Jumping, Dancing & Jamming Our Way Through Walt Disney World! I'm With the Band Now!

[Woth2982]

Loved the mini trip report! I cannot wait to hear the next Mini TR for Lacy's wedding! Less than two weeks now! Seems like you just told us they were engaged! I wish Lacy and Jessie a lifetime of happiness!

And Happy Anniversary to you and John! Hope you have a wonderful day!

 

[jenseib]

Happy Anniversary Lisa!
And congrats to the almost married couple. I will be busy for the next few days and leaving Sunday, so I thought I better throw that in now!
I love that you got to see the bears and some other wildlife!
Be sure to post pictures of the wedding as soon as you can!

 

[brookelizabeth]

I cannot believe the wedding is in 9 days! Where does time go? What a wonderful day that will be!

I'm so glad you got to see BEARS and got your peaches! But, that weather...yikes! Glad you all made it safe and sound.

I mentioned it on Facebook, but Happy Anniversary to you and John! What a great example you two are to your daughter as she enters into her marriage!

 

[natebenma]

Happy Anniversary Lisa and John!!!

Hope you had a fun day!

 

[lledman]

Happy Anniversary

 

[mickeystoontown]

I'll try to come back and post replies but wanted to write an installment first....it's easier to write a complete installment when the boss isn't around. I can usually do a few replies at a time even when he is here.

First an update on the home front. Last night was the last time Lacey would spend the night in the house as a single woman. I probably would have cried if we hadn't been so busy doing the last minute packing and loading up her Jeep.

Since she was going on to Georgia a few days before us, she planned on taking almost all of the wedding boxes with her. Since my sister and her husband were going in his truck, the birdhouses and the tall flowers were going with them. The remaining items would go in my car. The bird houses are mounted on posts and they are a total of about 3 feet tall.

We got all of the boxes loaded into the Jeep last night and then called my sister to tell her we had gotten it done and could she think of anything else we needed to take. That's when she unloaded a bombshell on us. They weren't going in the truck. They were going in my nephew's Porsche. No flippin' birdhouse is gonna fit in a gosh darn Porsche, especially 10 of them. And, how the heck were we going to cram over three foot tall flowers into the trunk (or is is the front trunk) of an itty bitty car like that? I couldn't stay mad at her though 'cause she is the one who is helping us decorate everything and she had a valid reason for wanting to go in the small fuel efficient car instead of a diesel guzzling truck.

So, outside we went and we had to reconfigure how everything was placed in Lacey's Cherokee. After a little pondering, we were able to get all ten birdhouses in and most of the greenery. We're going to take the flowers with us. It's all good now. We did have to take out her spare tire so ya'll all send up an extra little prayer that she doesn't have any tire troubles on her way to Georgia.

Lacey called about 7:30 and said that she was nearing Meridian, Mississippi and about to hit "the chunk". "The chunk" is the 300+ miles of I-20 that is as boring as all get-out. There's really nothing to see and, with her being alone, there's nobody for her to talk to. I used to really really worry about her driving back and forth to Georgia alone but I'm getting better. I am sure she can navigate her way around Atlanta and beyond way better than her Mama can. I hate that section and am desperately looking for a way to bypass Atlanta all together.

There are a few little things that I still have to pick up for the wedding but they aren't anything major. I can get them over the weekend.

Oh well, I need to shut up now and start rewriting the installment that I started on yesterday before Photobucket froze my computer.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I almost forgot to say thank you for the Happy Anniversary posts! We spent a glorious evening packing up Lacey's bedroom and hauling everything into the foyer. We are sooooo romantic!

 

[mickeystoontown]

I was going to go back and repost my last Disney installment but, in all honesty, I am too darn lazy to go back. Instead, I'm going to do a recap for you.

1) We had slept in because we had no real plans for the day other than a late lunch/early dinner ADR at Rainforest Cafe to celebrate Hunter's birthday.

2) First stop at DTD was at Guest Relations where I picked up my Disney Rewards Dollars card. Took about 5 minutes or so to get it. Had to call a number to have the dollars placed on the card. Was disconnected a couple of times. Talked to 901 people who had no idea how to activiate the card. After nearly an hour, the card was activated and we were off!

3) We were starving so we decided to see if Rainforest Cafe could seat us earlier. They could! We ate some of this:

This:

This:

and this:

We took a potty break before venturing out into DTD and were amazed by the new fangled hand dryers:

Yes, I know, we are easily amazed.

