My Magical Quest for the Cupcake! 13 days of Craziness! Update 10/30 page 10

[AZMickeyfans]

Great updates and love the photos. So Cute!!!
I love all the Dinoland poses!!!
Jake has a great roar.
I agree Morgan looks just like you.

Oh no, that is a lot of morning confusion.
I will back you up on the jet lag theory.
We went to London last year, and the first morning was a complete disaster!!!!

I’m glad you thought of Guest Relations for a new KTTW card!!!
I spent half this trip asking Jacob if he had his card, his camera, his fp.

Great character meets though!!! Now I really want to meet Brer Bear!!!
We’ve never seen Meeko or Flik either.

We totally forgot to eat several times on this trip.
Seriously, I don’t know how that happened.
I’m glad to know we are not the only ones to do this.
I’m also really glad we didn’t buy the Dining plan.

And the window looks great!!! Adorable pumpkins and Mickey heads!!!

I hope your day gets a lot better from here!!!!

And whatever Morgan rides next, I hope she likes it.

Hey Kathleen!

We were so excited to see Brer Bear. I'm glad Jake approached him. He was just picky throughout. Didnt do any "girl" characters. I guess he had to warm up to the idea.

Thats funny you guys forgot to eat too! I'm glad we were not alone.

Of course you already know we stole the idea of the mickey heads from you. Decorated mickey heads for Halloween that is. Yours were so cute. Its different when older kids do them. You know what they are trying to do then! I kept showing them some of yours and then I just said screw it let them do what they want. They turned out really cute anyway.

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

when you get the printout of everything does it tell you the prices it would have been? that would be awesome. We just put them in a ziplock back each night. I might not have them all but I know I have most of them. I liked reading yours and the prices of each meal.

We never miss park opening at DL. I love early morning hours in the parks. I just couldnt do it there. I guess the time change messed us up.

The printout shows the total "charged" to the plan. If you spend $4.12 on a snack that's what it says. Plus the time, date and place you did it. It's every little detail. OMG you just reminded me...I never fininshed my food report! Oops.

I think we'll make it a point to catch a couple of openings this time! I saw a piece of the MK one last time. The characters came out on a train. So cute! We were rushing into breakfast though...

 

[hlrababy]

Hey Shawna!! I can't believe I just now found your TR. Geez, where have I been!!!
I am all caught up now so you may continue!

 

[AZMickeyfans]

The printout shows the total "charged" to the plan. If you spend $4.12 on a snack that's what it says. Plus the time, date and place you did it. It's every little detail. OMG you just reminded me...I never fininshed my food report! Oops.

I think we'll make it a point to catch a couple of openings this time! I saw a piece of the MK one last time. The characters came out on a train. So cute! We were rushing into breakfast though...

Oh wow that would have been awesome to get. I wish I would have known about that before we left.

Hey Shawna!! I can't believe I just now found your TR. Geez, where have I been!!!
I am all caught up now so you may continue!

Sweet Heather is here! I was waiting for you! Now I will start typing..... Thanks for coming over!

 

[NotSoEvilStepmother]

Great update, but you left us all hanging!!!! AK was our first park of the trip too, but we were there at opening. I think since then, we've learned to NEVER do a park the day after arriving early from somewhere that's 3 hours behind. So cool that you got KTTW cards again. Disney is so amazing like that. Ooo...I hope Morgan gets on EE.

Lots of Disney fans from AZ on here now. We thought about checking out Scottsdale, AZ before we decided to move to TN. Of course TN won in the end because of family being here already. So are anywhere near Scottsdale? It is so beautiful out there. I have to take the kids out there and also do Grand Canyon, San Diego, and a few other things when they get a bit older.

I've lived in AZ my entire life, and I've only been to the Grand Canyon once. Sadly, I just don't see the hype about it. It's a big hole in the ground in my opinion --yet people go, year after year.

 

[AZMickeyfans]

Will Morgan Ride EE?

