It’s Not Christmas Till We Visit The Mouse! Dec. 2006

[Disneyland_Mama]

But I made up for the wait with an extra-long post!

Yes, yes, you did!

But first..... BOOO YAAAA!! I'm first!! Whoo hoo!!


Ok... I love, love the Everest: Beyond the Limit! I got all teary eyed in the last episode. Yes, I am a dork.

Love the pic of you and Leo on Dumbosauras. But look at the woman behind you.... now that's classic. She has the "Where am I" Disney daze!

I can't believe MEANLOUD woman! Now, if that happened to me, I would have gotten ALL g-h-e-t-t-o on her! So proud of you, V, for keeping your cool. Poor Leo... got scared of the Meanloud Yeti-woman!

Yup... Karma is a wonderful thing!

 

[aldisneygrl]

LOVED EVEREST!! So did my DS and DD! You had to look really quick to catch a glimpse of the huge YETI!


Love your pictures of the hippos. I just think they are so cool under the water, just chillin' out. Ok, maybe I'm weird, but I think its cool!


I with DMAMA on this one about Dumbosaurus woman! I thought the same thing.

Isn't it amazing what a little mac n' chz can do for a little guy?

I don't know what gets into people when they get to DW and they think they can be as mean as they want to, just because they are on vacation. I hope it didn't scar little Leo too much. You give him a big AL hug for me and a kiss too!

I hate that we missed the Lion King show. That looks really cool. Our waiter at Chef Mickey's told us that it was a must see, but since it took us forever to get out of CM's we ran short on time for AK that day, so we missed it.


So glad you got to see another DISer! I didn't see any in October.

Ok, I drank 32 of my 64 oz of water (DISappearing peeps would be proud.) and I got to go potty!

 

[aldisneygrl]

One more thing....What is that picture of in your avatar? What happened to Jim?

 

[lexmelinda]

That’s it – no more food court breakfasts for us EVER AGAIN!

Smart move! Pop tarts and doughnuts in the room are our policy. No time to waste!

I’d received some last minute advice from lexmelinda regarding bus transport from POR to the Animal Kingdom. DON’T DO IT. And we didn’t!

Yay! I helped someone! Glad you drove, especially since you were headed to Boma after.

AAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
That was me and the 6 year old in front of me. Laugh-screaming our way through the Himalayas.

Love your laugh-scream and loved that you loved Everest. Did ya see the Yeti Man?

Leo: “Just like Gramma!”

I love that kid!

I won’t spend a lot of time on this, but let me just say: it was gooooo oooood! We just love the salmon plate there.

My favorite CS meal....salmon & green beans. Good to the last drop.

Sometimes, the 4 year old doesn’t know best.

I know what you mean. That's James when he's tired. On the "what else we should know about your child" question at school this year, I simply wrote "mean when tired". But it's so funny that they don't even realize what makes them grumpy.

Seriously, this is Disney at its best. The costuming is beautiful, the choreography top-notch and the vocalists superb. I’m so glad we finally made it, despite the “opening act” in the bleachers.

I totally agree! Can't believe you haven't seen this before. It is truly one of my favorite things in all of Disney World.

Leo: “MOOMMMY – Mickey. Does. Not. Talk.”

So, so cute. I showed Mimi his picture on your TR the other day and he got a great big.....AAAWWWWWWW! He's SOOOO cute!

Great installment, V....I need some info on Boma. Is it really as good as everyone says???

 

[pbnjrockette]

Day 3, Saturday, December 2

As we were walking down the main drag, someone tapped my shoulder, and when I turned around, she flashed her LGMH – it was non other than pbnjrockette!!! She and I “met” on the “When you see other Dissers in the parks…” thread, (AKA the Fockers), and had PM’d a few times about trying to meet up during our Dec. trips. How funny that she should find me randomly, after all! We only chatted a few minutes, as she and her DH were lined up to see the parade, and I mentioned that were heading over to Boma for dinner. Guess what? The pbnjrockette’s had ADR’s for Boma that night, too, only 10 minutes later than ours! So we promised to look out for each other at the restaurant and went our separate ways.

Hi there PrincessV!!

