTOBUCKET IS BACK! WOHOO! I finally have my pictures back!

So I will post an update as soon as I can get my husband to let me use his computer (his laptop has all of our honeymoon photos). But TTFN!

 

[DisneyKira]

Reptar (the terrestrial salamander) passed away a few days ago We think he just died of old age. We have no idea how old he was.

Yesterday we went to the pet store to buy some crickets and feeder fish for our other animals. When we were looking at the reptiles on our way out, we noticed a sign saying "large snake for adoption". It was right at closing so we weren't expecting to even be able to see the snake (it was already put away for the night). But the lady said if we were really interested, she would let us go in the back room and see her (her cage was huge, and they really wanted to get rid of it). So we decided to look. Well, we fell in love with the snake, and ended up taking her home with us. She is a 7-year-old, 4-foot-long sweetie pie (as sweet as a snake can be, anyway). Here are a few pictures:

Okay, now back to the TR. Now this day we went pretty far off of our ridemax schedule, so I have to base my story on my memories. Forgive me if I don't remember exact details

I believe we slept in because we had such a late night the day before. I hadn't used my QS from the day before, so I got breakfast at the riverside mill. It wasn't very good, and I don't have any pictures to show you. Sorry! While I was getting my food, Josh ran up to the room to grab his sun glasses and a gift card. I had just finished filling my cup with diet coke (I know...Diet Coke with breakfast is sooo awful for me!) when the couple from the Teppan Edo dinner spotted me. They teased me about my "better half" being MIA, the headed off in their own direction. They weren't as chatty this morning.

After breakfast we hopped on the bus to MK. But not before taking yet another picture of an animal.

When we arrived at MK, our first stop was Tom Sawyer's Island. Josh really loved it.

Here is a picture of Josh playing with the toy gun. He is such a big kid!

After we finished playing around the Island, we headed off to lunch. Josh got a burger from Pecos Bill and I went around the corner to grab a dole float. I had eaten most of the breakfast platter from the Riverside Mill, so I wasn't very hungry.

You can see my Dole Float in the background. Mmmm...Pineapple Soft Serve.

After that we went on some rides, including Haunted Mansion. I don't really remember the other rides we went on. It was about 93 degrees that day in the shade, so my brain got a little fried.

We planned on watching Dream Along with Mickey at this point, but it was way too hot. Instead, we headed towards the front of the park. It was nap time already! But before we left, we stopped to take a picture with Mickey and Minnie.

I love the new meet-and-greet area. I know a lot of people feel like it doesn't belong on Main Street, but I like it. I thought the "magic posters" were really neat.

After we went to see Minnie and Mickey, we headed back to the hotel. We slept and hung out in the A/C until it was time for our ADR at Tony's.

I know Tony's has received some bad reviews, but I like this place. It was probably my second favorite meal (Yak and Yeti being the first). We arrived at Tony's about 45 minutes before our ADR. It was pretty chaotic in there. When we checked in, I asked if they were accepting walk-ups, and the CM said yes (in a very "I hate it when we take walk-ups" kind of way). From my experience, the restaurants that accept walk-ups are always crazy. There are a lot of guests who still assume they can get a table in a Disney restaurant in less than thirty minutes with no ADR. I heard a lot of guests (obviously walk-ups) complain about how they had been waiting an hour for a table. I have even seen walk-ups scream at guests with ADRs when the ADR people get a table before them (that actually happened to us at Tony's a few years back)!

Anyway, they got us in about 15 minutes early (even though the place was crazy). When we got to our table, we were greeted by a little pixie dust! The CM had spread mickey confetti all over our table. She even gave us a little bag so that we could take it home with us!

Josh with a piece of confetti on his face!

We were seated on the porch. I love the windows!

I had every intention of getting a steak for dinner. But the waitress told me that the chef had made something very special off-menu. Lobster Ravioli. I was so disappointed by my ravioli at Coral Reef that I was hesitant to order another one. But the waitress said it was amazing. And a woman seated at the table beside us had just finished hers, and she swore it was the best thing she had eaten at Disney. So I decided to order it. I was not disappointed! It was sooo good! Unlike the ravioli at Coral, this pasta tasted very homemade. The cream sauce wasn't as rich. Plus, it was topped with arugula, which helped cut back on the richness even more. I mopped up almost all of the extra sauce with the salad. Mmmm! Seriously, if this shows up on the menu, you have to try it. It is truly something special. Here are some pictures.

Bread

Josh's steak.

My lobster ravioli. I felt kind of special eating something off-menu.

Josh's ice cream bomb.

My lemon cake.

(continued in next post)

 

[swwake]

Snakes don't exactly scare me, but I'm not sure if I could live with one in the house. I admire you for that!

Josh is so cute that he's such a big kid at heart.

I LOVE Dole whips - love Dole whip floats even more!

Sounds like you had a great Tony's experience. I'd love to try that lobster ravioli. I'm glad it made up for your Coral Reef experience.