When I last left you we were getting over Dinosaur. Morgan was not having a good day. She knows we are headed towards EE and she is shaking her head saying she is not going on it. Now she loves roller coasters. Absolutely loves them. However she does not love the Yeti.

At DL they have a ride called the Matterhorn. It has an abominable snowman in it. She hates this. She hates the ride even though we’ve broken the “magic” and told her its fake and warned her when it comes. She hates the thing. She’s seen previews of the Yeti and is scared. Frankly I’m worried for her. It looks scary. We don’t know when its coming and she’s had a very bad morning already. it’s the perfect storm for a complete Disney meltdown on our first day. We’ve already had a few mini meltdowns. This could blow it all. I thought about sending Jeff on it first to scope it out. He could warn her then or tell us she shouldn’t go. The wait was about 20 minutes so if we had to go without fast passes as a group it was doable but I was itching to get on this thing too.

I changed my mind. She was going. I am evil. I reminded her that her friends at dance said it was their favorite ride. Of course they also loved ToT and she didn’t care for that one. Hmm that angle might not work. I also reminded her that we were going to try everything once. If she didn’t like it she didn’t have to go on it again. She agreed reluctantly.

With fp’s we didn’t have to wait at all. Not knowing what we were in for we sat her on the right side. I didn’t see much of the ride because I was concerned about her. She rode the whole way with her eyes closed buried in my side as best as the restraints would let her. She was miserable in the caves but I would tell her to open her eyes on the outside part.

Shoot that freakin’ yeti was on the right side. Luckily she had her eyes closed. It didn’t seem so bad. It was actually so dark you couldn’t see much of it.

Here are our pictures from the ride I wont even waste one of Morgan and I as we were in another car and it was so dark you cant see us.

Jeff and Jake

She came off saying the ride was awesome and she might want to go again. I was amazed but I'll take it! We gave her detailed explainations of the yeti sightings. So we got FP’s to go again.

Things were looking up.

From here we headed to Kali River Rapids. Complete Walk on. This ride is great but it needs to be a few minutes longer. It ends so quickly. I love the burning wood smell for some reason. We didn’t get very wet and Morgan loved this. She was so happy. We all had fun.

Morgan wanted to ride it again and since it was a walk on we said sure. Besides the girl was happy! Jake was finally hungry so Jeff suggested that I go with Morgan on the ride. Well, I reminded him that he wanted to bond with Morgan on this trip and so he should go. Plus a sick boy needs his mommy.

Jake and I went off to grab this

We both got one with snack credits. They were yummy!

Before long Morgan and Jeff returned. They got the Bonus seats!!!! Look how wet they got! This is not from the 1st ride they went on. Morgan is faking this annoyed look because she is having the time of her life now.

Ladies, sometimes it pays not to get mad because revenge for lost tickets comes in other forms. This is a highly annoyed look. He is not happy he is soaked. We were a little cool that day and this did not help.

I had fun with this. He hated his shirt touching him so I would constantly pat him on the back or give him a hug telling him “what a great father he was” all the while he was threatening my life! It was funny and the kids had a good time laughing at it. Jeff does not like to be wet. I’m still cracking up just thinking about it now.

Soaked and vengeance fully satisfied, we headed down the Maharajah Jungle Trek. First up were these guys. Huge and freakishly cute

Fruit bats

Then the gorgeous tiger. I couldn’t take my eyes off of this thing.

There were others but I didn’t take pictures. The walk didn’t dry Jeff and Morgan off at all but we had a good time. They were still dripping. I wished I had clothes for Morgan to change into. I almost bought one of those cute dresses. Jeff not so much.

Then we made our way to the safari. I dreaded this line because it really seemed crowded but people obviously were not in line for rides here! Don’t know why. The crowds were thick walking towards Africa. The kids were drawn in by the drums of course.

Now here is the video of me trying to get the pictures until I got Jeff to help out. All the kids wanted to do was play the drums. All I wanted to do was call their names and try to take a picture. Every parent around was doing the same thing. It struck me as kind of funny.



Continued in next post....

 

[AZMickeyfans]

AK cont.....