So, that's the recap. Coming up: Shopping at DTD!

 

[mickeystoontown]

As I said, other than eating at Rainforest Cafe', we had no real "goals" for the day. Actually, that's not true.....Hunter wanted to go to the magic store and I wanted to find the new and improved Mickey Mart or whatever it's called now. We also knew that we wanted to shop at World of Disney sometime during our trip but it didn't have to be now because we'd be going back to DTD later.

Our first stop was littlemissmatched. I have no idea why we stopped in here other than it was bright and colorful. We left empty handed.

It totally looks like Lacey was picking her nose in the above picture! LOL! I doubt that she was though 'cause she's pretty discreet about those type of things.

We didn't, however, leave Ghiardelli's empty handed. We each got the free sample of the day....caramel filled!

We passed by World of Disney and the cutest little blue guy I have ever seen. No, I am not talking about Papa Smurf. I am talking about this guy:

I had read about the Lego Store refurb and the new Lego sculptures and we were anxious to see them in person....or in Lego, if you will. They were awesome!

Hunter was anxious to get to the magic store so we continued on down the path towards the Westside section of Downtown Disney. We passed by this:

Jesse's parents are bikers and his dad had told Lacey to bring him back a Mickey Mouse riding a motorcycle. We figured the best place to possibly find one would be in the Harley Davidson store.


**I am going to go ahead and post this installment because Photobucket is acting all weird and has stalled twice already. Hopefully, I can write another installment before it freezes my computer.

 

[mickeystoontown]

And......Photobucket froze! I'm going to restart my computer and see if it'll start working again. I don't want to write such a short installment.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Thank you for posting the pictures of the new LEGO store displays! I have seen the Sleeping Beauty and Toy Story ones in other pics, but this is the first time I have seen the Snow White one, and it is adorable. The people that make those have to be so patient to take the time to make them.

And re-seeing those pictures of the food from Rainforest has made me hungry So, off to lunch I go, and I look forward to reading the next installments.

Oh, and I am sure Lacey will make it safely to her destination. I understand your trepidation about driving near Atlanta, I've done it twice and it is the worst traffic I have seen!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Let's see if I can keep Photobucket open and running long enough to finish up the rest of our time at Downtown Disney.

While Lacey was looking around the Harley Davidson store, Hunter posed on the motorcycles:

Lacey didn't find any motorcycle ridin' Mickey Mouse so we left and continued on towards Westside. We were getting very near our destination:

Said destination being:

As has always been the case, the magic store was pretty crowded. It's a pretty small store and when the magicians are performing tricks, the crowds can get pretty thick. Hunter asked the magician to show him a few of the card tricks so he could decide what he wanted to get. I was also checking out the price sign and looking for a set of invisible cards. One of my Disboard friends, Missy, wanted a set for her son. They were there, but I had forgotten my phone at the resort so I couldn't send her a text. At least I knew they had them so I could send her a text later......if I could remember.

Hunter finally decided which set of cards he wanted and the magician took him behind the counter to show him how the trick worked:

Once the card purchase was made, we walked the rest of the way down to the art store to have a look around. I have no idea what the name of it is but it's tucked away in a little corner. They have some really neat things in the store but most are pretty pricey. Lacey found a cool metal sculpture of a guy riding his motorcycle and bought it for Jesse's dad. It was a Mickey Mouse on a motorcycle but it was still neat.

We started walking back towards Marketplace. I could tell Mama was getting tired and hot (it was pretty hot) so we decided to stop and rest a minute near one of the fountains. John went to get us a couple of Cokes to drink while we rested in the shade. There was a bit of a breeze blowing and we could feel a fine mist from the fountain. It felt so good. After a little bit, Mama said she was ready and we continued on towards Marketplace.

Soon we were back at World of Disney:

I guess I didn't take any pictures inside the store which is unusual for me. The store was getting really crowded as it was getting later in the day and more and more people were coming to DTD. I can't remember all that we purchased but I do remember buying the scrumptuous coconut and chocolate Mickey candies, a book of postcards and a pair of earrings.

