May 2011: The Year of Surprises! [TR]

[Moira222]

Lidian - I don't even know how I missed your whole entire tr!!! I thought I subbed and then was wondering why I had not seen any of your trip info come up in my subscriptions. DUH! I must have replied w/o subbing!!!
so here I am at work catching up. I just opened a notepad page so I am writing comments as I read without quoting you! Hopefully you'll figure out what I am talking about!!!

I just watched your video _ LOVE the "I didn't want to help Ben move" too cute & funny!!!

I love the "pinky promise" part, too. That is Katie all the way...and she learned about Pinky Promises from Wendy on our first trip!

HM trip - how RUDE of someone to tell you you needed to take your son out. DUH! OMG did you resist the urge to offer a witty come back?


sorry but LOL to your Disney nightmare. but I bet it made for a restless sleep.

I LOVE that your DH got into the action shows and even volunteered for Indy! how cool!

sorry you had a bug in your eye. but i did chuckle at your DH's comment. such a man. and EEEWWW it sounds really awful the next day! My DD is VERY sensitive to bites from those nasty little black flies - here we call them "no seeums" or gnats. they are small but if she gets a bite near her eyes *and she does every summer* her eye swells up. its icky.

Bus driver Patty - I think we had her too..maybe. We had a driver who was freaking awesome, giving us all sorts of tips for traveling inside the park.

Good that you could get Lines to work for you- I tried lots of times in the parks but could never get the right connection.

Oh the Pirates League sounds like a lot of fun! Wish I had seen a TR like this before we went in May - DD would have loved the mermaid look!


Whining....it really gets to you after a while, doesn't it?

Storybook time? was this a special thing if you booked with AAA? it sounds so cool

And if it was you who was smoking near my child, I don't apologize for my behaviour and the horrible things I said about you and your parents.

ROFLMAO!

and WOW to handling DH's melt down

and how could DH be embarrassed about having a moment with Crush? Totally Gnarly Dude!

Ok I hav eonly the 27th to read & gotta go (hey its the end of the work day!)

I am sorry I missed all of it so far but am totally glad I found it (and subbed!)

 

[lovethattink]

Nice family pic in front of the tree!! DS saw the completed stamp book and he noticed the rafiki stamp he never got. Once it cools down some, we will go do them. I will be sure to have camera in hand for the ceremony!

 

[Moira222]

W

DIVINE! HUZZAH! I've searched for her for the past two years, and then stumble upon her by chance! I pulled out my video recorder, and instead of handing the camera to DH, I was multi-tasking. I don't know why, so don't ask. I guess I like to complicate things? Anyway, here's a few shots of DiVine (see if you can spot her - she's honestly in each picture) :

I have never seen her, and I truly always forget to look for her!!

I handed our belongings to DH and DD and I hopped the FP line for EE. We had about a 10 minute wait for the first one. And we were behind some very gassy people.

sorry, that's just funny.

I think its fun the way the CM's kept calling your DH out for being superman.

 

[Lidian]

I am popping in quick but plan to try to catch back up(finals on summer classes and kids are home so no time.) Hope to read your latest soon!

G'luck on your finals! Don't worry about reading, just update yours when you have some free time!

Lidian - I don't even know how I missed your whole entire tr!!! I thought I subbed and then was wondering why I had not seen any of your trip info come up in my subscriptions. DUH! I must have replied w/o subbing!!!
so here I am at work catching up. I just opened a notepad page so I am writing comments as I read without quoting you! Hopefully you'll figure out what I am talking about!!!

I thought you were a silent reader.

I just watched your video _ LOVE the "I didn't want to help Ben move" too cute & funny!!!

I love the "pinky promise" part, too. That is Katie all the way...and she learned about Pinky Promises from Wendy on our first trip!

I remembered someone having a PTR with Wendy and their DD! That's just priceless!!! The funniest thing (in our books) was DS was sooo excited to help Ben move. I was honestly worried that he'd be upset by telling him we were going to WDW and not seeing Ben. So for HIM to say it, it was downright hilarious in our books. All he talked about the entire way was how much he was excited to help Ben move.

HM trip - how RUDE of someone to tell you you needed to take your son out. DUH! OMG did you resist the urge to offer a witty come back?

All I know is Karma is a you-know-what. That first room is pretty creepy, I knew if he'd calm down, he'd love the ride. He did last year. It just irks me that some people think they know my child better than me. Grrr! Darn you, TK for leaving your soap box over here. I keep hopping onto it.

