MAY 12th-19th!! THESE ARE THE MAYS OF OUR LIVES! Part 3

[Katiebell]

Aw, Jo! We're all still here!!!

I had to go back to work again this week -- and that's still up in the air because my doctor still won't release me for full time, my arm really isn't improving, so not sure what will happen there...

And DH is still sick, off work, may be for weeks, so that's been a mess. We are trying to get disability paperwork filled out for him, and every flippin' department at our HMO says "Not my job, go talk to THOSE people over there..." Enough to make ya scream...

But for happier thoughts, I'm ready to start my trip report -- do I do that here, or start a new thread, or???

 

[JoBird]

Katiebell,
It sounds like you are really having a YUK time of it lately.
I hope your arm is better soon and your DH can get back to his normal self. Nothing is worse than getting the paper-pusher run around.

If you want to do a trip report on the TR forum, you can always post a link here and all of your MAYer buds will shoot over and read it. I am going to start one too, maybe tomorrow!

Jo

 

[GoofyBaby]

Hello MAYers!

I'm back from 15 days of Disney fun! I am exhausted and I also caught a cold & upper respiratory infection while in WDW (still have it), but other than that I had a truly magical time! I got dreamed twice (both times I received two Pixie Dust pins - one to keep and one to give) and got two certificates - one for speed pin trading and the other from Cindy's Royal Table for graduating college. I met over 35 characters, had 8 character meals, met about 8 DISers and one rather fabulous MAYer and family (I'll let you reveal yourself)! However, I didn't see one decorated window at the Pop besides my own! We were in the 50's section (Tramp) on the 4th floor, facing the lake (room 3417). We had a great view of Illuminations and had no problems with noisy neighbors. We LOVED the Pop food court! The whole resort was so much fun and I loved how often the busses ran! We got one towel animal the whole time, but I was more excited that we got 15 signatures on my sign-in board on our door!

We took @ 4,500 photos, averaging about 300 per day. Our second week was spent at the Polynesian. We were in Tokelau, room 3916, on the 3rd floor. While it is considered a garden view room, we had a view of the lagoon, the Magic Kingdom ferry and the monorail. I loved it! The gounds were just breathtaking and I spent many hours in the hammocks on the beach! We had 'Ohana for dinner twice and for breakfast with Lilo & Stitch once. We loved them all! Kona Cafe was incredible as well. We received towel animals every day at the Poly (large ones, too!) and I loved how all the Cast Members said "Aloha" when we passed them. We got to ride in the front of the monorail twice and both times got co-pilots licenses! It was so much fun! We got to ride Mad Tea Party with Alice & the Mad Hatter and rode Barnstormer with Goofy (well, on the same train with Goofy).

It was my first time at Epcot, MGM and Animal Kingdom and I loved them all. I especially loved Spaceship Earth and I think we rode it about 10 times! I hope they don't change it too much during the rehab this summer.

I am ready to go back! Those 15 days felt like only two days and I was so sad when we had to get on the plane to come home yesterday. Well, at least I can plan my next trip in December!

Can't wait to read everyone's trip reports!

 

[marcyinPA]

Hello MAYers!

I'm back from 15 days of Disney fun! I am exhausted and I also caught a cold & upper respiratory infection while in WDW (still have it), but other than that I had a truly magical time! I got dreamed twice (both times I received two Pixie Dust pins - one to keep and one to give) and got two certificates - one for speed pin trading and the other from Cindy's Royal Table for graduating college. I met over 35 characters, had 8 character meals, met about 8 DISers and one rather fabulous MAYer and family (I'll let you reveal yourself)! However, I didn't see one decorated window at the Pop besides my own! We were in the 50's section (Tramp) on the 4th floor, facing the lake (room 3417). We had a great view of Illuminations and had no problems with noisy neighbors. We LOVED the Pop food court! The whole resort was so much fun and I loved how often the busses ran! We got one towel animal the whole time, but I was more excited that we got 15 signatures on my sign-in board on our door!