The last place we stopped on our way out was a store near Mickey's Pantry that had all sorts of spices and teas. Jesse loves hot tea and this was the perfect place to find him a gift. I bet we smelled of at least 50 different spices and teas. Most smelled really good but some smelled downright funky. Lacey finally decided on a rainforest or tropical something or other tea and I found a set of spices for my sister.

Our purchases made, we made our way to the bus stop. We had one more thing we needed to do that evening....buy some groceries. The wait for the bus was about 20 minutes...maybe a few minutes less. We hopped on and were happy to feel a little air conditioning. The bus stopped at the Pleasure Island stop and then looped through Typhoon Lagoon (didn't pick up anybody there). Soon, we were back at the Caribbean Beach Resort where the ducks and squirrels greeted us.

**Up next: A trip to Old Town and buying groceries....why is it I don't mind grocery shopping on vacation but hate it at home?

 

[longing2Batdisney]

fun updates Lisa!
so happy to hear you guys were able to get things in Lacey's jeep (good thing you called your sister before she left)....so, exciting that her wedding is just around the corner, I cannot wait to see the final result I know it will be so beautiful.

Have a great weekend!

 

[GrammyJudy]

Here is my resonse from Disney
Dear Ms. Ales, Thank you for contacting us regarding the Walt Disney World® Resort. From time to time, we evaluate our offerings and make adjustments to ourticket and resort package prices. Our pricing is based on the high-quality, full-day experiences we deliver to our Guests at our ThemeParks and Resorts. We continue to add great experiences, including the return of the Main Street Electrical Parade, which has been extended indefinitely for our Guests. Recently, a new 3-D version of the tremendously popular Star Tours® Attraction at Disney?s Hollywood Studios debuted earlier this year. And the largest expansion in the history of Magic Kingdom® Park is underway, vastly increasing the size of Fantasyland. When completed, Fantasyland will include a new ride-through adventure with The Little Mermaid and provide deeper, more immersive experiences with favorite Disney characters. Also, the Dumbo The Flying Elephant® Attraction will have doubled in size and feature aninteractive queue. Please know, we will continue to monitor our pricingto ensure it reflects a strong entertainment value. We recommend checking the Walt Disney World Resort website regularly for special discounts including percentage off room rates and complimentary dining plans. Please know, these are based on availability and for more information, we recommend contacting the Disney Reservation Center at 407-W-DISNEY. Ms. Ales, our Guests? feedback, as well as their continued enthusiasm for our products and services, are very important to us. We genuinely appreciate the time you took to share your thoughts with us. I hope youhave the opportunity to create many special memories at our Resort in the future. Sincerely, Patrick ShanahanGuest ServicesWalt Disney World Resort407-560-3501

 

[Caretames1]

Hunter looks so cool sitting on that HOG! I love the new Lego scuplures! I wonder how long it took to make?

A lovely day at DTD!

 

[TinksThree]

I had issues with Photobucket freezing yesterday too! UGH!! It is so frustrating!!

I love a leisurely afternoon "touring" DTD--low crowds, no real agenda---just lovely!!

We feel like the "chunk" is from Jackson to Tuscaloosa....so boring..... Once we get to Birmingham it doesn't feel "so bad"! Your romantic anniversary evening sounds like ours!!

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Lisa, lovely pics of your afternoon at DTD. I will probably be doing the same thing as you, and going to DTD after I check-in to POP in December.

Ok, kind of a funny, tongue-in-cheek thing, but I took some pics for you while on my lunch break. I said earlier that the mall where I eat lunch has the Dyson Airblade hand dryers, so I took a pic of them for you :

Now, in one of the bathrooms, they have not only the automatic water faucets, but the soap is sensor activated too!

I really like that addition, as having to touch the soap dispenser pump is probably adding as many germs as you are trying to get off by using the soap!

Hope you have a great weekend! I'm going to try to add another update to my PTR sometime soon. But, as I said in it a couple of days ago Heather's bridal shower is tomorrow and it will be crazy for me this weekend. Good luck getting ready for the wedding in 8 days

 

[Happy Elf]

Great pictures from DTD! I love the Lego ones as even though I swear I took some, they weren't in the camera when we got back? Don't know what happened to them? Little MissMatched looks like a cute shop.

 

[GrammyJudy]

My 10 yr old grandson can not wait to see that new Lego store....he is saving his money for that! He loved your pictrures.

 

[jenseib]

I love your DTD pictures. I have never made it over to the other side, so I like to look at others pictures of it.