Jersey Week 2006 - Days 1-8

[Big V]

I have a funny story about how we met AngieBelle but I'm not sure if it is okay to tell. Let's just say she was onstage and on the job at the time.

I'd like to hear that one!

 

[OhMari]

Thanks for the ideas for the lime green mickey heads.

 

[disneysteve]

Jersey Week 2006 - Day 6, Non-park day

Took a break from the parks today. Slept in which was nice. Then headed out for some shopping. Started at Orlando Premium Outlets for the Disney outlet store. Picked up a few shirts, ties and notecards. Had lunch at the food court there.

From there, went to DTD for some more shopping and browsing.

Went back to the house and went in the pool for a while. Showered and dressed and went out for dinner. I have often read about Cici's pizza, so we took a ride over there. But after looking around, none of us was thrilled with the place. I was under the impression that they had more of a selection. Their website implies that they have a full salad bar with toppings, but they don't. So instead we went right next door to Olive Garden and had a nice quiet meal.

After dinner, we stopped back at the house. MIL and DD stayed there and DW and I went out for a while on our own, which was a nice break. We drove over and parked at Polynesian and rode the monorail to Contemporary where we watched MK fireworks from the balcony. Then we browsed the shops there before riding back to Poly. Poly totally remodeled the lobby. There is now a Wyland gallery where News from Civilization used to be and there is a large gift/boutique shop that didn't exist before.

 

[disneysteve]

Jersey Week 2006 - Day 7, MK

We went back to MK today. We had planned to meet up with our friend, George Reiger, the Disney tattoo guy, for some VIP stuff and backstage stuff. I had also scheduled a DIS meet for this afternoon in Adventureland.

After doing several attractions, I heard from George and he ended up having to go to another park to do an interview. So we just proceeded through the park, catching some things we had missed a few days ago. We also rode POC again and the sound was definitely better this time around.

We lunched at Cosmic Ray's again (as usual). The DIS meet was called for 1:30 by the Dole Whip stand, so we headed over there and enjoyed Dole Whips while waiting to see if anyone would show up. The only person who did was AngieBelle, who we had met 2 years ago. We enjoyed spending time catching up with her. She is a CM in entertainment so its always fun to talk to her. After we talked for a while, we invited her to come ride Peter Pan with us (we had 1 extra FastPass). We said our goodbyes after that and headed out to take a break.

MIL decided to stay in tonite so the other 3 of us grabbed dinner offsite and went back for some nite time MK fun. We did Buzz, People Mover, Indy Speedway, and a few other things. We also did some shopping and had dessert at the Main Street Bakery. Then we hopped the monorail over to the Contemporary to watch fireworks from the balcony. We like that much better than seeing them from the park because we avoid the crowd of people leaving the park when they are over. This way, we were back at our car in no time.

 

[DianaPrincessofWales]

Thanks for sharing Steve. I love non-park days too. I also bought ties and note cards at the Premium Outlets a few weeks ago. Hope you're having a great time. It was REALLY hot when we were down there, how is it now?

 

[disneysteve]

It was REALLY hot when we were down there, how is it now?

Weather has been beautiful all week. About 80 and sunny today.

 

[OhMari]

Say Hi to Angiebell if you see her again. Tell her my dd-had her 2nd interview for WDW and it went really good. They are only hiring one person -(office job-security). So she is up against people that want to return.

 

[OhMari]

I would take 80 just about now. It is snowing like a banchy in WI. I hate winter-I pretend it doesn't exist-until I slip and fall on icy sidewalks.

 

[Mary Anne]

We have never drove and I always enjoy reading reports from those of you that do. Looking forward to reading more of your vacation.

 

[summersfam4]

Thanks for posting Steve! I also love to read the breakdown of your trip $$$ because we do Disney on a strict budget so that we can go for such a long time I hope all is going well, keep us posted on your wonderful trip and expenditures

Kelly

 

[disneysteve]

I also love to read the breakdown of your trip $$$ because we do Disney on a strict budget so that we can go for such a long time I hope all is going well, keep us posted on your wonderful trip and expenditures

We're on our way home now. Just stopped for the nite in Fredericksburg, VA. Once I get home and settled, I'll post a trip expenditure report. I know a lot of people look for those to help plan their own trips. I have a stack of receipts from all of our spending to organize and categorize. My guess is that this trip will turn out a bit more expensive than last year but not by much. I think we spent a little more on food but I won't know for sure until I add up all the receipts.

 

[disneysteve]

Jersey Week 2006 - Day 8, AK

Today was our last day here - . We left AK for today. We got there early so we could get right to Expedition Everest at opening. I ran ahead and got FP. Once everyone else caught up, we went over to Kali Rapids because MIL loves to ride that. After she got off, we went back to use our FPs. Everest is great! For those who haven't done it yet, it is on the order of BTMRR but steeper climbs, higher drops, faster and, oh yeah, it goes backwards! As soon as we got off, we got into the single rider line to do it again. Even though the standby line was 30 minutes by then, we got on in about 10 that way. And we even got to meet another DIS member in line: DiveDiva (aka ScubaNurse).

I forgot to mention on my previous day report that our friend George Reiger (Disney tatoo guy) called and set us up for VIP seating for Festival of the Lion King at 1:00 so we planned around that. We had to meet him at 12:30. So after Asia, we moved on to Africa. Got FP for safari and stopped for danish at Tusker House, a family tradition. Had a good safari and saw plenty of animals.

Then headed to Lion King. Met up with George and got escorted in to the front row seats in the elephant section. Great view and cast interaction during the show. Right after the show, we got to go backstage and meet the cast. Got a nice picture of all of us. I'll post it soon.

Had lunch at Flame Tree. Actually our first time eating there. Everything was very good. Tried to catch the preview performance of Nemo but it was cancelled for some reason. DD wanted to play in Dinoland for a while, so the rest of us relaxed while she did that. She's actually getting too big for it. This may be the last time she can do that stuff. I remember when she couldn't even reach to climb on stuff and I'd lift her up. How time flies. Now on her 14th trip and she's actually too big for the kid stuff.

Walked right on to Dinosaur. This is the one ride that I get creeped out by. Those dinosaurs are scary. I probably had my eyes closed half the time.

Finally headed out after 4:00. Went back to the house and started packing. Fell asleep for a little while. Got up around 6:00 and we headed over to the Yacht Club to have dinner at Beaches and Cream. Very good as always. Went back to finish packing and get some sleep for the trip home.

 

[Big V]

You had a good last day. We love Beaches and Cream!

 

[disneysteve]

You had a good last day. We love Beaches and Cream!

Us too. We were just disappointed because our favorite waitress, Darlene, switched to day shift so we didn't get to see her. Had we known that, we would have gone for lunch sometime during the week. But Dominica took good care of us.