More Fun Than Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock-Adventures of the Sweet 16!New8-15

[FairyGodmotherJen]

now i see the troubles in getting there and why we did not see you guys when we were eating dinner...however if you did end up getting in at your normal time, you would have been right next to us, that picture below where the kid with the glow drink is, was our table...the table you were at had a big group while we were there maybe 20 people, and they must have just left it set up for your group, im thinking that is why your wait was so long, when we left after 6:00 they were still in the middle of eating.

We thought maybe we were waiting on you to finish. But you're probably right. There are only so many places to put a group our size!

i think that cinderella has a very good memory, when she came around and saw parker, she said "i remember you, you saw me in toon town yesterday" "your parker"

we forgot all about it, until we watched our video last night and heard her say it at that dinner, which reminded me to look back at our pictures, just to see if she was the same one, or heard us call him by name when she was there...sure enough same priness, they she is with you guys above and here she is with parker the day before.

i think it is awesome when they make a point of remmebering kids.

Even for Disney, some of their CMs just go above and beyond! She's obviously a much better people person than I am...I have a hard time putting parents and students together until about Christmas (which makes conferences interesting in October), and I have a REASON to remember them!

Sounds like Disney needs to put that particular bus out to pasture as it surely has seen it's better days. I know that you were thanking your lucky stars to finally make it to the Grand Floridian.

I love all of the character interaction pictures. Sounds like I may need toa dd 1900 Park Fare to our list of "we need to eat there" restaurants.

Yeah, I'm thinking that bus had seen better days!

The character interaction really was great. Of course, it helps that we had our resident "ham" with us , as he managed to charm several people during the trip, but I really think they would do well with anyone!

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

I have officially finished my summer courses for the summer session of 2010!!!!!!

I'm just a little excited.... No more course work until several weeks after school starts at the end of August. And since my student teacher attends the same university I'm taking courses from, she'll arrive then, too, which means next semester won't be nearly as complicated! Anyway, once I get DH out to his weekly game, I'll either be finishing up the Photopass CD (yes, still working on it...it's due by Thursday) or writing up the rest of Thursday. I'm just psyched not to be spending it writing unit plans or responding to discussion threads!

 

[Happy Elf]

I have officially finished my summer courses for the summer session of 2010!!!!!!

Yahoo!!!! I need to get signed up for my fall class! Not really looking forward to it!

 

[mickeystoontown]

I have officially finished my summer courses for the summer session of 2010!!!!!!

I'm just a little excited.... No more course work until several weeks after school starts at the end of August. And since my student teacher attends the same university I'm taking courses from, she'll arrive then, too, which means next semester won't be nearly as complicated! Anyway, once I get DH out to his weekly game, I'll either be finishing up the Photopass CD (yes, still working on it...it's due by Thursday) or writing up the rest of Thursday. I'm just psyched not to be spending it writing unit plans or responding to discussion threads!

WooHoo! That calls for a dance or two! And, maybe a jump and a cheer!

 

[marvali]

i think that cinderella has a very good memory, when she came around and saw parker, she said "i remember you, you saw me in toon town yesterday" "your parker"

we forgot all about it, until we watched our video last night and heard her say it at that dinner, which reminded me to look back at our pictures, just to see if she was the same one, or heard us call him by name when she was there...sure enough same priness,

i think it is awesome when they make a point of remmebering kids.

Even for Disney, some of their CMs just go above and beyond! She's obviously a much better people person than I am...I have a hard time putting parents and students together until about Christmas (which makes conferences interesting in October), and I have a REASON to remember them!

We had a similar moment on our trip a couple of years ago. DS13 and his friend were getting an autograph and picture with one of the Princesses. She asked where they were from and mentioned they looked familiar. When we started talking about it, and went back and looked at the pictures, it was the same person who had been a totally different princess they had met the day before.

I have officially finished my summer courses for the summer session of 2010!!!!!!

Congrats!

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

Even for Disney, some of their CMs just go above and beyond! She's obviously a much better people person than I am...I have a hard time putting parents and students together until about Christmas (which makes conferences interesting in October), and I have a REASON to remember them!

i am pretty good at faces, but names forget it, unless i know you for a while, and keep calling you by name ill forget it.

so yeah she did do an awesome job remember both your kids and ours i wonder how many others she saw again and remembered.