After dancing to the jungle rhythm we head towards Kilimanjaro Safaris. No line at all. We practically ran through the line. Jumped in the back of a jeep and were off. I remember waiting HOURS for this. We hit a great AK day today! I couldn’t believe it.

This is one ride where I wish I would not have taken any pictures or video. The video turned out bumpy of course and while we got the funny rhino’s butt picture you can find animal pictures anywhere. I wish I just would have enjoyed it.

Here is the only short video I have of the safari. You see its not much fun to watch, so bumpy and half the time you see the back of the people who are in front of us. Next time I’ll leave the video camera on inside my purse.



Here are a few of the better pictures I got from the Safari

The crocs always look fake to me, of course I’d hate to test this.

After we got off of the safari Morgan got this webkinz with her money while we are waiting for daddy to go to the you know where. I‘ve been good about not talking about it too much today. Jake couldn’t decide so he chooses not to get something right now.

The parade was about to start so we got some chocolate shakes from Tamu Tamu in Africa and settled in for the Parade. The shakes made us all ill. Maybe cuz we didn’t have much in our tummies but we didn’t like them. They were like a bad wendy’s frosty. And I like Wendy’s frosty’s, just not these.

The parade was cute and we had a blast watching it. After that our FP’s were burning a hole in our pockets so we headed back to EE. Morgan sat with Jeff this time and she loved it. She even said she saw the Yeti and wasn’t scared.

Actually, does it make sound? It didn’t when we were there. I think I remember reading it had been broken lately and maybe that was it. In the previews it always roared. Its not as frightening when it doesn’t roar. That probably was helpful. Not sure if its supposed to though.

Here is the picture from this ride

Its funny, besides Morgan, we all kinda look bored but I can assure you we are not. That ride is great! She came off of it screaming, jumping up and down. Jake loved it again too.

We had a few minutes til park closing so we decided to book it for ITTBaB. I’m just going to call this show BUG from now on. I hate typing that out. In line for Bug we took these shots.

Morgan named her Elephant Ellie. We decided this is a replica of Ellie’s Grandfather.

When I was taking this picture they rushed us inside. That’s why its not very good. They were closing for last show and we had to book it.

My kids don’t really like BUG at DL and since it’s the same show I was surprised they chose to go. I think they just wanted to go inside the tree. The queue is cool.

After that we saw the characters waving goodbye from the Oasis and we said goodbye to our half day in the park.

We had ADR’s at Boma for 5:55pm so we headed over to the AK bus. I had not seen this resort so I was excited to check it out. Also, the reviews I had heard on the restaurant were fabulous. The bus was crowded of course at closing so we had to stand. I hate standing with the kids. I wish they could sit down. Jake is too small to hold on tight and flys around. Standing on the bus becomes an issue one day. UGH

Anyway, we arrive to a beautiful resort. Here is a really bad picture of the lobby. I couldn’t get the lighting right so I gave up. It was pretty though

We were very early so we checked things out. The pool and found the fire pit outside. That area is pretty cool. I could hang out here with a margaria at night for sure

We finally saw a zebra!

Most of the rooms look like they had some kind of construction outside of them just off of this area.

We checked in and waited about 15 minutes before being seated. We had the absolute best server. His name was Doug and he was so friendly. When we sat down we were given this anniversary card. How sweet is that?

Then Doug explained the buffet stations to us and we were off to explore the food options here. I tried a little of everything. Jeff loaded up on meat again! The kids had mac and cheese.

Here are a few pictures of food

Our food was delicious! Jeff really enjoyed this meal. He still says its his favorite from the trip. Jake didn’t eat anything but that’s ok. He had a few bites of pretzel and about a half a container of chocolate milk. The “D” word was slowing down finally. His appetite would come back.

Just as we were ready for desert Doug brought us this. What a great surprise!!!

They were chocolate covered cheesecakes with strawberry fillings. Now what would have made this better is if I actually liked cheesecake but I ate one anyway. How could I not. This was so sweet.

