My better late than never TR

[CanadianWDWfan]

Happy Day After Halloween !!!!

Hope you get the new van soon, car buying is so awful. What is the best deal? Shopping around? The back and forth with the salesman. I only like actually "getting" the new car. Good luck.

The update was very sweet. Cute pics of the kids. The family pics will be a treasure. I think a trip with my whole family would be fun but crazy with everyone wanting to go thier seperate ways.

My DMom won Dream fast passes last year in Epcot. She and DD got lost going to the bathroom. DS and I were waiting at Soarin when she arrived with them in hand. I was thrilled, I couldn't believe it. I only wish I was there to live the moment. Its a great souvenier to have. I feel very lucky to have them and if my DMom hadn't gotten lost she wouldn't have been chosen. Disney magic. I'm also gratefull the Dream CM was kind enough to give her 4 instead of 2.

 

[kschafer]

Hope you get the new van soon, car buying is so awful. What is the best deal? Shopping around? The back and forth with the salesman. I only like actually "getting" the new car. Good luck.

I"m glad its done with. DH called me back around 3:00 and said he thought we should take the deal and I needed to stop at the dealer on my way home from work to sign the sales agreement and give a deposit. While I was there, the sales manager told me that he was waiting to hear back from the manager of the dealer who had the van. He called around 7:45 (they closed at 5:30 but he came back after dinner) to say he was still waiting and asked if we have a second choice , um, no. The other dealer closed at 8 and he had to have the agreement before midnight for us to keep the discounts.

He called again at 8:15 to say he had gotten it. Today we dealt with loan stuff. We applied online a couple places and were being offered interest rates of 7.5-9% (my old van was a lower sales price and 5% interest). The sales manager was able to secure us one at 6.5% and believes he can get us 6% from a place that was closed today

We should be getting it Monday or Tuesday as they have to bring it from a couple hours away. Like I said, I will be excited to get it but right now I'm just glad it's done!

I'm also gratefull the Dream CM was kind enough to give her 4 instead of 2.

That was so nice to give extras! It would have been a shame to have to decide how to split them up among your group.

I saw your comment on MeMom's thread about getting snow this week. You said the temp quickly went up to 16 degrees. It caught me by surprise for a moment because of course the US uses our completely illogical measurement system instead of metric and 16 is still below freezing in farenheit. I had to do the conversion to realize that in celcius, that it quite warm for having just gotten snow!

Thanks for reading, I got all the pictures ready for an update but am too tired tonight to upload them. Tomorrow I promise!

 

[sunny_stace]

Hi! Thanks for the compliments. Welcome aboard, glad to have you!!

I saw on MeMom's thread that you are headed to WDW after our Thanksgiving. Did you say you are arriving on Nov 30? That's my birthday! I'm hoping to convince DH to take me in 3 years for my 40th and leaving the kids at home with Grandma and Grandpa. Unfortunately, since he is a high school teacher, that is a lot harder than just taking vacation days.

Hoping you have safe journeys and decide to write a TR when you return!

Well Happy Early Birthday to YOU!
Yeppers, we're arriving on the 30th! 28 days now! I've been counting since january! I can certainly understand where your DH is coming from. This is the first year I haven't worked retail and have been able to get away to see Disney near Christmas!

I guess I'm gonna have to buckle down and write a real trip report this year! I've never written a full one but I've enjoyed everyone else's so much I feel I should do one too! Heaven knows I spend enough time on the Dis anyhow! You should definately do a super duper trip-of-a-lifetime for your 40th!! That's what I'm hoping to do for my 30th (so far I'm hoping for a two week Mediterranean Disney Cruise and another two weeks at the parks And then a trip around the world to all the Disney parks! Oh if wishes were fishes the sea would be full )

 

[CanadianWDWfan]

Congrats on the new van !!!!

I know it gets confusing discussing weather with us Canadians. I'm lucky to have lived in both countries so I understand both celcius and farenheit. The weather was crazy this week.

sunny stace - I do work in retail now and I can only dream of a time when I can see WDW at Christmas, Halloween, Easter....did I forget anything. I figure when I retire I can move there and go whenever I want.

 

[MeMom]

Congrats on the new van !!!!