Just logged on after being AWOL forever...RL is such a drag! My heart is still in Disney and my body does not want to be home doing mundane things (like cooking and cleaning! but at least the shopping, wrapping, packing, traveling stuff is done for awhile!!) I have been "thinking" about my trip report but haven't attempted it yet. Can't wait until the next installment of your report since it includes our dinner at BOMA (I have to have that carrot soup again!) and of course our chat at the Poly with Lorilee!

Will try to catch up soon!

 

[Lauralee131]

YOOOO HOOOOOO!!!! HERE I am!!! Miss me? I must've fallen asleep waiting...there's a big pile of drool where my face was....hmmmm...must have been waiting A WHILE, huh???

What a NICE surprise!! I got on to post another "Here I am - Still Waiting" and low and behold....THERE YOU WERE!!! And of course, as usual DMama beat me to it. Ok, a few others beat me to it! The one afternoon I shut my machine down early!!

Day 3, Saturday, December 2
We awoke from our post-Magic Kingdom-induced slumber and, again, enjoyed an in-room breakfast of cereal, coffee and milk.

That’s it – no more food court breakfasts for us EVER AGAIN! I can’t believe it took me this long to figure it out. I think we easily saved a total of 7 precious hours of touring time with this little method, not to mention the cost savings. And, the best part…

That's the way to do it!! Totally agree with you on that one. Hmmmm...now if I can only figure out how to make Mickey waffles with my iron and ironing board in the room....

No starting the day off with Disney Food Bloat!

Much like the way I'm starting off 2007!

It was kind of invigorating and exciting to wait all by my lonesome. I was going for a solo ascent, and I took my time mentally preparing for the challenge ahead of me, as I looked at the artifacts along the way. (I may or may not have tried to swipe some crampons off the ceiling.) In no time at all, I was seated next to a mom whose son and DH were in front of us. It was their first time, too, and I could tell mom was a little worried about her boy. He was 6 and thought he was ready for the big rides. She wasn’t so sure.

I was a little worried, too. Because everyone around me lacked the proper equipment for this expedition. No oxygen. No parkas. No ice picks. No protein bars. But the rule of Everest is take care of yourself and leave the weak behind, and it was too late, ‘cause we were on our way, baby!

AAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

That was me and the 6 year old in front of me. Laugh-screaming our way through the Himalayas.

Was there a Yeti in that mountain?? I don’t recall. I was too busy congratulating myself on my first successful summit bid and taking in the breathtaking view from the top. It feels just like the real thing up there.

If you squint real hard and hyperventilate to the point of oxygen deprivation, that is.

Wooo Hoooo!!!! You did it!! I rode by myself (twice!) as well...it adds a bit of something...fear, excitement...something to the ride, I think, when you're going by yourself for the first time. It was AWESOME!!! Can't wait to go on that bad boy again!!

Our FP’s were ripe and ready for use, so off we went for our authentic(ish) African safari. You all know the spiel by now; I won’t bore you with yet another rendition of Little’s Red’s Fight for Survival. But there was lots to see and I did manage to snap a few shots on our little adventure…

We did also see the lions, but, as I explained to Leo, they were napping and we couldn’t see very much of them. I further explained that lions sleep a LOT, like most of the day.
Leo: “Just like Gramma!”

Leo just cracks me up!!! That was sooo cute! And again, great pictures V...I may have to look into buying one of those cameras. Or bring you along on my next trip so you can take pictures for me!

Anyway, the only bad part of lunch was Leo’s attitude. He was clearly tired and hungry, but insisted he didn’t “waaana eat”. I got him some mac&cheese anyway and we found a nice quiet table outside. Turned out he was hungry and his mood improved appreciably after a few bites. Sometimes, the 4 year old doesn’t know best.

Way to save the day there! It could have gotten UGLY without food! Michael's the same way...gives me chills just thinking about it!

In all of our many, many WDW trips, not one of us has ever seen Festival of the Lion King. In fact, I’d never even set foot in that part of the park before. I’d heard how good it was, but somehow, we just never got around to it. Well, this was the day, my friends!

Ooooh.... We looooooooved that show!! Good for you! I can't wait to see it again...we missed it this trip...