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Yahoo!!!! I need to get signed up for my fall class! Not really looking forward to it!

Thanks! It feels great! Of course, I was out at school starting to set up my classroom yesterday...

WooHoo! That calls for a dance or two! And, maybe a jump and a cheer!

Thanks! That's pretty much when I was doing right after I hit the send button for my final project!

We had a similar moment on our trip a couple of years ago. DS13 and his friend were getting an autograph and picture with one of the Princesses. She asked where they were from and mentioned they looked familiar. When we started talking about it, and went back and looked at the pictures, it was the same person who had been a totally different princess they had met the day before.

Congrats!

Like I said, I'm horrible with names. I guess I'd fail as a Disney face character!!!
And thanks for the congrats! This time next year, I'll be done for good!!

i am pretty good at faces, but names forget it, unless i know you for a while, and keep calling you by name ill forget it.

so yeah she did do an awesome job remember both your kids and ours i wonder how many others she saw again and remembered.

I once had an adult come into my classroom that I didn't recognize (this was pre-Columbine, so visitors didn't have to wear name badges or anything). I asked him if I could help him find anything. The look on his face told me I should really know him. It turned out that he was a parent of one of my students- very well known in the community, as he owns several car dealerships and was always contribuiting/volunteering at the school. This was around fall break (he was there to pick her up to leave for vacation), so it wasn't that early in the year, either. Very embarrassing....

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

I once had an adult come into my classroom that I didn't recognize (this was pre-Columbine, so visitors didn't have to wear name badges or anything). I asked him if I could help him find anything. The look on his face told me I should really know him. It turned out that he was a parent of one of my students- very well known in the community, as he owns several car dealerships and was always contribuiting/volunteering at the school. This was around fall break (he was there to pick her up to leave for vacation), so it wasn't that early in the year, either. Very embarrassing....

another thing that happens to me all the time is i will run into someone from high school, guy or girl, i recognize there face but have no idea there name...and they will call me by name the whole conversation, and im left with

hey guy, or hey bud, hey you, see ya champ, stuff like that, candi will ask me who it is and i say i have no idea of there name. i went to school with them.

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

We got to the MK right around 9 p.m. We could hear the Main Street Electrical Parade music as we went through the turnstiles. We got a glimpse of it as we walked through the hub, but we knew it probably wasn’t the best time to try and watch it. Instead, we made our way through the shops on the right side of Main Street as far as we could, then squeezed through the crowd until we could take the side path to Tomorrowland. The boys had an agenda: to ride Buzz Lightyear together and see who could get the best score.

Either Tim won the first one, or Bryan just wasn’t happy with his score (or both), but as soon as we got off the ride, he wanted to ride again. I attempted to take some pictures while we were on the ride, but I wasn’t as good with the camera yet. These are a few that Bry took on another ride.

Finally satisfied with his score, we headed out. The parade had ended, and it was close to being time for the fireworks. We decided it’d be a great time to preview them before we had the kids, so we settled in. Tim and Shelley found a Photopass photographer and we each got pictures, which we’ll post soon (the CD has finally been ordered!). We had an ok view of the castle from the walkway to Tomorrowland about halfway across. My only complaint was that there were a few trees in our way, and with the “all around you” fireworks in this show, we missed some of it. But these fireworks are AWESOME!!!

I was so glad to have seen them! And now that I had, I realized this would probably be the last time. There was no way Will would handle all the noise and explosions well (and it would be dark, after all), so I told Bryan that, when we stayed for the night time shows on Saturday, we’d all catch the parade together, but I would be taking Will back to the room before the fireworks started!

After the fireworks we battled the crowds across the hub and headed to Frontierland.

We rode Pirates, which is a favorite of mine that I don’t often get to ride (not one for my kids). We didn’t really wait at all! After our boat ride through the Caribbean, we decided to stake out a good spot for the 11:00 parade. We ended up getting a decent seat on Main Street, which surprised me since we didn’t get there until about 10:40! Tim and Shelley went to get cinnamon rolls to eat the next morning while we held our spot. They made it back just in time.

We enjoyed the parade – it was the one I had seen as a kid, so it brought back memories. I loved the movie Pete’s Dragon when I was young, and I’ve watched it a few times with my kids now. It was fun to see Elliot, and hear Pete talking to the crowd.