Doug said tradition stated we had to feed each other. The kids laughed when we did this so we did too. We felt kinda silly.

Next up were the zebra domes I had heard so much about

Ok I realize I might get kicked off or banned from the DIS. At best lose some readers but I have to be honest. I did not like these. I don’t know what it was but I didn’t like the texture or something. More for you guys though!

Another desert pic

Just before we were to leave, look how tired Morgan looks here. Poor girl

The total for this meal was $91.55. It was a great restaurant.

We decided to mix it up and took a bus back to the Studios to switch to our POP bus.

It wasn’t very late and the kids got a second wind and wanted to swim so we headed to the hippy dippy pool. This is where the desert rat as they say comes out in us. We froze. BRRR The kids froze but they were having fun so they didn’t care too much. I froze my tush off. Actually that would have been nice but I froze so much I couldn’t stand it. Then Morgan had to go to the bathroom so we got out and both of us ran to the bathroom. We dried off and she got back in the pool. I just couldn’t. I had 3 towels wrapped around me shivering. It was so cold. Probably mid 70’s at night.

Just to give you a point of reference, I just checked weather.com and the high that day was only 83. The low 68. Today the high in Phoenix was 95 and we are talking almost 4 weeks later. 83 is like Thanksgiving weather to me. Throw on jeans and a t-shirt and play some football. Light jacket at night etc. Not swimming weather and not when the sun goes down and the temps plunge. I took a few moments to walk around the resort and see the sights while Jeff stayed in the pool with the kids. He was just as miserable as I was. The kids said they were too cold to get out. We got some strange looks!

After a bit of coaxing the kids finally got out and shivering teeth we climbed the bowling pin and took hot showers. I set the alarm for 7am and headed to bed.

Up next.

The morning we forgot how to videotape

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Great AK day....gotta love it when there's no lines! I am with you girl ~ next time I do the safari I'm not taking a single picture! You can't enjoy it as much with a camera hooked to your eye.

He got soaked! I would have loved to have seen that! I get soaked every time too, poncho or not. I'd never ride that thing in the cold. I know better.

The annivesary dessert looks good to me! DS loves loves loves cheesecake so he would have been in awe! I've heard a lot of good things about this restaurant but the menu doesn't appeal to me personally. Did you enjoy the food? What all was on the buffet the night you went? Did they have salmon? The desserts look pretty good.

EE ~ LOVE that ride. I'm pretty sure Yeti made noise when I went on it last time.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Sorry you had such a rocky start to the day but things really seemed to improve as the day went on.

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Shawna,

So here it is 5 a.m. my time and I am laughing like a fool reading your AK update! OMG, it was hilarious!

Sorry you didn't like the zebra domes. Dang, I LOVE those things. I was drooling just looking at the picture of them that you posted.

I can't wait for more of your TR!

Sophia

 

[kaysmommie]

Loved the update. Good idea on the no pics on the Safari. I never take time to enjoy the ride and just be there. So happy Morgan liked EE . i think the Yeti was in B mode when we rode it. Kaylee liked everything but TOT and she loves KRR too. You are a smart lady sending Jeff to ride KRR for the second ride. There is always a good chance you will get soaked on that ride, why risk it . The rest of your day sounds great!! I have never seen the Jammin Jungle Parade in all our trips , but it's on my must do list. Boma looks great too!! I haven't been there since Kaylee was like 3. Sorry you didn't like Zebra Domes. I think they are good but not like run off the monorail cupcake good . I'm not crazy about Dole Whips I guess everyone likes something different.

 

[NotSoEvilStepmother]

What a great ending to an AK day. I'm glad Morgan liked EE. Somehow, the BUG show seems different in WDW then it does in DL. I mean, I know it's the exact same show, but watching it in AK just seems so much more enjoyable then at California Adventure. Strange.
83!!! That's freezing (ok, well, very cool, as in not-hot). I can totally understand freezing outside in that kind of weather-especially by the pool. Can't wait for more!!!

