Meeting, Munching, and Merriment!-Updated 7/7-Can you believe I updated this again?

[my2boysrtwicethefun]

 

[crarmy]

Wow, I just love reading your TR, I finally had a chance to get caught up, and I have truly enjoyed myself. I can't wait to read more. One of the things I love about reading a TR of a WDW veteran is that you learn so many little things here and there. Thanks for sharing.

And like always awesome pictures, I think you keep outdoing yourself! And all those wedding pics, to die for, I wish you lived closer and I would hire you to take our family pic. You want to come to Texas?? jk

When at WDW in Sept. I did take some pictures I was really proud of, thanks to some of your great advice and that of others in the Photo forum. But...of course nothing as fabulous as yours. I will be patiently waiting for more maybe more like impatiently.

 

[Disneyfreak92]

Hi Lynda! I'm finally checking in at your TR, and no surprise, I see some FABULOUS pictures! Wow! Those Illuminations shots are wonderful!

It sounds like you had a great day with Melinda and her daughters! It's nice that you also got to meet the rest of her family that night. You're off to a great start with your Peep meets.

Aren't longer trips great?! I can't wait to read more!
Take care,
Michelle

P.S. Tell Josh he's not alone with the 'height' thing on Soarin'.

Thank you! Thank you!

The Peep meets just keep comin'! It was so great meeting so many wonderful DISers while on this trip!

Longer trips ROCK!!!

More is on the way!

Wow, I just love reading your TR, I finally had a chance to get caught up, and I have truly enjoyed myself. I can't wait to read more. One of the things I love about reading a TR of a WDW veteran is that you learn so many little things here and there. Thanks for sharing.

And like always awesome pictures, I think you keep outdoing yourself! And all those wedding pics, to die for, I wish you lived closer and I would hire you to take our family pic. You want to come to Texas?? jk

When at WDW in Sept. I did take some pictures I was really proud of, thanks to some of your great advice and that of others in the Photo forum. But...of course nothing as fabulous as yours. I will be patiently waiting for more maybe more like impatiently.

Hey there! Great to see you! Thanks for reading. And thanks for the compliments. I'm glad you're enjoying the report. There's more coming...very soon!

 

[Disneyfreak92]

Sorry for the delay in getting another installment up! I wanted to get my photopass CD, and now I have! In the meantime, I’ve been shopping a couple of times out of town (got a new Coach purse at the outlet store!) and went to a Fall Out Boy concert, which was great! I'm also going out of town shopping both of the next two Saturdays. There is a certain holiday around the corner that involves a lot of shopping!

So, we are now on Day 2, our first full day of the trip, MK day, and the day of the big Peep meet at ‘Ohana!

I awoke at 6:30 and got ready. We arrived at MK (by bus today) at about 9:45 to find it decorated for Halloween. So cute!

As we started our journey down Main Street, we encountered these ladies!

They were a riot! They asked us a few questions, including how DH proposed. He answered that he proposed while sitting on the couch because his dad kept screwing up all his more elaborate plans. Of course, they repeated that very loudly for all to hear. We talked to them for a few minutes before heading on down to the bakery for breakfast. DH had a cinnamon roll, and I had an apple turnover. Both were yummy, but we knew that already. We had both had the same thing before.

We headed over to Jungle Cruise next. There was a 5 minute wait. Score! While waiting in line, DH started elbowing me, and as I turned around towards the boat that was pulling up to be loaded, I understood why. We are pretty sure it was ‘Scat Girl’ from American Idol! If you don't know who she is, check this out. And she now works on the Jungle Cruise at WDW according to an American Idol 'Where are they now?' issue of People DH and I read. I wasn’t fast enough with the camera. Sorry folks! Those boats move faster than I thought. (Or I’m slower – Let’s say it’s the boats. ) At any rate, it wasn’t our boat, but we did board shortly after that and waved good-bye to the folks on the dock. We had a pretty uneventful cruise, but I did get a couple of cool photos!

Next, it was on to PoC, where we walked right on! And I broke out the new lens. I don’t usually even bother taking pictures on this ride because in the past I’ve always needed flash. Not anymore! Check it out!

Not many turned out, but it was my first try.

As we walked through Frontierland, we saw Woody’s Roundup finishing up, and we spotted Bullseye! Check out his horse shoes! He’s adorable!