We took @ 4,500 photos, averaging about 300 per day. Our second week was spent at the Polynesian. We were in Tokelau, room 3916, on the 3rd floor. While it is considered a garden view room, we had a view of the lagoon, the Magic Kingdom ferry and the monorail. I loved it! The gounds were just breathtaking and I spent many hours in the hammocks on the beach! We had 'Ohana for dinner twice and for breakfast with Lilo & Stitch once. We loved them all! Kona Cafe was incredible as well. We received towel animals every day at the Poly (large ones, too!) and I loved how all the Cast Members said "Aloha" when we passed them. We got to ride in the front of the monorail twice and both times got co-pilots licenses! It was so much fun! We got to ride Mad Tea Party with Alice & the Mad Hatter and rode Barnstormer with Goofy (well, on the same train with Goofy).

It was my first time at Epcot, MGM and Animal Kingdom and I loved them all. I especially loved Spaceship Earth and I think we rode it about 10 times! I hope they don't change it too much during the rehab this summer.

I am ready to go back! Those 15 days felt like only two days and I was so sad when we had to get on the plane to come home yesterday. Well, at least I can plan my next trip in December!

Can't wait to read everyone's trip reports!

OMGosh, we were in the same building and same floor at Pop, just around the corner from each other! We were in rooms 3445/6! We didn't venture around to the end of the building (we had a view of the lake, but we were closer to the elevators.) but now I wish I had, because I would have seen your door sign!!

Sounds like you had a great trip!!

Marcy

 

[seacrestpromo]

Day 5, May 18th - Woke up around 7:30 a.m. that day, went to the Pepper Market for breakfast. It is a great place to get lots of food for a decent price. Everything is made fresh - we loved it. We got over to Animal Kingdom around 9:00ish. Not that busy! Excellent!

The first thing that hit me entering into AK is that it is a HUGE place and it is very green! I felt like I was transported to another world.

We headed first to Dinoland and it was a walk on. Nobody was there! Next was Primeval Whirl another walk on!

We then rush over to Expedition Everest. OMG!!! This ride and area is so well themed! A 10 minute wait time...5 minutes! AWESOME RIDE!!! We got off and got back on again! This is the best ride in WDW. We took lots of photos on the ride. LOL

Next on the agenda was Kali River Rapids - too short, not enough water!

Onto the Pangani Exploration Trail and then Kilimanjaro Safari. WOW! We love being so close to the animals. I got a lot of pictures and video here. I should have rode the Safari ride twice....oh well, it gives me a reason to come back to WDW.

Hungry and tired we headed over to Flame Tree BBQ. The food was OK, I wished I got something more fresh than grilled. It was relaxing to sit by the waterside and experience all the wildlife. We saw an alligator nipping at a turtle and seeking free food from tourists.

After lunch we went to It's Tough to be a Bug and The Tree of Life. This is my second favorite 3D movie in WDW. I like way you are immersed in a tree and the way the seats look like tree trunks. Fun, fun show.

We had to go back and do Everest one more time. We got a great picture that we are going to use for our yearly Christmas card. Did I tell you...we LOVE THIS RIDE!!!!

Thirsty, we got those frosty lemonade slushies. Yummy! We took a rest break for about an hour. This is such a relaxing place just to put up your feet and and just soak in the surroundings.

Onward to see the Festival of the Lion King. An excellent Disney stage production. I really like the theater being in the round and you are surrounded by the action. Every seat has a great view.

After the show, we decided to go back to our hotel and relax a bit, swim, eat and head over to MGM for Fantasmic. Got the relaxing and swimming in, headed out the door to go to eat and it was pouring rain! So, we ordered some pizza from Papa John's, the rain stopped by the time the pizza came. We decided to skip Fantasmic and go to Downtown Disney to do some shopping and pin trading.

BTW, if you are annual passholder at either WDW or DL you can get a 10% discount on all your purchases at World of Disney. We save a bit of money on our gifts and trinkets.

We were exhausted, so we headed back to our hotel and hit the sack. Animal Kingdom rocks! Tomorrow was another big day - we travel down to Ft. Myers.

 

[seacrestpromo]

Day 6 & 7, May 19th and 20th - Wanting to spend more time with our friends, we started to make our way down to Ft. Myers. This city is about 150 miles south of Orlando. It took us almost 3 hours to get there. It was a great drive, however the speed limit changes every 5 - 10 miles. You can be going 60 mph and then have to go down to 45 then back up to 55. And the cops are everywhere with their radar guns.