I just shot the you-know-what a hateful glare and dared her to say another word to me. It would have been one thing if she was trying to be helpful - Oh, there's chicken-exits, by the way, if he doesn't calm down and you need to take him out. I would have been appreciative of her trying to help (even though I knew there was an exit somewhere), but not her telling me what to do. Okay, done now.

sorry but LOL to your Disney nightmare. but I bet it made for a restless sleep.

I LOVE that your DH got into the action shows and even volunteered for Indy! how cool!

It was an ongoing thing, and it really did wear me out ... but rather nightmares in WDW than nightmares at home, right?

I was happy he did enjoy a lot of things, and was super happy he tried to volunteer for Indy, after 3 years of begging him to!

sorry you had a bug in your eye. but i did chuckle at your DH's comment. such a man. and EEEWWW it sounds really awful the next day! My DD is VERY sensitive to bites from those nasty little black flies - here we call them "no seeums" or gnats. they are small but if she gets a bite near her eyes *and she does every summer* her eye swells up. its icky.

Sorry that your DD has issues with the "no seeums". My eye was TERRIBLE. But it did start to clear. I hope she isn't too tasty for them this year.

Bus driver Patty - I think we had her too..maybe. We had a driver who was freaking awesome, giving us all sorts of tips for traveling inside the park.

Probably Patty. She was an older lady, short blonde-ish hair, from Jersey, made us all say "YEA-YUH" instead of "yes". She was UBER awesome and if half the drivers were almost like her, I'd love the transporation even more - I only love it now because it's someone else driving, usually nice and cool (vs getting into your hot car), and its included.

Good that you could get Lines to work for you- I tried lots of times in the parks but could never get the right connection.

I did have issues in lots of areas, but would update before I entered the ride, or would check upon exit and update then. Anytime I was inside a building, I couldn't get data - and I don't think I ever got data at all in AK. So I feel ya there. Who is your carrier? I'm on AT&T.

Oh the Pirates League sounds like a lot of fun! Wish I had seen a TR like this before we went in May - DD would have loved the mermaid look!

Awww! Well, if its any consolation, they may be bringing the mermaid look back into a different package. I'm not sure if it will just be a Halloween thing, or permanent. I watch the Official TPL thread (it's run by one of the Pirate CMs), and she mentioned it. I think they're realizing that girls need more than just one girly look if they want to be "pirates". So check back for next year! (Or watch the thread - if I see something, I'll be sure to toss you a PM though.)

Whining....it really gets to you after a while, doesn't it?

ZOMG YUSS!!!!

Storybook time? was this a special thing if you booked with AAA? it sounds so cool

Yes, it was one of the AAA perks. It was a lot of fun. From what I hear, it can be any face character who will read, but its usually Mary Poppins - at least that's what my TA said. She said everytime she went, it was always MP, but the pictures show Belle in the advertisement. It was worth booking through AAA for that. And I think they're changing the perks for next year - but not certain.

ROFLMAO!

and WOW to handling DH's melt down

and how could DH be embarrassed about having a moment with Crush? Totally Gnarly Dude!

DH is just weird. But at least we resolved his attitude. And I think it embarrassed him more that our friends saw it, than if it was just us. I was just thankful he played along.

Ok I hav eonly the 27th to read & gotta go (hey its the end of the work day!)

I am sorry I missed all of it so far but am totally glad I found it (and subbed!)

Glad you found it again. Hope work went by quickly!

Nice family pic in front of the tree!! DS saw the completed stamp book and he noticed the rafiki stamp he never got. Once it cools down some, we will go do them. I will be sure to have camera in hand for the ceremony!

Thanks Tink! Can't wait for it to cool down so I can read about Anakin's AK stamp collecting adventure!

I have never seen her, and I truly always forget to look for her!!
sorry, that's just funny.

I think its fun the way the CM's kept calling your DH out for being superman.

I tried looking for her the past two years - last year, I stopped a CM and asked - she had already left for the day. So I was excited to catch her, by chance.

It wouldn't have been funny if it was you.

I loved how the CMs called him Superman all day. It was soo great!

 

[lbuzz52]

I know you are a busy bee right now, but i just wanted to stop in and say hi!

 

[mtgirl29]

Ms. Lidian, the DIS is not the same without you. We MISS you! Cannot wait to hear about the last part of your trip!

 

[Belle83]

I just found your trip report, we were there at the same time
I'm still catching up, but enjoying it so

 

[Lidian]

I know you are a busy bee right now, but i just wanted to stop in and say hi!

Awww, thanks! Hi and I've not forgotten the DIS.

Ms. Lidian, the DIS is not the same without you. We MISS you! Cannot wait to hear about the last part of your trip!