We stopped at the DVC stand and saw this sign, which we thought was interesting. Toyko DVC???

We grabbed FastPasses for Peter Pan before hitting Haunted Mansion. (We knew better than to wait too late to get the Peter Pan FP!) FastPasses in hand, we headed back to Liberty Square and walked onto HM…for the first time since the renovations! I was SOOOOooo excited! And it did NOT disappoint. What a great job they did on this ride! The new sound is incredible, as are the new visual enhancements. I DID manage to get a pic of the new bride. Spoiler Alert! Cover your eyes if you don’t want to see her!!!

Following HM, we walked right onto Snow White’s Scary Adventures. And then it was time for Peter Pan’s Flight – my favorite Fantasyland dark ride! I LOVE flying over London. I only managed to get one picture on this flight, but I kinda like it.

 

[Disneyfreak92]

Then it was time for lunch, and we were trying Pecos Bill’s – a first for us. When we arrived, we decided to try out the new express ordering thing. It rocked! No line for ordering – just had to wait on our food. We definitely liked it! We also liked the fixin’s bar. DH had the taco salad, and I had the cheeseburger. Dessert was strawberry yogurt for DH and peanut butter brownie mousse for me. DH made fun of me, but I did indeed photograph this meal.

It was good! We really liked this counter service restaurant!

After lunch, we headed towards Tomorrowland, stopping on the way for a PhotoPass picture.

Incidentally, it was EXTREMELY HUMID this day, and I HAD straightened my hair that morning, but as soon as we left the room, it did what you see in the photo above.

Then we got a Fastpass for Buzz Lightyear and headed over to Stitch’s Great Escape. We had time to kill, and I think we skipped it last time, and besides, I love Stitch! Not to mention the fact that we enjoy watching everyone trying to pull down the “restraint” before the show starts. We shopped a bit in Tomorrowland while we waited on our Fastpass to become active, and then we headed for Buzz to defeat the Evil Emperor Zurg! Well, we didn’t need our Fastpasses. There was no wait…any of the three times we rode it back to back!

On the way back to the hub, we saw Push! Check it out! And tell me if you spot Push’s “helper”.

Then it was time for a couple more Photopass pictures and shopping on Main Street before heading back to the room for a break before the big Kona Peep meet!

But on the way out of MK, I grabbed a shot of this. SO freakin’ cute!

And on the way back to the room, I took a few pictures around the hotel.

Then we rested up and freshened up before heading over to the Poly for the much anticipated meet! I’ll report on that next time, and I PROMISE that installment won’t take nearly as long as this one did!

 

[KatGarcia]

Awesome update! I swear your pics of food look good even! You make me wanna take better pics! LOL! I so loved the MK decorated for Halloween it was so cute!

 

[punkin413]

great installment, lynda!

On the way back to the hub, we saw Push! Check it out! And tell me if you spot Push’s “helper”.

i can! i can! he's got a blue shirt on and he's to the right of the lady in the white tank. that looks like the same guy that was push's "helper" when we saw him at AK!

by the way, was scat girl's hair blonde or brown? if you remember, i thought she may have been our skipper on the JC back in may, but i didn't know about it until afterwards so i didn't know to pay that much attention. but she had blonde hair then. just curious.....it's probably not the same girl.

can't wait for another installment!

 

[monymony3471]

Does Josh know what a big tease you are? Peep meet in the next one!

I really thought it was going to be today!


Disney looks so beautiful through your lens.

 

[MA pigletfan]

Great installment Lynda!! I love the HM bride and POC pics..what a great lens...and eye you have I can't wait to check out the new HM in December!

 

[DisneyObsession]

Great Installment!

I was abl to pick out Push's handler as well! Why else would the guy have his hand to his mouth and talking into it?!?

I hope you get an installment up before I leave this Sunday. I'd love to hear about the Peep Meet before I go! Thanks!!!

 

[my2boysrtwicethefun]

Great installment! Your trip report rocks. It makes me super excited about my upcoming trip. Only 39 days....only 39 days.....only 39 days.

 

[Spartangirl]

Great installment, Lynda! Your pics are fab as always! You probably already mentioned this, but what kind of a lens did you use for the indoor/dark rides? I especially love the bride from the HM....so spooky! I can't wait to see the updated version in Dec!

 

[lexmelinda]

Great installment, Lynda!