I kinda missed Spectro, though. It's just a sentimental thing, I guess - SpectroMagic is what I've seen with my kids since I've been coming back to Disney. It's my new tradition, maybe?? I hope they bring it back!


Now that the parade was done, we headed out. We stopped to take a few pictures,

And made our way back to the bus stop. We got back to the room, relieved the babysitters (for the second night in a row – how lucky were we???), and dropped into bed ourselves. I had to be up the next day for the Keys to the Kingdom tour, and Bryan was going to try and hit rope drop with the kids at DHS (and Tim and Shelley). Did we all make it? Stay tuned!!!

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

another thing that happens to me all the time is i will run into someone from high school, guy or girl, i recognize there face but have no idea there name...and they will call me by name the whole conversation, and im left with

hey guy, or hey bud, hey you, see ya champ, stuff like that, candi will ask me who it is and i say i have no idea of there name. i went to school with them.

Glad I'm not the only one!!!

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

I read on another thread (thanks, Glenn and Dan!) about posting videos from Photobucket. I thought I'd give it a try. This is the end of Will's dance routine on Wednesday to Off Kilter (I'm still looking for the longer video...don't think DH copied it to my laptop). Let's see if it works!

 

[mickeystoontown]

We've watched the fireworks from a spot near where you did. Those darn trees got in our way too!

I like the Main Street Electrical Parade and Spectro Magic parade and it would be heard for me to choose which one I like best. I love both of 'em.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

glad i could help you out with the video,it worked good for me, now you can incorporate more in your TR

 

[IluvXU]

A night in MK with no kids... I need to have that someday! I am still sad we missed the parade due to rain, but since I love Spectro too, I guess I am not that sad!

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

We've watched the fireworks from a spot near where you did. Those darn trees got in our way too!

I like the Main Street Electrical Parade and Spectro Magic parade and it would be heard for me to choose which one I like best. I love both of 'em.

I don't know what it is about Spectro...again, maybe it's because it's the one I've watched with my kids! It was good to see MSEP again, though.

glad i could help you out with the video,it worked good for me, now you can incorporate more in your TR

I have to see how many I have on my laptop...I'm starting to think they're all still on my DH's instead. I have to check when he gets home with it...

A night in MK with no kids... I need to have that someday! I am still sad we missed the parade due to rain, but since I love Spectro too, I guess I am not that sad!

The first time we were at Disney w/the kids (2005), we tried to watch Spectro only to have the sky open up on us about 8 minutes in! I was up drying tennis shoes with the blow dryer for hours (I didn't know about the DIS at this point, and hadn't brought any other shoes). It stinks when that happens...we had rain/parade issues the next few days as well! MK on our own was fun! This is the second trip we've gotten to do it on. As my kids get older, it might not be as big a deal, but it's fun to go on the things they're not ready for/interested in!

 

[belle8306]

I am back to continue my story!

Friday
Downtown Disney

We started the day, being able to sleep in. Which was really nice! We met up with Sue, Stoney, and UT. We headed out to catch a bus to Downtown Disney. It came pretty quickly. We were ready to have lunch at Earl of Sandwich.

We managed to get there right as they were opening and there was no line. That was a first for us! We love the sandwiches there. The bread reminds me of homemade bread that Sue makes. I had the BLT and Tim had the meatball sandwich. We both enjoyed them. I think I got a brownie and he got a chocolate chip cookie for dessert. We found a nice booth to sit in. While we were eating, Grandma and Aunt Jane met up with us, and Sue shared her sandwich with them. Bryan came over (they were eating at Wolfgang Puck's) and brought Haley. She was all dressed up from her BBB experience and she was beaming. At this point, we were finished eating and it was time to split up.

Tim, Stoney, and UT headed over to Disney Quest with Bryan and Jack. Sue and I headed out to do some shopping. We went to the World of Disney first. I have to use the signs hanging up in there to find my way around. We both made some purchases. They had a large selection of the 50% off sweatshirts. We had our things sent back to the room. We headed to Once Upon a Toy. Which was pretty calm inside. Three years ago, Tim and I got one of the big Mr.Potato heads to fill with parts and we sat on the floor to fill it. Sue is really good at packing so she was able to help us fit more things in. We saw several people sitting on the floor packing their boxes like we did. Sue bought some things and we found out that the Disney Silly Bandz may be carrying a Star Wars themed set soon. I know Jack would have loved those!
We headed over to the Lego store. They have a whole display wall of Lego people but they don't sell any people in the store. That was a little strange. We went into the sports store and I walked over to TrenD.

