NMAmy's To Do List - 4/26-Update-Page 21-The End

[dddisrunner]

I am so happy for you that you get to spen the whole summer with Cait! I hope you know I was just joking about the New Mexico time thing!

 

[Glendamax]

Psst....It's EL-O-Fevre--Yellow Fever.

Um . . . Thanks because I didnt get that either!


What a great treat that you posted the next part. It's a bit frustrating when people drag em out! When I visited the Lodge last year, the captain on the suttle said that at night the Lodge looks like a bear because of the eyes. At first I thought it was cute, but now that I see the photo, I think it looks a bit spooky!
Your trip report has been sooo much fun to read. Thanks so much for spending the time to write it! (it's alot of work isn't it?)

Smooches!

 

[NMAmy]

dddisrunner: Oh, I absolutely knew you were kidding about the New Mexico time thing. No worries, my friend! I'm glad I get to spend the summer with her, too. She's going through a rough time right now with her dad and stepmom and I may try to squeeze in a weekend visit in the next couple of weeks.

Glendamax: Well, if the WL is supposed to look like a bear, I'll just have to imagine it that way instead of thinking about the creepy Amityville Horror House. I don't remember seeing any flies there so that's a good sign!

I'll be trying to post at least one chapter a day. I did a trip report several years ago and I remember kind of running out of steam and interest toward the end so I want to get this done quickly! I actually did most of the work when we were on vacation by typing up notes each night. I just tweak it a bit here and there and add stuff I've remembered and loading the pictures takes the longest.

I have always kept scrapbooks since I was a little girl so this is actually just what I usually do for them. Now all I have to do is cut and paste my document and jazz up the fonts and stuff and I'll be all set to go for the scrapbook.

I'm multitasking.

Thanks so much for reading!

 

[dddisrunner]

Hey Amy, why don't you pick up Caitlin and join us in WDW Hope things get better for her! Please, please don't lose steam on report! You are so good at writing them, looking forward to more!

 

[MickeysMommy]

MM! Good catch...I totally missed that one!

We need a smilie where we are bowing - thanking you know what I mean?

 

[ILMICKEY]

Another great one!! Can't wait for more.

Hey, looks like we are going to finally have a Spring here in Michigan! I am so excited.

 

[AussieAngel]

Loved your last two chapters!!

How exciting that you won Dream FastPasses! I so would have kept them for myself. Hehee!

You're so quick with your report - you make me feel bad for not keeping up with mine! Augh!!

Can't wait for more!!

 

[NMAmy]

Wednesday, 3/28 –Chapter 12-Moving Day (AGAIN!) and MGM

Ah, the joy of changing resorts again. Not. Note to self: Never do that again!

Alex and I woke up early. Here’s a beautiful shot of the lake from our room:

Okay, now I’m going to be honest with you all. I know some may be upset with me but this is just my opinion. As my pal, Mal would say, YMMV.

Although I loved the theming and all the CM’s were wonderful (especially Lodgekeeping!) and it’s just flat out beautiful, I don’t think we’ll stay at WL again. Mainly for one reason—the location. Even though it’s close to the MK, I think it still took just about the same amount of time to get there from the Dolphin as it did from the Wilderness Lodge. I missed being able to walk to the closest park from our resort. And, I really missed being close to Epcot for meal choices. Perhaps next time, we’ll try one of the monorail resorts or perhaps we’ll try a different Epcot resort. I love the Dolphin but we’ve stayed there five times now and it just seems like it’s time for something new. Although I can’t beat the price!

So, I wasn’t entirely sorry to be leaving the WL although I would have liked more time to explore the resort. It really is a beautiful place.

As I was saying, Alex and I woke up early and got showered and then woke up the girls. They were hungry (and so was I) so while they were showering, Alex and I went down to Roaring Forks to get breakfast for all of us.

Oh, one more thing about WL—Roaring Forks seems so small for a resort of this size and the selection of food was not as wide as Picabu’s at the Dolphin. It was fine for a few days but I think I’d have been REALLY tired of eating the same thing if we’d stayed longer.

We got a breakfast croissant for Alex, Caitlin, and Jen and I got a chocolate croissant. Of course, once Caitlin saw mine, she decided that she liked mine better. I traded her and just ate the egg portion.