I know it gets confusing discussing weather with us Canadians. I'm lucky to have lived in both countries so I understand both celcius and farenheit. The weather was crazy this week.

sunny stace - I do work in retail now and I can only dream of a time when I can see WDW at Christmas, Halloween, Easter....did I forget anything. I figure when I retire I can move there and go whenever I want.

I second the congratulations on the new vehicle. I hope they put an extra layer of 'sticky' on the wheels so that there won't be any more rolling over tricks going on.

Not so much at Easter, but if anyone can ever possibly make it to Disney World while Halloween and Christmas decorations are up, they really, really should. Both are just awesome!

 

[kschafer]

I guess I'm gonna have to buckle down and write a real trip report this year! I've never written a full one but I've enjoyed everyone else's so much I feel I should do one too! Heaven knows I spend enough time on the Dis anyhow!

That's why I finally decided to write one of my own. I was spending so much time living vicariously through others! It's a lot of fun to write I have to say. It gives me a chance to relive the magic

You should definately do a super duper trip-of-a-lifetime for your 40th!! That's what I'm hoping to do for my 30th (so far I'm hoping for a two week Mediterranean Disney Cruise and another two weeks at the parks And then a trip around the world to all the Disney parks!

WOW! that is quite the trip of a lifetime!!

Oh if wishes were fishes the sea would be full )

Great quote!!

Congrats on the new van !!!!

Thanks, I'll havd to post pics next week when we get it. I am pretty excited really, it's a pretty snazzy van. We had certain things we wanted as options but because we are buying an '08, we are a little bit limited to what is left so we ended up with a couple extras like heated seats. It seems a bit excessive but I'm sure I will enjoy it in the winter especially because I am always colder than DH so I can crank mine up! We also ended up with backseat satellite TV. I know... ...I agree, how crazy is that!! My preference is alway that kids watch what's going on OUTSIDE but we did get the built in DVD's this time for longer trips (No wonder I can't afford another trip to WDW!!!) Anyways, the TV comes with 1 year of service and we will NOT pay to continue the service after that so I have told the kids to enjoy it while it's there! It only comes with 3 channels: Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Disney Channel

sunny stace - I do work in retail now and I can only dream of a time when I can see WDW at Christmas, Halloween, Easter....did I forget anything. I figure when I retire I can move there and go whenever I want.

My dream is to win a big chunk of money and buy an AP then in 1 year hit all the seasons, festivals and parties while staying at lots of different resorts.

I second the congratulations on the new vehicle. I hope they put an extra layer of 'sticky' on the wheels so that there won't be any more rolling over tricks going on.

Thanks MeMom, I'll have to ask for that option too!

 

[kschafer]

Day 3 – Wednesday, June 11 – Continued

So when I left you I was running to splash and big thunder mountains to get fastpasses, some of the gang were visiting snow white and everyone was going to meet up at Crystal Palace for lunch.

First can I say I enjoyed the atmosphere and characters here and the food in my opinion was decent but not great and it was CROWDED!! The food lines were probably 10 minutes to get through and when 15 people are going in shifts, this takes a lot of time. We got the earliest ADR we could because of the size of our group and it still took almost 20 minutes to get a table! They ended up sitting us split among 2 tables which I understand but the tables were on either side on an aisle that everyone in that section walked through going to and from their tables. Just a little way down were several tables with a common bench that could have seated everyone and just around the corner in a little tucked away area were several tables they could have sat us at. It was pretty disappointing. Later my brother said he felt like his family was eating alone. It seems like it would make sense to seat the large groups first then fill in with the smaller ones, not the other way around.

They did have streamers and Mickey confetti on the tables for my parents anniversary, that was cool.

Our servers name (I think) was Michael and he was great! He was very funny and attentive. He told us about the character rotation and suggested we wait to get in the food line because on his way was my favorite character, Pooh Bear!!!

Warning….FLASHBACK AHEAD….

I have loved the pooh stories since I was a little kid. It was pretty rare to see them in mass media when I was a teenager and young adult until the mid-90’s when the movies were re-released. When Greg and I were first dating, we went on a Christmas break trip and we found ourselves at a Disney Store. He bought me a hat, cute huh!! (The hat I mean, my hair is AWFUL, I was growing it out)

A few months later, I had been away in Arizona for a 12 week internship. Shortly before I came home, Greg sent me a story he had written about the Kingdom of Pooh and how one day during the fun festival, the woozles snuck into the castle and stole the kingdoms treasures. The inhabitants heard of a princess in a far away land called Iowa who could help rescue the treasures.

