Itchin' For Some Fun...12/10/09 - 12/14/09...Finished 3/17

[praisehisname]

Sounds like you had a wonderful morning at MK.

We did! It totally exceeded our expectations!

Glad you could see the bright side of BTMRR breaking down, and I hope you got to go on it before your trip is over!

Yep! Stay tuned to find out more!

I'm so excited that you got to see the vehicles on Main st. I can't remember the last time I've seen anything go down while I'm there. How cool!

I was excited to see it, too! It would have been nice to ride on it!

 

[praisehisname]

I can't believe how much you accomplished!! The waits were so reasonable too!

I know! We were expecting much higher crowds, but it was great. It got more crowded as the party time drew closer, but I think most people had avoided the park because it was closing early for the party.

Aha! You took a chance on the DW Float.... I chickened out! There's just something about pineapple mixed with dairy... I know so many rave about it, but the green color would have put me off completely!

I tried one for the first time back in 2007 and was hooked! But the green definitely was strange...

 

[DisneyJo]

As were passing the rose garden, we saw a bunch of people gathered and walked over to the side of the bridge to see what was going on.

Penn (from Penn & Teller) was there with Stitch doing meet & greets!

We must have passed each other at some point. We saw Penn at the Rose Garden doing photos with Thumper, the CM in charge was my friend from Moms Panel training so we chatted with him for a while. I had also met PrincessV and her son, I wonder whether we're in any of each others photos

 

[praisehisname]

We must have passed each other at some point. We saw Penn at the Rose Garden doing photos with Thumper, the CM in charge was my friend from Moms Panel training so we chatted with him for a while. I had also met PrincessV and her son, I wonder whether we're in any of each others photos

That's so funny! We probably did walk right by each other!

Denise

 

[brookelizabeth]

I'm here now and all caught up! What a GREAT report!!! Gotta love those low crowds...

You really did a lot of "firsts" on this trip! I love that, always something new at Disney, isn't there?

Looking forward to more!

 

[praisehisname]

You really did a lot of "firsts" on this trip! I love that, always something new at Disney, isn't there?

We did, and yet we only scratched the surface of everything that's there. I'm looking forward to more "firsts" on our next trip!

 

[mickeysmyboy]

Yippeee! I think I'm all caught up now!

Where to start....

Don't worry about the Osborne Lights meltdown! We went last year on the last night and it was insanely crowded! There was only so much I could take! I started to have an anxiety attack!!! Too many people, too many people not looking where they were walking, too many people being pushy = a very anxious me!

I'm trying to figure out the best Osborne Lights touring plan for our trip in December!

I'm so, so sorry your rash was getting worse! That must have been reallly uncomfortable! I hope the expensive cream helped!

I love all your MK christmas decoration pictures!! So beautiful!

It sounds like you guys had a great morning in MK! Yea for the FP!!!

Can't wait to hear all about the party! I'm so excited to go in December and it's 10 months away!!!

 

[MickeyisBeast]

Great updates!
Love all the pics of the Christmas decorations
Sara

 

[MEK]

Great update. I probably missed more than one update, but at least I am semi caught up. I love all you were able to accomplish on your MK morning. Way to go. 3 mountains (almost 4), HM, and Buzz before lunch....way to go! I wish I could see your pics, but I will have to return later. I haven't been doing too much Dis'ing lately (and almost none at home), so I have gotten really behind.

Green dole whips????? Hmmmmmm....not so sure about that!

 

[praisehisname]

Can't wait to hear all about the party! I'm so excited to go in December and it's 10 months away!!!

We struggled so much to decide whether to go to the party or not, and I am SO THANKFUL we went! It was soooo worth it!!!

Love all the pics of the Christmas decorations

Thanks!

Green dole whips????? Hmmmmmm....not so sure about that!

It was really weird, but believe me, they tasted just as delicious as usual!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Well, I am SUPER late to this party, but I hope you'll let me join in anyway. It will take me forever to get caught up, but I'll just have to read it a little each day. Going back to get started now!

 

[khertz]

How awesome that you saw Penn! DH and I saw the Penn & Teller show when we were in Vegas. He had already been a fan, and that show turned me into one. We were even in MK that day, but on the other side of the park doing our KTTK tour. Never even knew he was there! Oh well. Just goes to show how being in the same park on the same day can give two people two very different experiences.

 

[disneyaddicted]

Alright I have to admit another blonde moment here, I read that you had recieved your white envelope of doom and automatically thought your TR was over, I feel ridiculous now, but anywho I just read your last update, you got alot done at MK that morning, I love the feeling of getting everything on oyur list crossed off, I feel like there is no pressure for the rest of the day.

I love the pictures you've been posting.

 

[praisehisname]

Well, I am SUPER late to this party, but I hope you'll let me join in anyway.

Absolutely! I'm honored that you're reading!

Just goes to show how being in the same park on the same day can give two people two very different experiences.

So true! And also another argument for continuing to go back year after year. There's just too much to see everything!

Alright I have to admit another blonde moment here, I read that you had recieved your white envelope of doom and automatically thought your TR was over

Shame on you! Just kidding! I'm glad you found me again!

 

[praisehisname]

When I left off, we were leaving Magic Kingdom to go take a nap. The time stamp on my next picture (which was taken at the Pop food court) says 12:43pm so we must not have waited very long for a bus. We decided to grab some lunch before we went back to the room. Tom wasn’t sure what he wanted, so we split up to look around. I saw the nachos and decided I wanted them, but they came with jalapenos (which I don’t like). I asked the CM behind the counter if I could get them without the jalapenos, and he very sweetly said, “You can get them any way you want, this is Disney!” When Tom saw my plate, he decided that’s what he wanted, too. They came with a small cup of salsa and a packet of sour cream. I got a cheesecake and chocolate milk, and Tom got a chocolate chip cookie and a Java Monster. It would have been $27.73, but we used 2 CS credits.