I love the decorations inside this store. They have a lot of cute things. I noticed a lot of Alice and Wonderland stuff probably because of the movie. We went into the Christmas store and the housewares store. I think I had stuff sent back at both places. Sue had a Mickey hat made for her dad with "Mr.Papa" put on the back. That is what Jack and Haley call him. It turned out really cute.

The sky was looking cloudier at this point. It wasn't raining though so we headed over to the $10 and under store. They have those mystery bags that have 4 items in a brown paper bag. I think it was like $7. Sue and I were curious as to what was inside them so we split the cost and bought one. Here is a tip, if the line at the $10 store is too long you can pay inside of the Winnie the Pooh store. We walked to Goofy's Candy Co. and I asked for a sample of the pink icee drink. It was really good so I used a snack credit to get one. Sue bought herself a treat as well. We went outside to eat our snack and found a table with an umbrella on it. We were able to look inside our "mystery bag". It contained a toddler fork and spoon set with Mickey on them, a Tinkerbell wall walker, a set of Mickey and friends twistable crayons, and a That's So Raven button that when you hit it, it said "Oh Snap!". We sat and enjoyed our snack and it started to sprinkle. We were under the umbrella so it was fine. Then it started really raining. We were getting a little wet, but still it was OK. Then, it started raining really hard. The wind picked up and it was blowing sideways. The chairs we were sitting on had openings on the seat and it was splashing up from the ground on us. All of the vendors with carts were pulling down their covers. We decided we had to run for it.

So, we grabbed our bags and put them over our heads and we ran toward the Pooh store, Between the rain, and the bag on my head I couldn't see very well so I ran into a hanging flower basket. It didn't hurt, it just caused us both to start laughing hysterically. We got inside the store and found a little corner to try to dry off. It was at this point I realized that I had a major fashion problem happening. I was wearing kakhi shorts. Well, when my shorts got soaked, they became a little see through in the back. This caused us to laugh even more. Luckily, Sue had a sweatshirt she was kind enough to let me tie around my waist.


We made a plan to catch the Grand Floridian bus and head over there a little early. We figured the rain would make traveling a little slower and if we were early we could explore the hotel a little. We put our bags back over our heads and headed out to the bus stop. We probably waited for 15 minutes until a bus a arrived. Once we were on the bus the driver started to go and then she quickly stopped. There was a family that had an open stroller on the bus with a baby in it. The bus driver told them she couldn't drive with the stroller open. The family wasn't very happy about folding up the stroller. The bus driver told them she was sorry, but that was the law. At this point, the man in the group shouted "SHUT UP!" at the driver. The whole bus went silent. Whoa! That was really awkward! We picked up at Typhoon Lagoon which was shutting down because of the storm. After stopping at Wilderness Lodge we made it to GF. After being stuck on the bus and feeling soaked the hotel looked even more grand than usual. We walked into the lobby feeling a little bit out of place with our soaked clothes.

However, looking around us, we could see we weren't the only ones with that problem. The hotel had placed big baskets of towels by the doors. What a nice touch! We were able to dry off and we felt much better. We each got something to drink and we explored the hotel a little. I was amazed at how many vases of real flowers there were everywhere.

It smelled wonderful inside. As we were taking everything in, we noticed a bride getting her picture taken on a big staircase. She had such a pretty dress! As the time grew closer for everyone to arrive we moved down closer to the front entrance.

Up next:
Our group arrives for 1900 Park Fare
Nightastic with Bryan and Jen

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Oh my word, Shelley - I never had heard all the details of your day!!! I could just picture you and Sue laughing hysterically! I'm glad that your head is ok and that your...um...wardrobe malfunction was manageable.

Ok, that guy on the bus was just being a jerk! It is very clear everywhere that you have to fold up the strollers on the buses. Don't like it? Go to a monorail resort! Seriously, I know it can be a pain - we've been to Disney four times now with strollers. But rules are rules, and I can completely see why this one is in place. I can't believe he yelled at the driver! Someone did try to do that on a bus we were on...it was on the way home at some point...but there was a security guard near our stop who saw them getting on that way, stopped the line of people loading the bus, and made sure they collapsed it. I'm glad it didn't get a chance to get as ugly as the situation you saw did!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Sounds like you had a good time shopping at DTD Shelley. I love the $10 and under store. I'm always on the lookout for a good deal (even at Disney) and I've found some really cute things in that store.