Your pictures are soooooo wonderful! I feel like I'm there. *sigh*

I admire you for trying to straighten your hair. I tried the first coupla days and then just went ponytail for the rest of the trip....with the exception of Kona which I'm sure you probably have photographic evidence of my humidity doo.

Did you like Peco's Bills? We really liked the wrap but the kids didn't like the burgers. I loove that chocolate/PB thing. mmmmmmm.

OK...onward to Kona..........

 

[Disneyfreak92]

Awesome update! I swear your pics of food look good even! You make me wanna take better pics! LOL! I so loved the MK decorated for Halloween it was so cute!

Aw, thanks! DH was wanting to eat his taco salad, and he was like, "Are you trying to get its good side or what?" It was dark in there!

great installment, lynda!


i can! i can! he's got a blue shirt on and he's to the right of the lady in the white tank. that looks like the same guy that was push's "helper" when we saw him at AK!

by the way, was scat girl's hair blonde or brown? if you remember, i thought she may have been our skipper on the JC back in may, but i didn't know about it until afterwards so i didn't know to pay that much attention. but she had blonde hair then. just curious.....it's probably not the same girl.

can't wait for another installment!

Thank you!

And Ding! Ding! Ding! You got it right! Josh actually pointed him out and said "Get a picture with him in it!" I thought it was interesting because the last time we saw Push, we couldn't spot the guy! Of course, we didn't know what to look for back then either. I just love Push!

Well, the girl we saw had brown hair. I do remember you thinking you had gotten her as a skipper. I didn't get a great look at the girl this time. But the glance I got did look like her. I will be more on the ball next time though.

Does Josh know what a big tease you are? Peep meet in the next one!

I really thought it was going to be today!


Disney looks so beautiful through your lens.

Sorry! I wasn't trying to be a tease. I just knew I already had tons of pics in this installment, and it would have to be split. Plus, it was time for bed!

And thank you!

Great installment Lynda!! I love the HM bride and POC pics..what a great lens...and eye you have I can't wait to check out the new HM in December!

Thank you so much! You are gonna love it! I think it's GREAT!

Great Installment!

I was abl to pick out Push's handler as well! Why else would the guy have his hand to his mouth and talking into it?!?

I hope you get an installment up before I leave this Sunday. I'd love to hear about the Peep Meet before I go! Thanks!!!

Yeah, he sure did have his hand up there. But I guess it's no worse than having some microphone in front of his mouth. He was really easy to spot this time though. It was along the parade route, so he might have been closer than he would be at other times so he could hear better. It's always a bit noisy pre-parade.

I will try to get that done for ya! I actually really want to get it done, but I know that I have a friend bringing me music today that needs to be added to my ipod tonight &/or tomorrow night because her and I are going shopping in downtown Chicago Saturday! And we gotta have road music! I am gonna try to get the installment done either tonight or tomorrow night though.

 

[Disneyfreak92]

Great installment! Your trip report rocks. It makes me super excited about my upcoming trip. Only 39 days....only 39 days.....only 39 days.

I'm so glad you are enjoying it, and that it's getting you excited! That's what I like to hear.

Great installment, Lynda! Your pics are fab as always! You probably already mentioned this, but what kind of a lens did you use for the indoor/dark rides? I especially love the bride from the HM....so spooky! I can't wait to see the updated version in Dec!

I think I MIGHT have mentioned it briefly in the pre-trip part about the photography equipment. It's my new lens, the Canon 50mm f/1.8, and it rocks! It's SO fast! So it works great in dark rides and dark restaurants. It got a workout on this trip too. There'll be a lot more from that lens later in the report. And the updated HM rocks! I'm sure you'll love it!

Great installment, Lynda!

Your pictures are soooooo wonderful! I feel like I'm there. *sigh*

I admire you for trying to straighten your hair. I tried the first coupla days and then just went ponytail for the rest of the trip....with the exception of Kona which I'm sure you probably have photographic evidence of my humidity doo.

Did you like Peco's Bills? We really liked the wrap but the kids didn't like the burgers. I loove that chocolate/PB thing. mmmmmmm.

OK...onward to Kona..........

Thank you!

I did the same thing with my hair. If you remember, it was NOT straight at the Kona meet (or for the rest of the trip, for that matter). And there will be photographic evidence from the Kona meet for sure, but I thought your hair looked lovely!