 

[Dr_Finkelstein]

Hi Shawna,
Enjoying the updates!
I especially liked the video of the kids playing the drums......everytime I saw your fingers coming into shot getting them to play the drums again I was laughing out loud!
As for Jeff getting wet - they do say revenge is a dish best served cold!
I worry about it when you say it was cold, then you give the temp! That's a heatwave to me!
We have our 11th wedding anniversary when we're there, the night of we're at Restaurant Marrakesh. I said when I booked it it was our anniversary, but I felt a bit cheeky....but they obviously make a fuss for everyone and enjoy doing it. I'll just need to tell everyone we meet! I fancy some of those cheesecakes!
Di x

 

[mom2mek]

Wow! For only being in the park a handful of hours, you guys did a TON! I'm so glad she enjoyed Everest! Did Jake like it too? He looks so little in the pics!

I'm trying Boma for the first time on our girls' trip in December! Looks fantastic! And I agree about that resort - I can totally imagine myself sipping on a margarita around the firepit!

Great pictures and video! Your safari guide, was...um....well, maybe he was new? Just seems a little lackluster in his "performance"!

Can't wait for the next part!

Sara

 

[AZMickeyfans]

Great update, but you left us all hanging!!!! AK was our first park of the trip too, but we were there at opening. I think since then, we've learned to NEVER do a park the day after arriving early from somewhere that's 3 hours behind. So cool that you got KTTW cards again. Disney is so amazing like that. Ooo...I hope Morgan gets on EE.




I've lived in AZ my entire life, and I've only been to the Grand Canyon once. Sadly, I just don't see the hype about it. It's a big hole in the ground in my opinion --yet people go, year after year.

thats kind of what I always thought about the Canyon. I mean it was very pretty but it looked like all the pictures I had seen and didnt inspire me like I thought it would. I actually enjoyed it the 2nd time with snow better than the 1st. I've been twice and I'm double your age. I do hope to get back in shape enough to hike it and see its beauty from that vantage point. Probably will be like an extended Camelback trip though.

Great AK day....gotta love it when there's no lines! I am with you girl ~ next time I do the safari I'm not taking a single picture! You can't enjoy it as much with a camera hooked to your eye.

He got soaked! I would have loved to have seen that! I get soaked every time too, poncho or not. I'd never ride that thing in the cold. I know better.

The annivesary dessert looks good to me! DS loves loves loves cheesecake so he would have been in awe! I've heard a lot of good things about this restaurant but the menu doesn't appeal to me personally. Did you enjoy the food? What all was on the buffet the night you went? Did they have salmon? The desserts look pretty good.

EE ~ LOVE that ride. I'm pretty sure Yeti made noise when I went on it last time.

He was not a happy camper but put on a good face for Morgan. She on the other hand loved it and bragged about how soaked they got. One time I was on Grizzly River Rapids with a friend (Tinkermell) and we got stuck under the geiser like they did so I know how soaked you can get if you get unlucky enough to hit it just right. It was funny though.

They did have Salmon. They had a few carved meats and I cannot remember the other stuff. I was afraid of the menu but I really enjoyed it and just sampled my way around. There wasnt anything for me that stuck out as GREAT but it wasnt my kind of food and I knew that going in there.

I figured the Yeti had to have made noise otherwise it was very anticlimatic, which worked well in Morgans case but I would have liked to hear it.

I was telling Jeff about the dining print out last night. He was like DANG, that would have been cool to see!

Sorry you had such a rocky start to the day but things really seemed to improve as the day went on.

Yes we ended on a high note. As long as things get better thats all that matters!

 

[AZMickeyfans]

Shawna,

So here it is 5 a.m. my time and I am laughing like a fool reading your AK update! OMG, it was hilarious!

Sorry you didn't like the zebra domes. Dang, I LOVE those things. I was drooling just looking at the picture of them that you posted.

I can't wait for more of your TR!

Sophia

I'm glad you enjoyed it! It was an unusual day. We will have more of those I promise.

Jeff liked the Zebra Domes but he was all full on meat.