The girls were finally ready about 10:30. Another morning wasted. We dragged our luggage downstairs and said goodbye to the Wilderness Lodge. Alex and I took a taxi to the Dolphin and the girls were heading to MGM by bus and would meet us there when we arrived.

We lucked out and got a very nice taxi driver who actually knew where he was going this time. We arrived at the Dolphin and the lobby was full of men in black suits. It looked like a Men in Black convention. Well, it was a convention and they were all in black (which looks so ODD in Florida!) but you know what I mean. These guys were the reason I’d been kicked out of my hotel for 2 days! However, we don’t fuss about conventioneers because they are actually our favorite people to share a hotel with. Unless you’re wanting the bar, they provide zero competition for transportation or pools or anything fun and holiday related.

We had to wait in a bit of a line and got checked in but our room wasn’t ready. No problem, we left our luggage with bell services and headed off for the boat dock to MGM.

Okay, now here is where I showed what a TOTAL Disney nerd I am. As we were waiting in line, a family came up behind us. They were amazed when I told them a boat that was arriving was on its way to Epcot and not to MGM—you can tell by which direction the boat is coming from. (And that is not even the extent of my nerdiness. It gets worse.) So, we got to chatting and they told us they lived locally but it was spring break and they decided to splurge with an onsite stay. One man asked me, rather out of nowhere I thought, what the area code was. I was thinking, YOU live here, fella, not me. Then they were talking about reservations for dinner and I realized what they were trying to find and said, “Oh, hold up! I have the dining number for WDW programmed into my cell phone.” Seriously. I do. I’m a dork. Alex laughed at me for just proving it to everyone.

They were grateful, though, and were making reservations as we boarded the boat. My phone rang, too, and it was Cait. She was extremely excited by the fact that there were celebrity impersonators outside MGM. Apparently, they’d met Elton John, George Bush, Bill Clinton, and Diana Ross and Cher (who were both scary.) So, she chatted my ear off all the way there. When we arrived, we passed the impersonators quickly and as we were going through the turnstyles, I saw the girls just inside the entrance, heading for a little snack stand to the right. That’s when I scared the bejeebers out of them by sneaking up on them and saying, “YOU CANNOT EAT UNTIL LUNCHTIME.” I was tired of them eating JUST before every meal and then not eating when I was paying a lot for it. I talked them into just getting a coke and we headed on in to the park.

MGM was crazy crowded. I hate arriving late. We went to the Rock-n-Rollercoaster to see about getting fast passes but the return time was already 5:00 p.m. It wasn’t even noon yet. Yikes.

We had a lunch reservation at the Sci-Fi Dine-in Theatre so we wandered a bit to pass the time. We browsed through the Villains store (one of my favorites) and all the other shops along the way. And guess what, MM? No frosty mugs. Not a one. Not even one with OUT Mickey on it. I was getting desperate and would have bought ANY frosty mug at that point.

The girls stuck up their nose about the High School Musical Pep Rally but as we approached, they got sucked in a bit. I dragged them away and we headed back toward the area of the park with Sci-Fi. Earlier in the week, we’d been past the restaurant and noticed kids sitting in the car out front getting their pictures taken. Cait had wanted to jump in for our usual picture out front but I told her to wait until today.

Well, we walked past and the car was GONE! Talk about a shock. The girls made the best of it and had me take a picture of them in their invisible car.

We had a bit of time before our reservation so we wandered around the back lot. It was nice, there was no one back there at that time.

The girls wanted an Abbey Road picture. I’ve trained Caitlin right—thank heavens I have a 16 year old who knows the Beatles’ Abbey Road album cover! Now when I take her to England this summer, maybe we can go to the REAL Abbey Road and get a new picture.

Then they pretended they were in New York:

In front of the San Francisco scene, they were suddenly distracted and laughing and pointing into the distance. Apparently, the Power Rangers had arrived!

When Caitlin was a little girl, she was in love with the Power Rangers. She was the Pink Power Ranger for Halloween approximately 4 years in a row and probably would have continued but couldn’t fit into the costume any more.

Holding hands, they RAN toward the Power Rangers!

The little kids had already lined up to meet them so we skipped that but just SEEING them made their day. I had them do a Power Ranger pose for me:

As we were walking back, we saw Buzz Lightyear all on his own and they stopped to chat with him. (Yet another picture I’m having issues with so you’ll just have to imagine it!)