TK, you are NUTS! I miss you guys, too! I promise to have another update eventually, as well as finish the TR. Maybe once both kids are in school, I'll find some ME time and can get things accomplished!

I just found your trip report, we were there at the same time
I'm still catching up, but enjoying it so

Have you found yourself in any random photos yet? lol (I confess, I check photos for my family when I see TRs of others who were there at the same time. )

Thanks for the kind words! I've not abandoned it... even though I'm sure people have felt so.




Things have been really .... busy lately. I've tried to stay off the PC and my phone as much as possible lately. I assure you, I have NOT forgotten any of you!

 

[Lidian]

Is anyone still out there? Anyone miss me?

So ... things have been really ... different around here lately. I'm working on an update (to be posted this weekend - hopefully tonight).

I had a rough summer ... the Disney blues hit me really hard this year, and its been a struggle to come back here - but I have been checking periodically over updates (but quietly). I spent a good portion of the summer straightening things out ... so ... I could return to school. Yep, I am a full time college student on top of being a mom. Accounting degree, here I come! My dream would be to do my internship at WDW and then be placed in their Accounting department ... but realistically, that probably won't happen. It's not impossible, but I certainly won't hold my breath. There's a good chance of the internship, however, so we'll see.

Anyway ... just wanted to let you know, I am working on an update, and I hope to have this TR finished out soon.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I'm still here, congrats on heading back to school!

 

[KatMark]

I'm still here. Congrats on going back to school, and can't wait to read your next update.

 

[Lidian]

Since its been awhile ... this might mostly be just "hey, here's the pictures!"... because my memory isn't the most awesome.

Anyway ... where were we? Oh, we had been seated in the giraffe section of FotLK.

I recall at one point, dropping my iPhone and it sliding into another lady. I felt like an idiot, and I was sure my phone was broken. Oddly enough, it was fine.

The show started, and we were enjoying it as always. Then, at the end, as the finale was starting, a zebra approached us and asked the kids if they wanted to come play a game. They were soo excited! Here's some pics of the zebra going over instructions:

They were each given a maraca (shaker) and they marched around in a circle in front of the float. Immediately, DS set his shaker back in the basket and put a finger in each ear.

Then they decided to march around the entire middle float where the show is held.

DS had to be coaxed a bit to continue, he was afraid of being away from us, I think.

DD was having a blast, and she didn't need any extra attention ... but the zebra led DS right up to where Timon was standing and singing.

You can barely see him back there, but he is directly to the left of DD who had turned to see where her brother had gone off to.

Then Timon says, "Great job! Especially you, you were perfect!", as he leans down to give DS a high five. The zebra stayed with DS the whole time, and she led him back to us. He was grinning ear to ear over the ordeal!

(It's blurry, I know, and I'm sorry.)

Anyway, after FotLK, we made our way over to the Safari again. I have only seen the lioness on the Safari ... but this time ... A LION!

He even posed for us up on his rock! It was amazing!!!

After the Safari ... it was park closing time. While no CM ever made us feel like we were being ushered out ... we knew it was time to go. The past two years, we have always left AK around 3-4ish ... so staying until park close was a great experience! Sadly, I still left without getting everything I wanted done. We never found one of the trails, and there was all sorts of sights I didn't see. (Next right, right?)

We boarded the bus back to CSR to get our car so we could head to our new hotel. We had a whole new experience waiting for us later that night ... any guesses on what it is?

Stay tuned for: Will we ever get dinner?

 

[Lidian]

I'm still here, congrats on heading back to school!

I'm still here. Congrats on going back to school, and can't wait to read your next update.

Thank you!! Update is posted! Shocker, I know!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Congrats on seeing the lion!

 

[Lidian]

Once we arrive back at CSR and hop into our car ... we should really title the rest of the weekend appropriately ...

Let's change the rest of this TR to.... How many times can one family get lost in a single weekend?!

Yeah, now I feel better. Honest. Refreshed. And lost.

So we pull up directions on our phones on how to get to the new hotel .... The Palms Hotel & Villas .... We had rezzies for a 1 bedroom villa.

So DH was making me nervous holding his phone and using the GPS system on it. He finally realized how stupid he was (and how dangerous) and handed me the phone. So I was following the directions on it ... but ... the placement of things weren't so exact. He turned when it said he should ... down the wrong road. So we take a left, which is what the map said ... then the dot (final destination) kept moving ... It took us nearly an hour to find the hotel ... which was less than 2 miles from the WDW entrance. That stupid pin on the map kept moving when we'd get near it ... we finally put the phone away and just drove until we found it. (Because stopping to ask for directions would be out of the question.)