Loved the update. Good idea on the no pics on the Safari. I never take time to enjoy the ride and just be there. So happy Morgan liked EE . i think the Yeti was in B mode when we rode it. Kaylee liked everything but TOT and she loves KRR too. You are a smart lady sending Jeff to ride KRR for the second ride. There is always a good chance you will get soaked on that ride, why risk it The rest of your day sounds great!! I have never seen the Jammin Jungle Parade in all our trips , but it's on my must do list. Boma looks great too!! I haven't been there since Kaylee was like 3. Sorry you didn't like Zebra Domes. I think they are good but not like run off the monorail cupcake good . I'm not crazy about Dole Whips I guess everyone likes something different.

Shhh I dont like Dole Whips either. I'm not a fan of Pineapple. When I tell some people that they ask why I even go to Disney. For the cupcakes of course.

I think TOT would have been good had it not have been such a frightening setup to that ride, which of course makes half the fun. The ghosts freaked her out and all of the music and atmosphere. I think its cool but she hated it. I think she said the going up and down was fun but if it wasnt in the dark or scary before it would have been better for her. I should throw her on the Maliboomer at California Adventure!

What a great ending to an AK day. I'm glad Morgan liked EE. Somehow, the BUG show seems different in WDW then it does in DL. I mean, I know it's the exact same show, but watching it in AK just seems so much more enjoyable then at California Adventure. Strange.
83!!! That's freezing (ok, well, very cool, as in not-hot). I can totally understand freezing outside in that kind of weather-especially by the pool. Can't wait for more!!!

yeah, I think its because its in the tree! 83 is not swimming weather and that was when the sun was up. This was about 9pm!

Hi Shawna,
Enjoying the updates!
I especially liked the video of the kids playing the drums......everytime I saw your fingers coming into shot getting them to play the drums again I was laughing out loud!
As for Jeff getting wet - they do say revenge is a dish best served cold!
I worry about it when you say it was cold, then you give the temp! That's a heatwave to me!
We have our 11th wedding anniversary when we're there, the night of we're at Restaurant Marrakesh. I said when I booked it it was our anniversary, but I felt a bit cheeky....but they obviously make a fuss for everyone and enjoy doing it. I'll just need to tell everyone we meet! I fancy some of those cheesecakes!
Di x

I know the things we do for the perfect picture huh? When I was watching the video I thought why dont I shut my mouth when I'm filming? The kids were like "Leave us alone"

Hopefully it will be a little cooler for you this Friday!!! When I booked Boma I dont remember saying it was our Anniversary. I said it for the Castle and a few other things but nothing ever happened from it. You do feel kind of silly though. It was fun and a lot of people were celebrating their anniversaries there. Wear a button and you will get lots of attention, we did!

Wow! For only being in the park a handful of hours, you guys did a TON! I'm so glad she enjoyed Everest! Did Jake like it too? He looks so little in the pics!

I'm trying Boma for the first time on our girls' trip in December! Looks fantastic! And I agree about that resort - I can totally imagine myself sipping on a margarita around the firepit!

Great pictures and video! Your safari guide, was...um....well, maybe he was new? Just seems a little lackluster in his "performance"!

Can't wait for the next part!

Sara

Yes Jake loved Everest! He said the Yeti was AWESOME! He loved going backwards but at the same time always had one arm wrapped around one of us. It was a cute security measure on his part without looking unmanly I guess.

The guide was very boring. Imagine the whole trip with that. I felt like he was really bored with his job too. Kinda stunk but the kids didnt seem to notice.

 

[AZMickeyfans]

Ok I finally put a table of contents up for easy viewing in the first post. I need to link these all together but that will have to wait as I need to get the kids up and ready for school now!

 

[SwansLoveDisney]

Oh my goodness!!!

I would have had a nervous breakdown with the morning you had!!! Sounds like you took it in stride though!

Gotta catch up later!

 

[inkedupmomma]

magnificent update! your life sounds like a not so funny funny comedy movie.... a lot like mine god times though!! looing forward to the next installment!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Subbing! But I'm going to go back to read your PTR first.