They tried to hop into Herbie but his doors were locked.

And we cruised by the Muppet area:

We arrived at the restaurant and waited to be seated. When Caitlin was young, she was always taller than everyone in her class and she used to ask me if she would grow up to be “freakishly tall.” This was one photo op too good to pass up!

We were seated quickly and we had a car in the middle of the restaurant. We always have a blast making fun of the movie clips. I know you can’t see the second picture very well but the words on the screen just crack me up. That’s Caitlin in the foreground of that one.

Our waiter was a lot of fun and teased us all a bit. In a good way. Each of us girls got the cup with the glow in the dark ice cube—Cait got green, Jen got red, and I got blue. It was very festive. Alex had a milkshake. The girls ordered the spinach artichoke dip as an appetizer—which was yummy. I know because they generously shared with me in the back seat. Alex and I each got a cheeseburger and fries, Jen got a chicken sandwich, and Cait had chicken Ceasar salad. All were very tasty. We’ve found the Sci-Fi to be hit or miss foodwise but if you order the basics, it’s very good. Plus, it’s just way too fun for us to pass by.

We all shared cheesecake for dessert and the waiter gave the bill to the driver, Caitlin. We thanked her for treating us to lunch. As if.

MGM was busy and there wasn’t much there I wanted to do so we decided to head back to the hotel. Here we are waiting for the boat:

Silly folks. Caitlin was getting tired of me taking pictures and rebelled by taking a picture of my knee. And my fancy Sci-Fi cup.

The Dolphin had my cell phone number and was supposed to call when our room was ready but I hadn’t received a call yet. Our plan was for the girls and I to go to DTD and for Alex to find a quiet spot to read and rest because he had a sinus headache. I checked with the front desk just to see and our room was ready. The CM apologized for us not receiving a call. She also told me I’d been upgraded but I’d learned not to get my hopes up this trip. Turns out, our room was pretty good!

We were in 5032 East. I had to write the number on my hand because we’d moved so many times I was having a hard time keeping track. We didn’t have an Illuminations view but we had a view of the Tower of Terror and a balcony. Woo hoo! And no lattice over the windows. Life was good.

And Cait took a picture of the fire alarm. Just in case you’re interested in fire safety.

As I was getting ready to go, I overheard Cait and Jen talking on the balcony. Jen was saying, “Wouldn’t it be cool to jump down to one of those other balconies?”

That’s when I stuck my head outside and said, “NO, it would NOT be cool for me to have to call your mom and tell her—Even though you trusted me with your baby, I let her jump off a balcony on the fifth floor and she broke her neck. Sorry!

For some reason, we had been doing very little shopping on this trip. Which is weird for Caitlin. I had to bribe the girls with offers of a t-shirt to get them to go to DTD. I also promised to only go to two stores—the scrapbook store and the World of Disney.

We took the SLOW bus to DTD. It always seems to take so long to get there.

And look--a picture of more than just my knee!

I got some scrapbook stuff and as we headed to the World of Disney, the girls were distracted by Goofy’s candy store. They stocked up on cotton candy and jelly beans. Aren’t I the best mom EVER?

I found some t-shirts and other stuff at the World of Disney. The girls got matching Spring Break 2007 t-shirts. We all hunted high and low for a frosty mug for MM but, again, NOTHING!! I really tried, pal.

Caitlin and Jen were fascinated by the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. We met some little girls who had just come out and the girls told them how beautiful they looked and how jealous they were that they were too big to do it. Cait was trying to figure out a way for me to add to a princess gown to make it fit her.

I bought the girls a churro on the way out and then we headed back to the hotel. We arrived back around 5:00 and I was exhausted. It had been a long day already.

The girls wanted to go to EMH at the AK which was great because they would only last until 9:00. Alex and I went to Picabu’s for dinner. My notes say that Alex ordered SOMETHING and I had roast chicken and mashed potatoes. I remember that mine was good and Alex doesn’t really complain so his whatever he ordered must have been acceptable.

Back at the room, we sat out on our full-sized balcony and enjoyed the lovely weather until the girls got back around 9:30. They wanted to go down to the pool (where the heck do they get all that energy?) but I told them I didn’t want them wandering around by themselves in bathing suits with all the conventioneers and I was too tired to go with them. They ended up ordering a movie to watch and I was able to have an early night, thank heavens!