 

[DisneyKira]

So dinner was amazing. If anyone is wondering what that red cup is in the background of some of the Tony pictures...it is filled with water. I forgot to mention that we were both pretty dehydrated when we sat down for our ADR (it was HOT). I asked the greeter if it was possible to get a cup of water while we waited (I think I started by saying something like "I know your really busy and I hate to ask..."). He was very nice and got us two cups of water very quickly. I think Disney does a pretty good job of making it easy to get water in the parks. You can get free, cold, filtered water at every TS location and any QS location with a soda fountain.

So after our dinner, we had a little time to wander before the MSEP. We headed towards Tomorrowland to ride the people mover. On the way, Josh and I decided to take some duck pictures. They were on the other side of the railing, so we had a good, healthy distance between us. Well, one of the ducks decided that he thought we had some food. So he waddled over to us. Josh took a million pictures of him. But here is the last one we took.

The duck decided that he would not accept that we didn't have food to give him. This picture was taken just seconds before the mallard decided that a piece of camera strap hanging from Josh's fingers would make a good snack. You can kind of see that "Oooh! Food!" look on the duck's face in this picture.

I caught that look on the duck's face just a fraction of a second before he lunged forward. I had enough time to yell, "Josh!" before the duck's beak went for Josh's hand. Fortunately, Josh was paying attention too. He leaned backwards in time, and the duck only got a little piece of the strap in his mouth (as opposed to Josh's fingers, which would have been bitten if we weren't paying attention).

A CM behind us laughed and said, "I think the duck is more entertained by you than you are entertained by the duck". Now, I had seen CMs yell at kids for feeding the ducks, so my first reaction was "We weren't trying to feed the duck, I swear! He came over to us and tried to eat our camera!" The CM just continued to laugh and Josh started talking to him about how he was a biologist, how we loved animals, etc. After that, we headed to the people mover. We went on a few rides before we sat down to watch the MSEP.

A picture of a pig frog. Because I can't post a TR update without a million pictures of the local wildlife.

And tadpoles in the moat around Cinderella's castle.

The family we sat down next to was very nice. The family (mom and dad) had two children. A 15-year-old daughter and a younger son (I think he had just turned 7). Both were wearing birthday buttons. The mom told us that the children were born a few weeks apart, so they always went to Disney World in between them to celebrate. The little boy had blue gel and mickey confetti in his hair, and the girl had pink extensions. They had obviously been to the Boutique. We chatted about Disney stuff (like the DDP) until the parade started. When we parted, the mom said goodbye and wished us many healthy babies "if that was what we wanted" She was so nice! Here are some parade pictures that Josh took.

One of my favorite floats!

When the Alice float came by, Alice leaned towards us and said, "Oh there you are, Perry!" It took me a second to realize that she was talking to us! Josh was wearing a Perry shirt. He had received a lot of attention for his shirt that day, but he said that the attention from Alice made him feel really special.

After MSEP, we watched the fireworks and the Memories castle show again. Then we went crazy and went on Thunder Mountain like ten times in a row (no line). After we were done with that, Josh said he really wanted to go on Splash Mountain. I agreed. It was one of his favorite rides, after all. The problem? Unlike the last time we went on Splash Mountain, I didn't want to get wet.

So of course, we got soaked. Not "ooh my butt is wet" or even "my shirt won't dry for an hour" wet. No. It was "I just took a shower with my clothes on and then jumped in a lake wearing my clothes for good measure" wet. I was soaked down to my underwear. My hair was dripping. And I Was. Not. Happy. Oh boy, was I cranky. My shorts were chafing like no other, and I was cold.

The funny thing was that we actually didn't get wet in the usual spot (when you first hit the water with the big drop). They had filled our log with adults (two big guys in the back) and so our log was very heavy. When we hit the water, we sunk down and went through the water. If you push a toy boat down into the water and then forward, it parts the water. Well, then the water comes back. It was funny because we hit the water and leveled out, and we were all relatively dry. You know that part that you open your eyes at (if you closed them during the drop. I don't), when you feel "safe"? Well, we were greeted by a huge WALL OF WATER. It took us a minute of watching the other boats after we got off the ride to figure out what had really happened, because it was just so dang confusing when we were on it.

Anyway, I went in the bathroom after the ride to wring out my clothes. Yes, all of my clothes were that wet. Then we decided to head back to the hotel to change. Well, the MSEP was having a second showing. And we were trapped. Again, I was not a happy person. We waited for a bit and a CM finally let us through to the other side during a break in the parade.

I was pretty cranky the entire way to the hotel. But when we got to the room, we were greeted by another gecko (hanging out right above our door). We took a few pictures, and then I headed inside to change. When I came back out, my dh was holding the gecko! I was so excited! I love holding geckos. Their sticky feet feel so cool! So he let me hold the gecko, and I wasn't cranky anymore.

Here is a picture of happy me holding a gecko.