My mom had flown out to Arizona to drive back to Iowa with me. When we pulled into my parents driveway, there were posters with the Pooh characters to greet me. Here's one of them

There was also a balloon bouquet tied to the back door with a scroll attached. This was the start of a treasure hunt which led me to various locations around town. Along the way, I was given flowers, wine, a book of fairytales and a stuffed Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger. Waiting at the last stop was Greg, a stuffed Pooh with a hunny pot filled with gold colored Hershey Kisses and more balloons. That’s when he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. This pic shows all the things I collected that day.

The next year, we gave pooh themed gifts to the wedding party (Dad and younger brother 11 years younger!)

And the stuffed animals attended our wedding reception

Here's all of them at the end of the day. Funny, they don't seem to have aged at all in the last 11 years

So that is only a few of the reasons that I was really looking forward to this experience.

FLASHBACK OVER…

Pooh visited my brother’s table first. Here's Margaret and Caroline

How cute is James with Pooh?...

Next he came to our table. Patrick went right up and hugged him and got his autograph.

Then came the SHOCK of the day. Daniel must have gotten lost in the excitement and forgot for a moment how painfully shy he is (It just makes me tear up thinking about it)

And I had to get in on the loving too

Ellie and Andrew had a turn I’m sure. Even my parents got a chance for a big ole Pooh Bear hug!

And soon along came this guy.

I love how Eeyore holds the autograph books

With Joe and Andrew

And Ellie

More to follow shortly…

 

[kschafer]

Then this guy headed our way to visit Caroline

And Andrew

And Ellie

I asked him to bounce with me. This was the only picture that was taken (not a good one!)

And last but not least, Piglet signed Daniels autograph book

Hung out with the boys and I

And Grandpa, Ellie and Andrew

Then there was a parade that Margaret got in on. (I think a couple other of our kids did too but of course I was stuck in the food line and missed it )

For those who wonder about the food…this picture was most likely taken by Daniel who enjoys grabbing cameras and taking random pictures (later in the TR, I will tell you about our breakfast with Sesame Street at SeaWorld, lots of random Daniel pics and a REALLY cute story) Anyways, I think it was my plate and as you can guess, I definitely did not go hungry!

Michael then brought my parents an anniversary cupcake and a magical moments certificate signed by all the characters. I think they were genuinely surprised and touched.

Before we left, we tried to get a picture of Grandma and Grandpa with all the kids. We have been trying for YEARS to get pictures such as this at any occasion where they are all together. We have yet to get a decent one. It is becoming more of a funny tradition than anything else! These are a couple of the better ones.

Finally, they wanted a picture with their 3 kids.

Overall, I’m glad we did this. It was a lot of fun and my parents said they really enjoyed having the chance to watch the kids interact with the characters. This was the first of 2 planned TS meals for all of us and our gift to our parents. It was definitely NOT cheap but then again, something we will likely never do again. If the food lines hadn’t been so long and we had gotten a better seating arrangement, I would have felt better about the cost.

Next installment…our afternoon and evening. Do we get that nap? Do we get to see wishes? Stay tuned!

 

[cdhale]

I am loving all your pictures! Reading trip reports makes it sooo hard to wait for our trip!!

 

[kschafer]

I am loving all your pictures! Reading trip reports makes it sooo hard to wait for our trip!!

Welcome cdhale!! Thanks for reading.

2 months doesn't sound like long for those of us with no trips in the future but seems like an eternity when it's you! I hope you and your princesses have a great time!

 

[punkin413]

your proposal story is so sweet!!!! what a great hubby you have there!

And I had to get in on the loving too

what a great picture! you can see the excitement on your face.

I love how Eeyore holds the autograph books

pluto does this too and i think it's so cute!

I asked him to bounce with me. This was the only picture that was taken (not a good one!)

cute! we asked tigger to bounce last year when we went to CP and he looked he was raising the roof!