A closer look.



Oh. My. Gosh. Those nachos were so good! I make homemade nachos frequently at home, and these were right up there. Very delicious and filling; a great value for the CS credit.

After we ate, we gathered up our things and walked back to the room. We saw this on someone’s window.



As I was taking the picture, I felt little self-conscious. What if someone saw me, and didn’t realize there was a lizard there. That could be awkward!

We got back to the room and I know we were both asleep soon after. Tom has set his alarm for 3:30 so we could freshen up and be back to Magic Kingdom around 4:30pm. When the alarm went off, we had a hard time getting moving, but the lure of the party got us in gear! I forgot to mention it earlier that once you close the curtains in the room, it gets DARK in there. It was very easy to take naps mid-day.

We got to the bus stop and there was a loooooong line at the Magic Kingdom stop. However, there was no one in the Epcot line, and an Epcot bus was waiting. I told Tom we should just take that bus and then take the monorail over to Magic Kingdom. I had been wanting to do the monorail loop anyway, and this way I could. It was a good plan, in theory.

So we got to Epcot and then I realized you have to go through bag check before you can head up the ramp to the monorail. And there was a line at bag check. So we probably didn’t save any time, but at least I got to ride the monorail!





We got to Magic Kingdom and through bag check. They had all non-party guests entering to the left, and party guests entering to the right. There were several CMs standing there to hand out wristbands. We showed our party tickets, got our wristbands, and were able to keep the tickets as souveniers! The CMs had on special party costumes that were different that the ones they had on during the day.







In the above picture, did you notice the woman in the background with the white shorts/top and sun visor? She was randomly stopping guests and asking them if they wanted to take a short survey. Of course I said yes! Anything to increase my chances of getting a PIN in the future! She asked us our email, how many times we had been to WDW (including this trip), and if this was our first hard-ticket event. Then she said that a longer survey would be emailed to us. We ended up getting it a few days later.

We slowly made our way down Main Street, taking a few pictures and enjoying the fading light as the sun was getting ready to set.









I remembered that I had read on the DIS that there was a special pin available during MNNSHP, so we stopped into the Emporium to ask about a MVMCP pin. The CM we talked with was so helpful. She explained that all MVMCP merchandise would be brought out at 7:15pm and that only guests with a party wristband would be allowed to purchase anything. She also wanted us to know that ALL MVMCP products would be 50% off! Silly me thought there was only a pin available, but there was a lot more!

We left the Emporium and continued on. Our goal was to secure a spot in the hub for the Dream Lights show. We got there and found seats along the round flower bed right in the middle of the hub. It was an absolutely perfect view! While I sat and chatted with a family next to us, Tom walked around the hub taking pictures of the character statues.

























...continued in next post...

 

[praisehisname]

When he was done, we were both thirsty, so he then went and got us popcorn and sodas to hold us until dinner. The castle show (not the Dream Lights) had started, so I took a few pictures while I waited for Tom to get back. He didn’t take very long at all and was able to catch the last half of it. It was a very cute show and helped to pass the time while we waited for the REAL show!





































See the little girl with the ponytail standing up? She was the sweetest thing! Her parents had gone to ride some rides and she was waiting with her grandparents. She was so excited and was talking a mile a minute. Right after the show started (while Tom was still gone) she started coughing and before I knew it, she was leaning over the railing throwing up all over the poinsettias. Better that then the bench, though. I felt so bad for her. Her grandmother was scrambling trying to clean her up; thankfully it was just on her chin. I had a stack of napkins and gave them to her. Then the little girl was crying because her mouth tasted bad, so I asked the grandmother if I could offer her a piece of spearmint gum. She was very grateful. The little girl ended up throwing up two more times and finally they decided they should leave. I was so heartbroken for her.

I was really glad Tom was gone during all this. He has a very weak stomach and will start gagging if he even hears someone else throw up.

The sun was really setting now, and I took a few more pictures of the castle and of the increasing crowds.







...continued in next post...

 

[praisehisname]

At 5:45pm the Move It, Shake It parade started. I walked out to the edge of the hub to get some pictures. It was such an infectious parade, I couldn’t help but dance along (although I did feel a little self-conscious…).





































After the parade was over, it was really dark. Excitement was building, because we knew the lighting would happen soon!







Up next…the castle gets decorated…

 

[KathyRN137]

Ooooh! I can't wait!

That poor little girl... I've been there (we've all been there!) She must've been so disappointed... Good thing you were there to offer some assistance.

The power nap sounds like it was a great idea... I laughed when you talked about wondering what someone would think at you taking a picture of someone else's window!

I always forget to take pix of those character statues in the Hub! Next time I will have to do that...

You didn't mention the rash... hopefully you were doing better!

Don't keep us waiting too long... I want to see those lights!!


Kathy

 

[raider97]

Just started reading... I made it up to page 10. Hopefully, I'll be able tocatch up soon! I'm really enjoying your trip report!

 

[MHTeacher]

One of the best parts of traveling without your kids has to be taking a nap...(Now you folks with little kids are thinking "I nap when my kids nap"...BUT, when you have big kids --7, 13, 16--they don't nap!) Ahhhh, I love a nap!

Sounds like MVMCP is off to a good start. It doesn't look too crowded in your pictures, which by the way are beautiful!