Just back....many new firsts

[BCMM]

We just got back from a week at the World and had an absolute blast!! Some firsts for us this week:
--Travelling with the in-laws (not as bad as I expected!)
--Rope Drop at all 4 parks
--Early bfast ADR's at MK, Epcot, and AK
--Spending the evening at Epcot with DH for our anniversary and eating dinner at Le Cellier
--Watching Illuminations
--Corn dog nuggets from Caseys...YUMMY
--Toy Story Mania 4 times in one day! longest wait was 35 minutes
--Exploring Tom Sawyer's Island
--Eletrical Parade at MK
--We saw PUSH the talking trash can at MK
--We got a Dream Parking pass on our AK day...we were the only car there! We parked in front of the main gates even closer than the handicapped spaces. It wasn't much, but it made my day!
--Rode RnRC....loved it! So did DS7
--Got a ton of AMAZING pictures!!

If you're interested in seeing some of my pictures, please visit my website:
www.bloomphotography.zenfolio.com

They are under the nature/travel section. I still have many more to upload!

Thanks to all the great tips I found on the DIS we had an amazing vacation even with the heat!!

 

[d1gitman]

great pictures. you should send pic #17 of EE to WDW. the clouds are perfect and really give the sense of EE being a completely natural setting.

 

[monkey0816]

Beautiful pictures!

 

[Hallowishes]

you take some amazing pics! i especially love your black and white ones where your daughter's dress is still pink - thats really terrific! also really loving your animal kingdom lodge photos! i like the shot of the dole whip float!!!! YUM!

 

[kismet1003]

You take amazing photos!

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

Thanks for sharing with us your beautiful pictures! it sounds like you guys had a fabulous trip too

Heather

 

[jpolak]

Glad to hear you had a good time and that the in-laws weren't too bad. I have yet to solve that riddle. After putting my foot down and saying they will not come on any more Disney trip with us I am happy to report that they will be joining us on our next trip. Who says I'm not the king of my castle.

 

[CanadianPaco]

Thanks for sharing - beautiful pics!

 

[BCMM]

Thanks for all the kind words! I forgot to mention...I also tried the Beverly at Epcot for the first time. Thankfully I knew what to expect, but my husband didn't

 

[PinkJade]

Getting ready to leave on Saturday for a trip with my in-laws so I curious what things you did that helped the trip go well. Any tips or suggestions??

 

[diamondpixienc]

Those pictures were beautiful. They just ooze magic & pixie dust

 

[Heidi Loves Disney]

Your pics are beautiful!!

I just loved the photos of your daughter with the various princesses. I think the Ariel one is my favorite. I also love the black and white photos with your daughter's dress still pink.

 

[Adistar]

Your photos made my heart ache for disney! Just lovely!

 

[The Princess]

Your photos are gorgeous!!!

 

[BCMM]

Thank you!!!

PinkJade--The best thing about the in-laws was having separate condos!!! No, it really wasn't that bad. They were Disney clueless so they just went wherever we took them. It was very nice to have them keep the kids so DH and I could have a night out alone at Epcot. It was also nice to be able to ride the rides with my DS7 while they watched DD2.

As they are super slow movers (and smokers) we started off the week waiting on them to walk or waiting on them to take a smoke break....but we all soon realized that wasn't working with 2 kids (and me) that were anxious to move on. So we just told them where we would be and they were able to move at their own pace and meet back up with us.

My DH was also great as a fastpass runner. We were able to use their tickets for fastpasses on the rides they didn't want to go on. We did make sure to include indoor rides for breaks from the heat. Our strategy was early morning breakfasts in the parks or rope drop....that was really nice. We got so much accomplished before the huge crowds and it was not quite as hot (still hot, but not as bad as the afternoons).

Some other random tips that helped us out:
--collect fastpasses in the morning and use them when you go back in the evening (this was awesome at DHS...all the fastpasses for several rides were out by the time we returned and we were even able to ride TSM 4 times that day)
--Be prepared for CS locations at the MK....you have to have your food before you sit down (it really wasn't that bad or too big of a deal) We saw several people actually fussing and screaming at Cast Members
--If you want to see the Fairies at MK get to toontown early! We got there at 9:45 and only had to wait 20 minutes.
--If you have a young one, utilize the rider switch on rides with height restriction...this allowed DS7 to ride these rides twice in a row! He loved it!


I hope you have a wonderful trip!!!!

 

[stnet]

Just wanted to jump on the bandwagon - your pictures are AMAZING!!!!! Saw y'all stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge - how did you like it? We are staying there for the first time in August - any good tips?

 

[BCMM]

Thanks! We actually didn't stay at AKL....would love to some day. We went there to have dinner at Boma (LOVED it). My in-laws have a timeshare so we stayed off property (for free...so it was worth it).

I hope you have a wonderful trip and you will love the AKL!!! I can't speak for the rooms, but we love the atmosphere and the food at Boma as well as the Mara is wonderful.

 

[Planogirl]

Could you explain the Dream Parking pass? I've probably just missed this but what is it?

Nice report!

 

[j&j620]

Simply stunning photographs! You are an !

 

[BCMM]

Planogirl--I had no idea that a Dream Parking Pass existed until it was given to us. We arrived at AK very early (about 7:30 b/c we had ADR at Tusker for 8am). The parking lot wasn't opened yet, so we waited...there were quite a few vans/cars in front of us that were a part of a group (they were walking around talking to each other...they were some sort of dance group). Well, when the parking attendant opened the gates, all the vans drove on in...they must have paid the parking fees already.

So we pulled up to pay the man and he said, "oh, you're not with the group?" I said no, we'll be honest and pay for our parking! He told us how much he appreciated that and he wanted to give us a great parking space.

He said there are 6 spaces right by the entrance where the taxis drop off people...he filled out a little certificate with the date and our name. We pulled right up to the front. It wasn't much, but it made me smile (and my MIL was excited b/c she was sore from all the walking we had been making her do!!)