We had just enough time for a potty break and entered the theater about 10 minutes before show time. It was kind of hard to see at first, coming into the theater from the sunny outdoors, and we just headed toward the first CM we saw, who was waving people over toward the seating on our left. I didn’t see any open seats in the risers there, but there were a bunch of empty spaces next to those reserved for those traveling with wheelchair-bound guests and we sat down. After we’d gotten somewhat settled, a man behind me leaned forward and said we were in the seats reserved for handicapped parties, then leaned back and went about his own business. I looked again, just to be sure we were NOT, in fact, in any spaces marked as such, and said, quietly, to Gramma that the spaces next to us were reserved, but not where we were. The wheelchairs are seated next the ends of the benches, and about 4 spaces are reserved at the end for members of those parties. We were well past those.

Then, all heck broke loose.

The woman accompanying the man behind us stood up and LOUDLY began a tirade about how those seats are “reserved for people in wheelchairs to sit” and we would be kicked out anyway, and THEY were just trying to be helpful, but “oh no, do whatever you want, you’ll see!” By the end, she was shouting and the entire area behind us was looking on in amazement. I’d like to say her kids and DH were appropriately moritifed, but I don’t think they were; they were scowling at us like we were pond-scum.

Leo, meanwhile, was freaked out and begging me with those big eyes to fix it. So, I stood up and said, “Let’s just move.”

Meanloud woman couldn’t let it go, though, and continued with “No, no stay! Wait for a CM to tell you to move!” I just looked her in the eye and said something to the effect of “You can stop with the shouting now. We don’t even want to sit here,” and we made our way over to another CM, who led us to some seats with a waaaaay better view. While another CM proceeded to direct a few late guests….. into the seats we vacated. And none of them were in wheelchairs.

Karma, baby. heh heh.

Oh, and our group made a fine bunch of warthogs, whereas mean woman’s group made a lousy bunch of giraffes. More karma.

Once I got past the blinding rage this idiot had brought about in my psyche, I really, really enjoyed the show. Leo LOVED it.
LOVED.
IT.

Afterward, he announced that he’d like to be an acrobatic monkey when he grows up.

Seriously, this is Disney at its best. The costuming is beautiful, the choreography top-notch and the vocalists superb. I’m so glad we finally made it, despite the “opening act” in the bleachers.

Michael spent the rest of our trip last time singing Hakuna Matata...too cute. Glad to hear Leo loved it too! Oh and just in case you were curious...I checked and it wasn't MY Cruella in the bleachers there - she was in Atlantic City...and So-And-So was up North too...can there be MORE of them out there?!?!? Ahhhh...Karma. Love it!!

OMG - he's so cute I could bite him! Love the crocs too!!

As we were walking down the main drag, someone tapped my shoulder, and when I turned around, she flashed her LGMH – it was non other than pbnjrockette!!! She and I “met” on the “When you see other Dissers in the parks…” thread, (AKA the Fockers), and had PM’d a few times about trying to meet up during our Dec. trips. How funny that she should find me randomly, after all! We only chatted a few minutes, as she and her DH were lined up to see the parade, and I mentioned that were heading over to Boma for dinner. Guess what? The pbnjrockette’s had ADR’s for Boma that night, too, only 10 minutes later than ours! So we promised to look out for each other at the restaurant and went our separate ways.

Up next: Mmmmmm…. Zebra domes

YAY!!! pbnjrockette!!!! How fun! Can't wait to hear about dinner...and Mmmmmm....Zebra domes....I wish you could order them and have them delivered to your house. What a party in your mouth those things are!!

Sorry to hear you had to miss the parade though. It was cute. Ah well....have to go back again I guess!!

Well my friend...it's nice to see that you're back!! Thanks for another great installment!! Can't wait for more!!!

Done yet???

 

[monymony3471]

V glad you experienced Lion King. It is a fabulous show! Much better in Dec cause it's very hot in there in the hotter months and you are shoulder to shoulder with sticky people.

Leo is just the cutest! Little big man! I just want to squeese those cheeks!

Well done!

 

[sharkB8HooHaHa]

AAaahhh, the 4 year old sans food. I've been living with little bite 3 doing the "I'm going to fast unless it's junk" thing for about 2 weeks now. We call him "dizzy-hungry-hulk" ~ a tribute to My Name is Earl. He gets so incredibly cranky, but refuses to eat anything remotely healthy. Needless to say, I packed up the candy and half the Christmas cookies and sent them back to NY with company. I froze the rest of the cookies and now he gets rations. Mean mommy.