We decided to get breakfast on the road, so we left around 8:00 and stopped off at Cracker Barrel. You sure get a lot of food for a very cheap price. Made our sons try the grits, they never had those before. Very friendly people at the restaurant and for a Saturday morning it wasn't very crowded.

Got back on the road around 9:30 started to make our way down the highways. I think we killed 100,000 bugs on our windshield. I was constantly washing our windshield.

We rolled into Ft. Myers around noon. It was a bit windy, but warm. Got to our friends house and unpacked a few things and did a little laundry. We rested up and decided to hit the town and did some site-seeing.

The boys headed off with our friends boys and saw a movie and jammed in their music studio. They were glad to hanging with their Florida buddies.

Lot's of new development in the city. You can buy a new home in a planned community for around 235K. That is barely enough for a down payment in Los Angeles. Beautiful area. A lot growth and opportunity in the area. We dropped by our friend's church and saw all the new construction they had done.

Went through the downtown area of Ft. Myers. The city is redeveloping the area. Starbucks and new restaurants are popping up all around the civic center. Visited the summer homes of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. Very nice!

Getting hungry, we decided to have Mexican food. We had steak fajitas, burritos and lots of chips and salsa. Filled ourselves up!

After that we went over to our friend's mom's home and visited with her for a while. They have a pool with a screened patio area. We were lounging around for 2 hours or so just talking and relaxing. It was so nice to take a break from all the hustling we did the last four days.

Got back to our friends home about 9:30 p.m. and headed off to bed around 10:30...we were so tired.

Sunday morning got up about 8:30 a.m. and we got ready for church. My friend ask me to speak to his congregation that day. We had about 140 people there and we had a good service that day. Afterwards we went out for lunch with about 25 people from the church for pizza. We had a blast, eating, and making new friends.

We left Ft. Myers around 2:00 p.m. and headed back up to Disney. Tonight, we had to see Fantasmic!

We head out of town off the main road and I see a cop, I look at my speedometer and I am going 60 and then I see a speed limit sign at 55 so I slow down. The lights come on and he pulls me over. Great.

"Sir, do you drive 61 in the city in North Carolina?"

"Officer, I am not from NC, this car is a rental, I am from Los Angeles, California and this certainly doesn't look like a city to me with all this grass and dirt on the side of the road as far as I can see."

"Please give me your license"

So he takes my DL and runs my ID. I was ticked.

He comes back to my car and gives me a warning ticket. I told him thank you and then he proceeds to tell me this: "You need to be careful in this area. This is the highest crime area in Lee County. Tourist get killed in Florida."

"Well, thank you for warning officer, we will be more mindful of our speed and maybe you can do something about those speed limit changes every 5 miles. "

This wasted about 20 minutes of our time. Unbelievable. You know, maybe they should be protecting the tourists who come to Florida with money to spend in their state, from all those thugs who want to kill them. Instead chasing people who are driving 5 miles over the speed limit??? Do you get my drift???

It took about 3 hours to drive back up to Orlando, with a few pit stops for potty and ice cream. Got back into our hotel room around 5:30 p.m. took a fast shower and headed over to Disney MGM.

Not too busy at the park. My wife and sons went onto TOT and got in line for Fantasmic. Got our seats and waited for about 1 hour and a half.

Talked with some girls from Australia. They were at WDW for a few days and then going up to Washington DC and New York. They were also going to stop off in California on the last leg of their trip and go to DL too. First timers.

Okay, I am going to admit I have prejudice here. I like the stadium seating for the show. And I think that the crew and actors do put on a tremendous show. But, I really like DL version better, a lot more action and costume changes. The Aussies were blown away by the show and I was glad we finally got to see the FL version. I would definitely see it again.

We were starving again. So we decided to try Earl of Sandwich at DD. My oldest boy had a the turkey club, my other boy had meatball, my wife and I shared the roast beef, baked potato and soup. By this time it was 11 p.m. and I was so tired.

Tomorrow - our last day, two parks, and finally we bump into a Mayer!