Josh was clever and used his hat to catch the little guy.

We returned to MK (it was open until 2am that night). I was hungry again, so we went to Casey's to use up my QS for the day. I got a "Chicago" hot dog (I put it in quotations because it is Disney's version of a Chicago dog). It was good. It wasn't really authentic, but I didn't expect it to be (plus, I am from Washington State so I am not really picky about such things). Here is a picture:

After we were done with the Chicago dog, we went on the tea cups a few times. Then we rode on Winnie the Pooh and Snow White. We finished up the night by going on Space Mountain a few times.

And that was it for our second-to-last day. We left MK for the last time, and headed back to the hotel.

 

[shocky5]

Great update!!!

Love all of the pictures! And I'm with you on not wanting to get wet on rides and then be in those clothes for any amount of time. My family makes fun of me for taking great measures to stay as dry as possible...

 

[DisneyKira]

Snakes don't exactly scare me, but I'm not sure if I could live with one in the house. I admire you for that!

Oh, I love snakes. I love how they feel. Their scales are so smooth. And it is so cool to feel all of that muscle!

Josh is so cute that he's such a big kid at heart.

I LOVE Dole whips - love Dole whip floats even more!
Oh. I guess that is a Dole Float. I'll fix that.

Sounds like you had a great Tony's experience. I'd love to try that lobster ravioli. I'm glad it made up for your Coral Reef experience.

I hope that they put the ravioli on the menu. It was so good!

 

[DisneyKira]

Great update!!!

Love all of the pictures! And I'm with you on not wanting to get wet on rides and then be in those clothes for any amount of time. My family makes fun of me for taking great measures to stay as dry as possible...

Thanks . I am fine getting a little wet if it is hot outside. But this was like "make your fingers pruny" wet. That is never fun, IMO

 

[annmarieda]

Snakes don't exactly scare me, but I'm not sure if I could live with one in the house. I admire you for that!

I am with you. I just am not a huge fan. Not scared... just really wouldn't want one as a pet. Kira and Josh crack me up with their menagerie of animals.

 

[SarahDreamsInDisney]

Yay congratulations on your marriage and Disneymoon! I can't wait to read more about it...

 

[DisneyKira]

We started the day by getting up bright and early. It was EMH at Animal Kingdom, and the park opened at 8 am. Because we were getting in during EMH, we did not get to see rope drop. We also missed it on our first AK day because we got into the park early.

So when the park opened, we made a beeline for my favorite ride: Everest! We went on it several times and grabbed a few FPs for later before heading over to Its Tough to Be a Bug. While we were walking along the path to get to the show, I took this picture.

I don't know why I like it so much...It is just a picture of a duck.

Anyway, I warned Josh before we went to the show that it is one of the most terrifying rides at Disney...for little kids. Almost every time I see it, some poor child loses her mind and starts screaming bloody murder. I don't blame them...that show must be terrifying to kids (it freaked me out when I was younger). Especially in a park where children are encouraged to believe everything is real...Giant spiders dropping down from the ceiling would freak out any little one. And the parents usually don't take their kid out. They just let their poor baby scream and cry and feel like they are about to be eaten by spiders. Seriously...I really think Disney should warn parents about the intensity of the show (I know the sign says it "may" be too much for little ones, but I think they need more).

This time wasn't much different. There were several children in the audience that were very upset by the show. One girl sounded like she was trying to keep it together (she was sitting right next to us, whimpering, poor thing!), but when the spiders dropped down she started screaming like she was lit on fire. Thankfully, the parents took her out. But there were a few small kids in the back that cried through the entire show.

Despite all the crying, Josh enjoyed the show. I think he was able to enjoy it more because I gave him a lot of warning about the crying kids before we went in. So if you have never seen Its Tough To Be A Bug, consider this fair warning .

After ITTBAB, we walked over to Dinoland and walked right on the Dinosaur ride. Josh really like the ride, but he kind of missed the punchline. When we saw our ride photo, I couldn't stop laughing. Everyone was looking at the T-rex...except for Josh! He was looking in the opposite direction! It was really funny because we had a full car of people, and Josh was the only one looking the wrong way. Also, there is nothing in the opposite direction. What was he looking at? Darkness? So we went on the ride one more time. We were tempted to play some of the games, but we decided against it. Instead, we went to get Josh some lunch.

Josh got a burger and a cheesecake cup at Restaurantasaurus. I ate his dessert and shared his fries with him. I wasn't really hungry.

After lunch we saw some animals outside the restaurant. Here are some pictures:

I love this picture.

We headed over to africa, got a FP for the safari ride, and then went to see Festival of the Lion King. The Lion King is my favorite Disney move (Josh's too), so I love this show.

After that, we went to see the Finding Nemo show (also one of my favorites). We got a really good seat. Then we went on EE again (last time), followed by the safari ride. Here are pictures:

If you look really closely, you can see a native Florida Soft-shelled turtle in the water. Do you see him?

(continued in next post)