Don't you just LOVE Festival of the Lion King?!?!?!? But Everest? I am, and will forever be, too whimpy.

 

[PrincessV]

Ok... I love, love the Everest: Beyond the Limit! I got all teary eyed in the last episode. Yes, I am a dork.

YEAH, I'm not alone in my fervor! Wasn't it the best? And am I a truly awful person for expecting something awful to have befallen Tim when he refused to turn back?!

Love the pic of you and Leo on Dumbosauras. But look at the woman behind you.... now that's classic. She has the "Where am I" Disney daze!

You crack me up, DM! This is, what, the second or third pic of mine you've caught something strange in my background? I never see this stuff till someone else points it out!

I can't believe MEANLOUD woman! Now, if that happened to me, I would have gotten ALL g-h-e-t-t-o on her! So proud of you, V, for keeping your cool.

Believe you me, I WAS ALL g-h-e-t-t-o internally - I think I was too upset to even say anything coherent at the time. I came up with LOTS more to say later on

Love your pictures of the hippos. I just think they are so cool under the water, just chillin' out. Ok, maybe I'm weird, but I think its cool!

Me too! One of my favorite things at Busch Gardens in Tampa is the underwater Hippo viewing area.

I don't know what gets into people when they get to DW and they think they can be as mean as they want to, just because they are on vacation.

I think what got to me the most was that someone felt it her business to reprimand us in the first place. I did appreciate the gesture of trying to let us know so we wouldn't be upset if we were told to move by a CM. But, since we chose not to follow their advice, why couldn't they (she) just let it go and think "Oh well, we tried."?? I don't get it either.

I hate that we missed the Lion King show. That looks really cool. Our waiter at Chef Mickey's told us that it was a must see, but since it took us forever to get out of CM's we ran short on time for AK that day, so we missed it.

Looks like you'll just have to plan another trip soon!

Yay! I helped someone! Glad you drove, especially since you were headed to Boma after.

I need some info on Boma. Is it really as good as everyone says???

Yes ma'am - there will be more on Boma to come, but taking the car was a choice move. Thanks again Melinda!

Love your laugh-scream and loved that you loved Everest. Did ya see the Yeti Man?

Sure didn't, and I was surprised, given how many DISers have seen him.

 

[PrincessV]

Hi there PrincessV!!

Just logged on after being AWOL forever...RL is such a drag! My heart is still in Disney and my body does not want to be home doing mundane things (like cooking and cleaning! but at least the shopping, wrapping, packing, traveling stuff is done for awhile!!) I have been "thinking" about my trip report but haven't attempted it yet. Can't wait until the next installment of your report since it includes our dinner at BOMA (I have to have that carrot soup again!) and of course our chat at the Poly with Lorilee!

Will try to catch up soon!

YAY pbnj!!!!! It's so good to "hear" form you!

I know what you mean - between Post-Disney-Depression, Holiday-itus, and my Pre-Birthday-Funk that is January, I just can't seem to get up and perky. Writing the TR has helped some; I highly recommend some TR therapy!

That's right, folks, there's much more to come including this lovely lady!

 

[PrincessV]

What a NICE surprise!! I got on to post another "Here I am - Still Waiting" and low and behold....THERE YOU WERE!!! And of course, as usual DMama beat me to it. Ok, a few others beat me to it! The one afternoon I shut my machine down early!!

Well, now, THAT'll teach you, won't it?!

That's the way to do it!! Totally agree with you on that one. Hmmmm...now if I can only figure out how to make Mickey waffles with my iron and ironing board in the room....

No joke - when Leo was a baby, we smuggled a toaster into a hotel to make his waffles to gnaw on.

Wooo Hoooo!!!! You did it!! I rode by myself (twice!) as well...it adds a bit of something...fear, excitement...something to the ride, I think, when you're going by yourself for the first time. It was AWESOME!!! Can't wait to go on that bad boy again!!

It was fun, wasn't it?! I always forget how fun coasters are solo until I'm forced to ride alone.

And again, great pictures V...I may have to look into buying one of those cameras.

Really, I love, love, love my camera! (It's a Canon Digital Rebel XT) I used a Nikon F, totally manual 35mm for ever and swore I'd never go digital, but this baby rocked my world. I love that I can turn all the functions off and set everythign manually OR pop it into automatic so I can just snap away and enjoy my vacation.