 

[Katiebell]

seacrest...he probably had one bullet for his gun, in his shirt pocket, just like Barney Fife ::cop: But just as well you didn't mention that to him... I bet he saw the plates on the car and just thought he'd break up his boring Sunday and mess a little with an out-of-towner Glad you got off with only a warning, you dangerous criminal, you...I feel so much safer not being on the road with a madman who drives 60 in the 55 zone...

 

[seacrestpromo]

Day 8, May 21st - My wife got up early and starting the packing. We had things pretty much cleaned up since we had sort through our mess before we went down to Ft. Myers. We wanted to get over to MK early today and get the most out of our day. We got out of our room around 8:30 a.m. and pack up our car and headed over MK.

It was really busy for a Monday morning..then it hit me...school was out! We decided to take the ferry over to MK and I am glad we did. What a nice way to travel over to the park.

Our first stop was to the Hall of Presidents. Believe it or not my oldest son, the 20 year old wanna be rock star wanted to see the show. We got there and there was a 30 minute wait time. So we hit Haunted Mansion - another walk on! After that we did a little shopping then hit HOP. I think there were only 10 people in the theater. Very nice production, but it seemed so outdated. Some of these attractions take you back into 60's and early 70's.
Somehow, this needs to become more relevant.

Next stop was Mickey's Philharmagic. Awesome, awesome show. I hope DL gets this show soon. After that we headed over to ride the People Mover. Had to ride that one last time. Sniff, sniff - I hope we get our People Mover back at DL! We headed down Main St. to pin store and jewelry shop. I got my wife the Mickey Mouse gold necklace with emerald stones for her birthday gift. She loves it and has worn it everyday since!

We headed out the gates of the MK one last time...sad, but glad we got the opportunity to go. Jumped on the monorail and made our way over to Epcot!

Epcot is awesome! We needed something to eat, so we stopped off at Electric Umbrella for burgers. Good place, decent food. I like the free drink refills here!

Onto World Showcase! We rode the Mexico ride again and look around at the shops there. Next we went into Norway and look into the shops there.

As we were coming out of the store, I saw a gentlemen wearing Focker Watcher lanyard. So I looked at him and gave him the "I am watching you" gesture. At first he didn't see me or get it. So I did it again and he caught on. So I told him and the young lady who was with him that I was on the DISboard too and my son blurted out "we are Mayers!" The lady screamed "I am a Mayer too, I am Goofybaby!" and I told her I was Seacrest. She was so excited that she met us! I was laughing, my wife was laughing. She had lost her Mayer button at MK one day, but she did not see any Mayers until that day.

Since she was first Mayer to meet me, I bestowed onto Goofybaby a one-of-a -kind, exclusive button! She immediately put it on and we took some pictures and gave some hugs. What a sweet person! I am so glad bumped into each other. It was the icing on the cake, it really made our WDW complete to meet up with a fellow Mayer!

MAYERS WILL ALWAYS RULE!!!

We said our goodbyes to Goofbaby and her friend (I think his name was James) headed off to Japan to see the exhibits and to France for desserts. My son had few more Kidcot stamps to get, Japan, France, UK and Canada. So we finished those off and started to make our way back to the exit.

You know, I wasn't sad we were going now...we had so much fun, why be sad? We now had new experiences to share, new friends that we met, and new memories. That is suppose to happen when you travel whether you go 25 miles or 2500 miles away from home.

We jumped onto the monorail one last time and head back to our car. As we drove out the main gate of the WDW property my kids said, they had a great time. They gave it a 10+ and they want to go back again.

Paid three tolls on a 10 mile stretch to the airport...is that a bit much? Drop the car off to rental place, no problems whatsoever.

Got our boarding passes, check in our luggage, went to our gate. Hungry, we decided to eat dinner at the Outback Steakhouse. Have you ever tried eating steak with plastic forks and knives? Stupid! It was a good idea to eat, because we would get back into Los Angeles around 9:45 p.m.

We got onto the plane around 5:30 p.m. and my youngest son was asked if he would like to meet the captain. My son is 15, but he looks like he is 10 or 11. So he says yes and she takes him back to the cockpit. So he goes back there and they show him around and he meets the pilot...Captain Kirk...I am not lying. (Remember we had Captain Murdock on the flight out to Orlando?) But it gets even better...the pilot tells him that William Shatner is on the plane today...so as he goes back to his seat, sure enough, he sees the other "Captain Kirk" in first class, with no hair!!! LOL! Man he sure looks old in person.