The place ... was okay. Honestly, they needed to re-pave the entrance. It looked old (not like the pictures on the website), and could use a make-over pretty bad. The staff was ... almost friendly. They gave us wristbands for the pool and breakfast (served in the lobby).

We were in a building across the parking lot from the lobby, so it wasn't a horrible walk. Our villa was located on the 2nd floor. Once inside, it looked pretty nice.

The bedroom:

The living room: (You can see the door at the far right side of the picture.)

Table and chairs (which was in front of the door, in the living room area):

Kitchen:

Another view of the living room:

As you may be able to see ... my DD can find the Disney channel anywhere. lol

Overall, for the price, it was okay. If on a budget, I'd stay there again ... but only if the keyword was "budget". There are nicer hotels offsite to stay at for a few dollars more. But we'll get more in depth about the hotel later ...

We had some snack credits leftover, so we decided to hit DTD and do some shopping and get some treats at Goofy's Candy Co. After we were settled, we hopped in the car and made our way back to the WDW entrance and to DTD.

DH finally found a spot he was happy with, I think there was a soap store near the entrance we came in at (but its been awhile, and I just glanced around).

We were going to hit Goofy's, then grab some dinner and browse around, and go back to the hotel for sleep.

We took our time scoping out all the yummies at Goofy's. We settled on a couple of cookies, a couple of pieces of fudge, and something else ... I don't recall. OH! I got two cookies, DS got a Gingerbread Mickey, DD got some fudge, and DH got some fudge (that he gave me later). As we paid with our remaining snack credits, we turned to exit and the skies opened up at that exact moment.

Don't get me wrong, I know it rains in FL, and it rains at WDW ... but I had never seen it rain before. I've seen evidence of rainfall in the past, but never the actual rain. So we stood there trying to decide what to do. It was a complete downpour, and anyone in it would be soaked to the bones in a matter of nanoseconds! I told DH he should run across the walkway to RFC and put our names on the wait list. He said that we should just wait it out and then go over to WGPs again. Whatever. So he pulls up the storm tracker app on the phone and realizes that it won't be letting up anytime soon. After standing there for nearly an hour, he finally decides to go put our name on the RFC wait list. We all dash across the walkway and he finds out that the wait is now nearly 3 hours. (If he had listened to me, we'd be in the home stretch on getting a table.) The people who had ADRs were mostly missing them due to the rain ... but everyone in the area had run to RFC and put their names on the list. People kept pouring in (over the past hour of watching them, as well). So when I gave DH "I told you so, why don't you ever listen to me look", he suggested we run over to EoS. Yes, because I want to be totally soaked and sit in the AC and eat a yummy sandwich. After the rain let up a tad, we made a mad dash for the car ... only DH decided that he wanted to make his mad dash for EoS (which was packed). I told him to go ahead and try to eat there, I was leaving. He finally noticed that he wouldn't have gotten in the doors and followed me and the kids.

So our great day was literally being rained on.

We decided to find a drive thru and take dinner back to the hotel. I was soaked, miserable, and cranky at DH - not only for him being stubborn about being lost, but for him not listening to me. He wanted to wait the three hours out, but my blood-sugar was dropping and I wouldn't have made it.

He drove around for nearly an hour before finally settling on a McDonald's. We took dinner back to the hotel, made ourselves comfy (and dried off a bit) and then turned in. It was nearly 10pm when we hit the drive thru ... with our last meal (and snack) being FTBBQ around 11:30ish.

At this point, I was in a sour mood ... I was depressed (being off property), and I wasn't sure that DH would make it through the night.

You'll have to stay tuned to see what we get into Saturday ...

 

[lovethattink]

I'm still here! But now I have to play catch up, lol!

Congrats on going back to school! Too cute about his ears and the show. Great lion pictures!!

 

[LoriABil]

I can't believe I just found this TR. We were there at the same time, staying at the BC. Love your writing and reading all of the fun experiences!

 

[Lidian]

I'm still here! But now I have to play catch up, lol!

Congrats on going back to school! Too cute about his ears and the show. Great lion pictures!!

Don'tcha just love the "catch up" game?

(FYI, I'm still following yours ... quietly though )
Thanks for the compliments!

I can't believe I just found this TR. We were there at the same time, staying at the BC. Love your writing and reading all of the fun experiences!

Thanks for the compliments! How was BC? We definitely wouldn't mind staying there sometime.

 

[Lidian]

With as exhausted as we were, I was shocked we even made it out of bed Saturday. We totally missed the breakfast in the lobby. After hanging out, trying to create a game plan, we decided for .....

DTD ... the kids were a bit obsessed with the balloon, and we rarely see it in flight, so I snapped some pics of it as we were coming in.