I'm sorry but I had to laugh when you said you ran into a hanging basket and then again when your shorts became transparent. That's so something that would happen to me.

What was up with the yelling guy on the bus? I can only imagine how he treats his wife and kids if he yelled at a perfect stranger like that. I bet I wouldn't have stood for it had I been the bus driver.

 

[belle8306]

Oh my word, Shelley - I never had heard all the details of your day!!! I could just picture you and Sue laughing hysterically! I'm glad that your head is ok and that your...um...wardrobe malfunction was manageable.

Ok, that guy on the bus was just being a jerk! It is very clear everywhere that you have to fold up the strollers on the buses. Don't like it? Go to a monorail resort! Seriously, I know it can be a pain - we've been to Disney four times now with strollers. But rules are rules, and I can completely see why this one is in place. I can't believe he yelled at the driver! Someone did try to do that on a bus we were on...it was on the way home at some point...but there was a security guard near our stop who saw them getting on that way, stopped the line of people loading the bus, and made sure they collapsed it. I'm glad it didn't get a chance to get as ugly as the situation you saw did!

The rain did create quite the wardrobe malfunction! The guy on the bus was out of line. I don't know why someone would be so rude like that.

Sounds like you had a good time shopping at DTD Shelley. I love the $10 and under store. I'm always on the lookout for a good deal (even at Disney) and I've found some really cute things in that store.

I'm sorry but I had to laugh when you said you ran into a hanging basket and then again when your shorts became transparent. That's so something that would happen to me.

What was up with the yelling guy on the bus? I can only imagine how he treats his wife and kids if he yelled at a perfect stranger like that. I bet I wouldn't have stood for it had I been the bus driver.

The $10 dollar store is fun to explore. I was laughing at myself with the basket/shorts incident. It made for a funny day. I don't know why the guy on the bus freaked out like that. It was really uncalled for.

 

[belle8306]

Thursday Night

When I left off, Sue and I were hanging out at the Grand Floridian. We got a call from the guys saying they were on the bus and they were almost to the resort. We walked out to the bus stop to meet them. The next bus that pulled in was theirs. They told us about their adventures at Disney Quest.

They had a great time. Tim wasn’t feeling very good. He had a headache (maybe from the noise or being hungry). After we found out that it would be a 40 minute wait for our table we walked down to a gift shop. He got something to drink and a snack, plus he took some medicine. After that, he was feeling much better. We passed the time waiting for our table by waiting in the lobby. I guess if you have to wait, you might as well wait someplace beautiful like the Grand Floridian.

Finally, the buzzer went off and our table was ready. We bypassed the group photo and entered the dining room. We had a large table right at the entrance to the restaurant. The food here was very good. I especially liked the mashed potatoes. I think everyone enjoyed their meals.

Watching Will interact with the characters was so memorable! He is such a charmer! It was a lot of fun to see. Jack, Haley and Ruby also had a great time with the characters.

We split up after our meal and Tim and I headed out to MK with Bryan and Jen. The parade was going on when we arrived. Which actually, worked to our advantage since Tomorrowland was not busy at all. We rode Buzz twice and then we went to Frontierland to ride Pirates. We were able to find a spot to watch the fireworks on the bridge by Tomorrowland. The cool thing was, that Tinkerbell flew right over our heads. I really enjoyed the show. The music was really pretty.

We headed over to Main Street to find a spot for the parade. Tim and I had snack credits to use, so we wanted to get something from the bakery for breakfast the next morning. We were able to get our snacks and make it back to our spot before the parade began. I like the Electrical Parade but like Jen, not as much as Spectromagic. To me, the music is not as catchy as Spectro. I am glad that I got to see it, but I hope they bring back Spectomagic by the time I come back to Disney.

We made it out to the buses fairly quickly. I don’t remember waiting for very long at the bus stop. Once we made it back to CBR we just crashed. It had been a fun, busy day.

Up Next:
DHS with Bryan and the kids
Ohana