We did like Pecos Bills! I want to try the wrap. I actually only got a burger so I could try out the fixin's bar. But I liked it. I would try a wrap or the taco salad next time though. And that chocolate/PB thing - YUM!

Kona coming soon-ish...

 

[GSD4ME]

I think I MIGHT have mentioned it briefly in the pre-trip part about the photography equipment. It's my new lens, the Canon 50mm f/1.8, and it rocks! It's SO fast!

I just got the Canon 50mm f/1.4 and, I agree, it is an INCREDIBLE lens!! Unfortunately, I've only been able to take a few test shots of my fur-babies and my husband with it (like, I was playing with depth of field and was taking different shots of his sneakers while he had his feet up on our coffee table ), but I can't wait to get out and use it some more . . . maybe this weekend when I take my class on pet photography!

More great pictures - as usual. I especially love the one of the bride at HM! Can't wait for more!

 

[crarmy]

Wow, you just take me back to WDW and make me want to go back today!!
What a great installment!!

We arrived at MK (by bus today) at about 9:45 to find it decorated for Halloween. So cute!

I just loved this, we had never been at Disney during this time of the year. I too took picutres of this. i just loved it!

...we headed back to Liberty Square and walked onto HM…for the first time since the renovations! I was SOOOOooo excited! And it did NOT disappoint. What a great job they did on this ride! The new sound is incredible, as are the new visual enhancements.

OMG, we wanted to go to HM soo bad, but we left on a Wednesday and the scheduled opening date was that Thursday. We were so bummed we missed it!

Incidentally, it was EXTREMELY HUMID this day, and I HAD straightened my hair that morning, but as soon as we left the room, it did what you see in the photo above.

Dang humidity, that was the way it was for me when we were dowm there, it is humid here in Houston too, but I guess I don't usually spend hours outdoors. You still look beautiful though.

...headed over to Stitch’s Great Escape. We had time to kill, and I think we skipped it last time, and besides, I love Stitch! Not to mention the fact that we enjoy watching everyone trying to pull down the “restraint” before the show starts.

Ok so the last time we rode this ride it was called "Alien Encounter" and it was SOOO SCARY!! It scared the heck out of me and for sure my DD at the time 9, and ruined her for life, to this day she refuses to go in any of those shows with the special fun effects. Did I metion she is now 16. Poor girl!! I am sure it is now a cute ride, but I don't know if she will ever go back in.

And on the way back to the room, I took a few pictures around the hotel.

This so cute, where in the hotel is this??

 

[lexmelinda]

 

[aldisneygrl]

Sorry for the delay in getting another installment up! I wanted to get my photopass CD, and now I have! In the meantime, I’ve been shopping a couple of times out of town (got a new Coach purse at the outlet store!) and went to a Fall Out Boy concert, which was great! I'm also going out of town shopping both of the next two Saturdays. There is a certain holiday around the corner that involves a lot of shopping!

Hope you are having a great day shopping today! Find lots of great deals!

Next, it was on to PoC, where we walked right on! And I broke out the new lens. I don’t usually even bother taking pictures on this ride because in the past I’ve always needed flash. Not anymore! Check it out!

Not many turned out, but it was my first try.

Ok thanks to these photos, DH is now considering a new lens.

Then it was time for lunch, and we were trying Pecos Bill’s – a first for us. When we arrived, we decided to try out the new express ordering thing. It rocked! No line for ordering – just had to wait on our food. We definitely liked it! We also liked the fixin’s bar. DH had the taco salad, and I had the cheeseburger. Dessert was strawberry yogurt for DH and peanut butter brownie mousse for me. DH made fun of me, but I did indeed photograph this meal.

Ok, explain to me what the express ordering line is. I would like to take advantage of that in January.

After lunch, we headed towards Tomorrowland, stopping on the way for a PhotoPass picture.

Lynda, you look great in that photo! I can really see your weight loss in that photo! Great job!

On the way back to the hub, we saw Push! Check it out! And tell me if you spot Push’s “helper”.

How cool! I want to "meet" push.


Great installment! Can't wait to read about the Peep Meet!

 

[DisneyLaura]

Hi, I just finished reading your TR so far. I love it and I agree with everyone your pictures feel that you are right there with you. Can't wait for more.