DTD was packed (arriving around noonish) ... and it took a bit to find parking. We were going to enjoy lunch and some shopping ... but we didn't stick around too long. I did pick up a couple of odds and ends (mugs for my mom and dad, which pictures seem to elude me ... I'll try to find them when its not 4am and post them). I had still been eyeing some cute purses, and DH kept saying to buy one, but I couldn't justify the money... they were super cute, but super expensive, too. I kept thinking... if I don't buy it, its money towards another trip.

After some browsing, we did end up at EoS. It was still packed, but not as bad as when we first arrived. (Sorry, no food pics.) We were famished, and thankful to be eating. (We got lucky and scored a table while waiting on the food.)

After we finished our lunch, we decided to go back to the pool for a swim and see what the evening brought upon us. We were considering visiting Epcot for the night, but nothing solid yet.

Once changed and sunblocked, we made our way to the pool. It took us a bit to find it, but we saw another family dripping wet, so we just went the way they came. I was unimpressed with the pool ... and I really wish I had snapped some pics of how disgusting the pool was!!!!

Okay, I know that bugs like to find pools and make it their final resting place ... but this was just rediculous! IF they have cleaned it any this summer, it certainly wasn't anytime recent. You couldn't stand in the pool without touching dead bugs. It was a graveyard for bugs! I took one look and told DH we should just go back to the room (or visit a WP). He said that it would be fine and told the kids to have fun. All I could think about was them swallowing a bug.

DH looked around for some pool cleaning stuff, he was going to skim the surface for them ... but they didn't have anything laying around. C'mon, if you aren't going to clean your pool yourself, at least leave the equipment around so the guests can!

Apparently bugs don't bother most people, as the pool was decently crowded with guests. (DH said the kiddie pool was just NASTY.)

I was so hot being outside and really wanted to cool off. DH had been hanging out in the hot tub or whirlpool, whatever you call it. He suggested I hop in and then back out, so I'd be wet. So I did (it was clean). I spent most of the afternoon texting lovethattink.

DH made some friends in the hot tub ... a couple of young adults got in and started talking (to each other) video games and such. DH jumped in the conversation. So here I was thinking... "Great, now he'll never get out!"

After a long afternoon at the pool, we finally made our way back to the room to shower (and debug the kids) and head out for dinner. We started searching around for dinner possibilities and decided to try Kobe's. There was one nearby.

We piled into the car and off we went .... only to find out they were on a 2+ hour wait! So we checked a crabshack place (same thing).... we kept checking every decent (TS-type) eatery ... all was on very long waits. I wouldn't have minded the wait, as often its over-stated ... but DH insisted we find a place where they say "Come right this way!" when we walk through the door.

So we had been looking for over 2 hours (and could have been sat at Kobe's by then). He did finally find a place ... and it was after 9pm ... want to know where?

Denny's.

I have never eaten at a Denny's before. They have some (sorta) locally ... but I've never bothered. If I'm in the area, there's better eateries to select from for dinner. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing bad about Denny's ... but usually they have lower quality food (and service), and usually focus more on breakfast than dinner items (so mediocre is usually they key word).

I didn't get pics, wasn't motivated enough, and I don't think I had my camera anyway ... I was a bit bummed. I was hoping for a return visit to Epcot (or any of the parks) ... but the kids had a blast in the pool, so I tried to let it go. And I really wanted a YUMMY meal ... and whatever I ate, while it was fine, it just wasn't what I wanted. Service was crappy, I do recall that. Plus, I was a bit depressed because I knew when I woke up, it would be to hop in the car and drive home.

I have a WoW friend who loves Denny's and was all about some bacon dessert ... it was called a Maple Bacon Sundae. I did text him and teased him (pretended like I was eating one). He wasn't too happy with that.

After Denny's we went back to the hotel, watched some TV and packed up, and hopped in bed.

 

[lovethattink]

I remember getting texts about the bugs in the pool. Weren't they lovebugs? I think we were swimming in our caged-in pool at the same time, and I invited you over to a clean pool.

DTD seems to be either hit or miss. There are days we drive around for a long time waiting for a parking spot. Other times the place is empty. Wasn't the Lego store under refurbishment went you went?

Yesterday we went to the MK and met up with some of the central FL DISboarders and someone from the CSR board. Anakin asked if we were going to see "Pirate Boy" too. He still remembers meeting your children!

My in-laws love Denny's. My husband can't stand the restaurant. It's a mainstay in their family. I think they keep Denny's in business. I never heard of the bacon dessert. Sounds scary. Your friend is brave.

Too bad you didn't get to Kobe. Singledad makes it sound wonderful!