Michael then brought my parents an anniversary cupcake and a magical moments certificate signed by all the characters. I think they were genuinely surprised and touched.

this is so sweet! hopefully that will be ray and i in about 30 years!

 

[Megablocks]

Congrats on getting the new van...I am glad it's over with!

You have some awesome pictures. The picture of Daniel and Pooh is soooo precious--he looks so happy. And I love the picture of James with him, too. The one of you and Pooh is great, and so are the group pictures (the grandparents and grandkids, and the one of your parents with you and your brothers.)

The anniversary cupcake and the certificate for your parents is incredibly sweet...I know it's late, but happy anniversary to them!

 

[sunny_stace]

Congrats on the new van!

I was just tearing up reading your last update! That is a wonderfull proposal, the kind I hope to get some day (I just have to find him and tell him what to do first! ).

You are very lucky to have a family that is so close. Even in that one set of photos there are so many memories that you will be able to cherish for a lifetime. Not only the children of course, but your parents with the cupcake is one of the sweetest things I have ever seen! Thank you for sharing as it gives me an "extra shot" of faith in today's world.

 

[Happy Elf]

Congrats on your new van!

I love your proposal story! That is so sweet!

I also love the picture of your parents with their cupcake!

CP is one of my favorite places to eat because I love the Pooh characters! I think I was just as excited as our DD when we ate there!

 

[kschafer]

your proposal story is so sweet!!!! what a great hubby you have there!

I had been gone for 12 weeks and he had a lot of time on his hands!! He got very creative and romantic. I think I'll keep him.

cute! we asked tigger to bounce last year when we went to CP and he looked he was raising the roof!

He certainly could bounce much longer than I could and he did a really funny kicking jump once I stopped.

this is so sweet! hopefully that will be ray and i in about 30 years!

It makes me smile too

You have some awesome pictures. The picture of Daniel and Pooh is soooo precious--he looks so happy. And I love the picture of James with him, too. The one of you and Pooh is great, and so are the group pictures (the grandparents and grandkids, and the one of your parents with you and your brothers.)

Thanks, I'm afraid the quantity of pictures decreased every day the trip went on. We didn't feel the need to document EVERYTHING as the days wore on. The kids were certainly excited to meet the characters (And yes, I'm including myself in that category)

 

[kschafer]

I was just tearing up reading your last update! That is a wonderfull proposal, the kind I hope to get some day (I just have to find him and tell him what to do first! ).

I hope you do. In the meantime, enjoy your chance to do things that is entirely your choice. That becomes harder as you add a spouse and kids!

You are very lucky to have a family that is so close. Even in that one set of photos there are so many memories that you will be able to cherish for a lifetime. Not only the children of course, but your parents with the cupcake is one of the sweetest things I have ever seen! Thank you for sharing as it gives me an "extra shot" of faith in today's world.

My parents have always had a very stong relationship and are very sweet together. They still hold hands and kiss goodbye and hello to each other.

I love your proposal story! That is so sweet!

Yeah, he did good

I also love the picture of your parents with their cupcake!

That actually is another thing I missed, when Michael brought it to the table (where was I? In the food line or the bathroom probably) but DH did video it so I got to see that. I was there when they shared the cupcake though

CP is one of my favorite places to eat because I love the Pooh characters! I think I was just as excited as our DD when we ate there!

It definately is the place to go for those of us who love the 100 acre wood! it was pretty magical to watch my kids with them.

 

[kschafer]

I just had to share something I saw in the paper. I enjoy reading the "milestones" section (the engagement, wedding, birthday, retirement, etc annoncements are) and this was in today...

"The family of ____ invite you to join them in celebrating the 31st anniversary of her 29th birthday. she is the proud mother (we hope) of 2 daughters and has been married a long time to another old person. Happy Birthday ___"

This totally cracked me up!!

 

[Megablocks]

HA!

That cracked me up too...very creative!

 

[kschafer]

Day 3 – Wednesday, June 11 – Continued

It’s close to 1:30 and we are finally saying goodbye to our friends at Crystal Palace. I love the topiaries there, so cute!