Next Up: Chapter 13: Magic Kingdom Fun!

 

[NMAmy]

Wow, I had lots of replies while I was busy on that installment!

dddisrunner: I love the idea of joining you at WDW! Too bad Cait can't really miss any school. I think that's part of her stress--she has several AP classes.

No worries about me not finishing--I only have two days left plus our travel day so we're almost done!

MM & Mal: Alex would be so shocked to know what you two think he is capable of after long days in the parks!

ILMICKEY: I hope you're right about spring! My early daffodils are doing pretty poorly but I have some later blooming ones that are doing okay and the tulips have started to arrive! I'd like to enjoy my spring flowers this year.

Glad you're enjoying the trip report!

AussieAngel: That's right, missy, you need to get over there and work on your trip report! I need something to read, too, you know!

I seriously thought about keeping the dream fast pass for myself but I've been a mom too long. I'd feel guilty keeping all the fun for myself.

 

[MickeysMommy]

When you were by the Muppets, Am, did you happen to see moi?

Did you really have all of you looking for a frosty mug for little ol me? I am truly touched. I can just imagine Cait and Jenn and Alex going who the heck is MM and why are we searching for some dumb frosty mug.

LYMI!!!

 

[AussieAngel]

Weeeee! Another chapter!! I'm dazzled by your speediness!!

As I was getting ready to go, I overheard Cait and Jen talking on the balcony. Jen was saying, “Wouldn’t it be cool to jump down to one of those other balconies?”

See!? I told you Jen was the naughty one!! Heeee!!

Also... what are the girl's matching bags? Are they Disney bags? If so, I quite fancy them!! The girls have definitely got that Olsen twins / Nicole Ritchie thing down-pat - big bags, big sunglasses, flip-flops...

Love the photo of the smoke alarm. That's an awesome smoke alarm.

Anyway, another very fun chapter!! Thankyou!!

 

[NMAmy]

MM: Yes, I did see vous in the Muppet area. You have your own fountain!

And, yes, I did get everyone involved in my mission to find the frosty mug. It was like a treasure hunt but we didn't do very well at it, unfortunately.

LYMI, too, my friend! And, I WILL get that mug mailed out soon. I'm running so many errands for my mom and taking her to appointments, etc--it's been a bit hectic. She got good news from her doctors this week and she's started going places on her own again. I'm really glad she has her confidence back.

AussieAngel: Your post cracked me up! Yes, you were right about Jen being the naughty one--although that was really the ONLY evidence of it in the whole trip. She was really a joy to have along. The perfect guest. (Don't worry--I emailed her mommy and told her that, too!)

The girls bought those bags at the Wilderness Lodge. They have vintage Disney cartoon images all over them and they were very proud of them. Jen even got a smaller, matching one for her little sister as a souvenir.

Glad you liked the smoke alarm! Caitlin always takes pictures of weird things on vacation and gets a kick out of me putting them in the scrapbooks like regular pictures.

Thanks for reading, pals!

 

[MickeysMommy]

I'm running so many errands for my mom and taking her to appointments, etc--it's been a bit hectic. She got good news from her doctors this week and she's started going places on her own again. I'm really glad she has her confidence back.

Yay! I have been thinking about you!!!

 

[DancinDaisyDuck]

Poor Tweetle Dee/Dumb being violated like that! Great report!

 

[Kay7979]

Another great installment. You and the girls seem to be having such a good time on this trip. I am sure they will always remember it. That's funny about you being the Disney fount of information for tourists. Maybe you can get an Unofficial Cast Member badge. You probably know as much or more about Disney than many of the CMs do. I loved your pictures. The shots with the girls hamming it up are always fun. Keep up the good work!

 

[Kay7979]

OOOPS. You're too fast! I almost missed the prior episode, the conclusion to your best day ever. Very nice photos of the EWP. I had no luck getting anything but the flags to turn out. Trying to zoom made the photo quality worse, and without the zoom everything looked very far away. It's so great that you got Dream Fast Passes. I'd want to keep them in a scrapbook, too.

 

[Maleficent13]

Okay, now I’m going to be honest with you all. I know some may be upset with me but this is just my opinion. As my pal, Mal would say, YMMV.

Yay! Another Mal mention! Although, I usually write that on my controversial posts. Since you're not posting this on the resort board scared1: ) you should be safe!