We had a very smooth flight home, got a bit of rest, and we landed at LAX around 8:55 p.m about 50 minutes ahead of schedule! Got the bags, my dad picked us up and we were home by 10 p.m.!

Thanks for reading our trip report. I am sure I left out a few things. I will be posting some of our pictures in a few days. I am bit behind on work and stuff so I will post a link when I have it ready.

Mayers Rule!

 

[seacrestpromo]

seacrest...he probably had one bullet for his gun, in his shirt pocket, just like Barney Fife ::cop: But just as well you didn't mention that to him... I bet he saw the plates on the car and just thought he'd break up his boring Sunday and mess a little with an out-of-towner Glad you got off with only a warning, you dangerous criminal, you...I feel so much safer not being on the road with a madman who drives 60 in the 55 zone...

Yea, remember well he gave us the memorable quote of the year "Tourists get killed in Florida." That would make a great billboard huh?

Speedy Seacrest

 

[NewCrew42]

Sea - I love your report. I am so glad you guys had a great time.

::cop: - Tourist get killed in Florida.

This cracks me up. I don't think he is going to comissioned to the Florida tourism board. As a tourist, I don't think this is the kind of thing I want to hear. And 5 mph over the limit. I think I would be pulled over everywhere I drive. But hmm... maybe this is why we don't drive when we are in Florida.

Goofybaby - nice report. Sounds awesome. I lost my MAYer button in MK too! I think the Mayor is collecting them.

I updated my report on the trip report boards. There is a link in my signature. I finally got us off the plane and in line for ME.

I think I am a little too wordy.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Hello MAYers!

Great trip reports everyone!

I've been working on my photo album since Sunday. It's just about finished! It is really awesome!!

Hope all is going well with everyone. I miss talking to you guys everyday!

 

[seacrestpromo]

Sea - I love your report. I am so glad you guys had a great time.

::cop: - Tourist get killed in Florida.

This cracks me up. I don't think he is going to comissioned to the Florida tourism board. As a tourist, I don't think this is the kind of thing I want to hear. And 5 mph over the limit. I think I would be pulled over everywhere I drive. But hmm... maybe this is why we don't drive when we are in Florida.

Goofybaby - nice report. Sounds awesome. I lost my MAYer button in MK too! I think the Mayor is collecting them.

I updated my report on the trip report boards. There is a link in my signature. I finally got us off the plane and in line for ME.

I think I am a little too wordy.

Thanks for the props NC. Keep your reports coming!

 

[NewCrew42]

Hello MAYers!

Great trip reports everyone!

I've been working on my photo album since Sunday. It's just about finished! It is really awesome!!

Hope all is going well with everyone. I miss talking to you guys everyday!

Are you doing the photopass album? Just wondering. I haven't even uploaded my photos to be processed. I think it may overload the Wal-Mart photo system when I do.

 

[NewCrew42]

Normally, I eat healthy food. Protein bars, salads, meat and more salad, nuts and cheese, eggs and cheese.

But at wdw, I eat anything. I do continue with a bar in the morning but the rest of the day anything goes.

I can't seem to get off the sugars since I have been back. I am craving Mickey Bars like crazy.

I need help!

 

[JoBird]

Seacrest, You speed demon you...and coming from Church to boot, you should be ashamed.

Jo

 

[JoBird]

I am craving a Dole Whip float.

Went by Arby's to pick up lunch for Belle and they have Orange Cream Swirl Milkshakes. Um, yes, I caved.

I'm so bad. I don't want to admit I have been back from vacation for more than two weeks. Somehow, I always gain wight in the summer.

Jo

 

[JoBird]

Hey NC. How's AR today????

We are very close to a decision regarding the house.

Oh, for those of you who don't know, we are getting ready to make an offer on a house here and I am very nervous.

Breathe in--Breathe out.



Jo

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

 

[JoBird]

Shelly, that is beautiful!!!!!!!!!!

I am so sad we didn't get to meet up. Must-schedule-trip-to-meet-Shelly.



Jo

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

That was just a little "pick-me-up" post trip picture for everyone!!


Jo - We must meet up soon!