DH took this pic as we were leaving. It didn’t turn out great but I like what he was trying to accomplish

We headed to Frontierland to visit some bears. I know Country Bear Jamboree gets a lot of flack on the boards for being dated but I’m glad they have kept this so far. Along with small world, this is one the attractions I remember fondly from my childhood. For some reason Patrick didn’t want to go so my Mom volunteered to stay with him while the rest of us got ready for a jumpin’ jammin’ good time. These guys were still “hanging” around

This one is still playing the piano

And this one still plays the guitar

And then there’s this one and her crazy wine glass

The other character I remember well is the girl bear who comes down from the ceiling. She is very hard to photograph because she is always swinging! It seems like among Bear fans, Big Al is a favorite. Personally, I think he is a little disturbing. Does blood on the saddle mean something different that the literal interpretation that I don't understand?

After leaving the theater, it was time for our Big Thunder Mountain Fastpasses. Both of my SIL, DH and I decided to go first while my brothers and parents stayed with the kids. I don’t have pictures of the roller coasters because we were headed to Splash Mountain too and I didn’t want it to get wet.

As we were getting ready to head out, these guys showed up to begin the roundup

It looks like some of the kids got to be a part of it. Caroline...

Margaret and Patrick

The kids rode the Liberty Belle after the roundup but nobody apparently took any pictures. Then they must have found these, someone did think to take pictures of that.

We fastpassed our way through Big Thunder Mountain (still probably a 20 minute wait, but better than standby!). This is the first roller coaster I can remember riding and it was as great as I remember.

We had to wait about 10 minutes before our fastpass time before we zoomed past the 90 minute standby line on Splash Mountain. DH who didn’t prepare much for this trip really appreciated my research at this point. He asked why anyone would choose to stand in that line when you have the fastpass option. This ride was much longer than I remember. I ended up in the front of the log and was actually looking forward to getting soaked because it was HOT but somehow it missed me and I was barely wet.

When we came off, we called the rest of the group and found out they were enjoying the afternoon parade nearby so we went to find them. The parade was finishing as we arrived. Again, no pictures (what’s up with these people?)

Remember the plan for the day? No? Let me refresh your memory…Rope drop, lunch at Crystal Palace, afternoon nap, return in the evening. Hmmm, now if we just finished the 3:00 parade, it is well into the afternoon. Younger brother and family, my parents and my family decided to head out for that rest. Older brother decided to push on. He wanted to use the other fastpasses to take Margaret on the mountains then hang out for our evening return.

Since we were in Frontierland, we decided to hitch a train to the front of the park.

Hey Katie, where are the pictures? Umm, well…I reached into my camera case and it was EMPTY. Panic begins because I know the last picture I took was at Crystal Palace (the bears and roundup pictures are other peoples). So when we arrived at the main street station, I head to city hall(?) to ask if it was turned in. They told me no but it could still be at CP (because of the rules about costuming, it wasn’t a simple as someone walking down main street with it). So while my family waits, I walk back to CP and ask. I was told to sit and the manager would look. After sitting there a few minutes, I remembered handing my camera to my older brother at the roundup and he put it in his bag when he was done!

SO I walk yet again back down Main Street to return to my tired, hot and cranky hubby (I mean, kids. Or do I?). It was probably 5:00 by the time we found our car. The AC felt so good and as I began to take a load off my feet and cool down, I knew we would not be returning to MK that night.

Oh yes, and then there was the torrential downpour thunderstorm that hit as we were trying to find our exit, which we missed and ended up driving farther than necessary. This really sealed DH’s mood on the day. And for those of you keeping track, we are 3 for 3 on afternoon thunderstorms.

When we returned to the house guess where we found my younger brother and family? Well we jumped right in too…

Grandma and the kids had a blast playing train

We had a wonderfully relaxing swim, ate dinner, put the kids to bed at a decent time and I ended my night with a glass of wine in the hot tub with my SIL. Yes, I was disappointed about missing spectromagic and wishes but remember, this was my second day of a 10 day ticket, there will still be time. If there is one thing I learned on this trip, it was to let your needs dictate the plans, not the other way around. We followed this philosophy several times on this vacation and still went home exhausted. I can’t imagine having done even more!

Next installment… Day 4, my nieces princess morning at MK and DH and I have date night

 

[Rozz]

I am thoroughly enjoying your trip report! Pooh and friends are favorites of mine too!