Although I loved the theming and all the CM’s were wonderful (especially Lodgekeeping!) and it’s just flat out beautiful, I don’t think we’ll stay at WL again. Mainly for one reason—the location. Even though it’s close to the MK, I think it still took just about the same amount of time to get there from the Dolphin as it did from the Wilderness Lodge. I missed being able to walk to the closest park from our resort. And, I really missed being close to Epcot for meal choices. Perhaps next time, we’ll try one of the monorail resorts or perhaps we’ll try a different Epcot resort.

Thanks for your review. I usually stay at OKW, which is even farther from anything, so the distance probably wouldn't bother me as much.

Okay, now here is where I showed what a TOTAL Disney nerd I am. As we were waiting in line, a family came up behind us. They were amazed when I told them a boat that was arriving was on its way to Epcot and not to MGM—you can tell by which direction the boat is coming from. (And that is not even the extent of my nerdiness. It gets worse.) So, we got to chatting and they told us they lived locally but it was spring break and they decided to splurge with an onsite stay. One man asked me, rather out of nowhere I thought, what the area code was. I was thinking, YOU live here, fella, not me. Then they were talking about reservations for dinner and I realized what they were trying to find and said, “Oh, hold up! I have the dining number for WDW programmed into my cell phone.” Seriously. I do. I’m a dork. Alex laughed at me for just proving it to everyone.

And you called ME a dork earlier in the thread!

psst...I not only have it in my phone, I have it memorized. (407) 939-3463. My mom calls me for it often. I am WDW information services, apparently. But she takes me with her, so I am happy to assist.

As I was getting ready to go, I overheard Cait and Jen talking on the balcony. Jen was saying, “Wouldn’t it be cool to jump down to one of those other balconies?”

If you were on the CB, people would be posting telling you to remove your daughter from this harlot's evil influence immediately.

Back at the room, we sat out on our full-sized balcony and enjoyed the lovely weather until the girls got back around 9:30. They wanted to go down to the pool (where the heck do they get all that energy?) but I told them I didn’t want them wandering around by themselves in bathing suits with all the conventioneers and I was too tired to go with them. They ended up ordering a movie to watch and I was able to have an early night, thank heavens!

You have issues with Men in Black? I bet you don't like Johnny Cash, either.

 

[NMAmy]

DancinDaisyDuck: You notice I didn't do that when it was time for my picture, didn't you? I wasn't quite sure what that was all about but they were happy so I just let it go as teenage weirdness.

Kay: I ended up taking a ton of pictures of the EWP that didn't quite turn out. I was glad I got a few that I could edit and they'd be ok.

We all had a great time this trip. I should really look into getting a CM badge of some kind! Cait calls me Helpful Hannah.

Mal: I was hoping the WL comments wouldn't be taken in a bad way on this board. I think you'd like it if you don't mind the travel time. When it comes to food, I hate having my options limited.

I know I DID call you a dork earlier. But that's why I love you. Because I am one, too. Twin girls of different mothers, that's us, pal!

Poor Jen. She's getting a bad rap from one comment. I would NEVER mention that on the CB.

And you would be wrong about me disliking Men in Black. I adore Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, AND Johnny Cash! It just seems like an odd clothing choice for 80 degree weather.

thanks for reading, everyone! I really appreciate your comments!

 

[dddisrunner]

Too funny about "the men in black" I have seen this before and think they look sooo out of place in Disney World!

I too planned on putting Disney dining # in my cell phone. I guess that makes me a dork too! That's okay I'm in good company!

I can't believed they moved the car by the Sci-fi

"YOU CANNOT EAT UNTIL LUNCH" this doesn't get better as they get older? A huge pet peeve of mine!

I love all the pics. there great! I especially love the one of Alex sitting with the girls too cute!


What are those girls doing to that poor character on the wall

I am so glad there was NO LATTICE in your new room!

Keep up the great work!

 

[Glendamax]

Woo-Hoo! You've been busy! You guys did alot of running around in this last installment!

I've always wanted to stay at different resorts during a single stay, but didnt want to go through packing and unpacking. After reading your report, now I see I'm not crazy!

For my trip this year, I was going to make a reservation at Sci-Fi, but the food wasnt that great. I REALLY hope they get a better menu so the food will be as great as the experience.

This has been yet another fun installment! Looking forward to the next!