Or bring you along on my next trip so you can take pictures for me!

Oh and just in case you were curious...I checked and it wasn't MY Cruella in the bleachers there - she was in Atlantic City...and So-And-So was up North too...can there be MORE of them out there?!?!? Ahhhh...Karma. Love it!!

I did wonder.... I don't know if I'm relieved or even more disturbed that it was someone else!

 

[PrincessV]

V glad you experienced Lion King. It is a fabulous show! Much better in Dec cause it's very hot in there in the hotter months and you are shoulder to shoulder with sticky people.

Leo is just the cutest! Little big man! I just want to squeese those cheeks!

Well done!

Thanks mony!! I never thought about it, but yeah - it was warm in the theater in Dec. I can't even imagine it in August!

AAaahhh, the 4 year old sans food. I've been living with little bite 3 doing the "I'm going to fast unless it's junk" thing for about 2 weeks now. We call him "dizzy-hungry-hulk" ~ a tribute to My Name is Earl. He gets so incredibly cranky, but refuses to eat anything remotely healthy. Needless to say, I packed up the candy and half the Christmas cookies and sent them back to NY with company. I froze the rest of the cookies and now he gets rations. Mean mommy.

Don't you just LOVE Festival of the Lion King?!?!?!? But Everest? I am, and will forever be, too whimpy.

Honestly, I think EE was a lot more intimidating from the ground. Admittedly, I'm a coaster-holic, but there just wasn't that familiar ricocheting around teh tracks feeling, what with the stops and retracing of tracks. Maybe someday!

Know who's been put on rationing in my house? GRAMMA!! Leo pointed to the empty plate where once there was a pile of brownies and said "Gramma ate a LOT of cake."

 

[PrincessV]

One more thing....What is that picture of in your avatar? What happened to Jim?

It's a shot of the prayer flags along the Jungle Trek in AK. Jim's still around, but I was in the mood for a change!

 

[Madsofa]

late joining, but love the TR and all the posts along with it! We will be there in March, staying at POR, everytime I read a TR, I want to fast forward to the future!

 

[DisneyJo]

Hello Fockers!
I normally shy away from soliciting my trip report, (yeah, right! who am I fooling?!), but thought I'd share this: I just reported my first Focker sighting! It's on pg. 16, and here's the link: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1246233

I keep scanning the TR pages for Focker trip reports, but I have a hard time remembering names, so let us know if you've got one going!

You told me to check your TR out and I always obey So here I am and it worked as I've only read the last 2 pages but now need to read it all! I'm trying to wean myself off the DIS but it doesn't seem to be working

 

[Lauralee131]

I'm getting a headache from trying to mentally contact you to post some more already!!!

 

[pbnjrockette]

my Pre-Birthday-Funk that is January

And when is this birthday?? Another January babe! For the record mine is tomorrow---Jan 5!!

 

[Lauralee131]

And when is this birthday?? Another January babe! For the record mine is tomorrow---Jan 5!!

YAY!!! Another January babe!!! Happy Birthday!!!!

I hope it's magical for you!!!!!

 

[PrincessV]

late joining, but love the TR and all the posts along with it! We will be there in March, staying at POR, everytime I read a TR, I want to fast forward to the future!

Hi Madsofa and welcome!! You're gonna LOVE POR, trust me - it's really the best stay I've had at WDW, tied with the WL.

You told me to check your TR out and I always obey So here I am and it worked as I've only read the last 2 pages but now need to read it all! I'm trying to wean myself off the DIS but it doesn't seem to be working

Hey DisneyJo! Thanks so much for coming over for a look; I've heard others say it, and it's so true: writing a TR is so much more fun with lots of audience participation!
Oh no, forget weaning off the DIS once you've entered the TR section. We're all enablers here!

 

[PrincessV]

And when is this birthday?? Another January babe! For the record mine is tomorrow---Jan 5!!

Happy, happy birthday,
On this, your special day.
Happy, hapy birthday,
Is what we're here to say, hey!
Happy, happy birthday,
May all your dreams come true.
Happy, happy birthday,
From this TR to you, hey!

Mine's Jan. 26. Seriously, what are the odds that we'd all three have Jan. Bdays?? It was meant to be!