No Plans and a Little Pixie Dust, updated 1/22 our trip is over

[scottny]

Thank you.
The glass was a great souvenir to bring home. If you get the chance, go to the luau, parts of it are a little corny but it it is a great show for the most part. We are definitely doing it again next year. I agree TT is a great ride, in fact it's one of my favorites. Have fun in 2 weeks.

thanks. I actually leave Saturday so it is 6 days. My mind is not working right.

 

[tazdev3225]

Have fun anyway. I will be there this time next year so it's something to look forward to. I'll be up in your area in a couple of weeks. My brother is a grad student at Columbia so we go up to NYC during the holidays.

 

[scottny]

I am 46 blocks south of Columbia. Nice area up there.

 

[tazdev3225]

I am 46 blocks south of Columbia. Nice area up there.

I agree it is a nice and diverse area. Sadly this may be our last year as my brother is due to get his doctorate soon. We may make NYC an annual Christmas tradition however.

 

[scottny]

Christmas in NYC is like no other. It is truly a wonderful time to be in the city.

 

[onebright1]

Im still enjoying your TR Your DGS is funny, I have a 14 yo son , so I know they have a warped sense of humor

 

[tazdev3225]

Im still enjoying your TR Your DGS is funny, I have a 14 yo son , so I know they have a warped sense of humor

I agree they are a little warped at this age. My DGS is 10 going on 14. He really is a great kid but a little upset that he's not going with us next year. He's getting to old for me to keep taking him out of school. He thinks that Disney should count as being in school.

Day 3 will be coming up soon.

 

[tazdev3225]

Happy Holidays. I am a little slower than I expected to be because of the holidays but I am here to start on DAY 3:

The pattern for this trip was for me to get up first and shower. Then I woke up my DH and went to the food court for Coffee and something for the guys to drink. By time I got back to our room they were both up and dressed. After checking to make sure everything was in the camera bag and backpack we were on our way. Today we were at the bus stop and on our way to the Animal Kingdom. Here is my DGS on the bus ride there.

We only planned a half day here as DGS really didn't want to go on Expedition Everest and we really tried to get him to go on it. He also didn't want to do the safari or really see any animals. We headed over towards the Dinosaur ride when I talked him into Finding Nemo The Musical. We have never done this show before and I gave DGS little choice - the show or EE, he chose the show. We were a little surprised by it and Jay actually enjoyed it. Here are a few pictures from the show.

After the show we headed over to ride Dinosaur and then DGS and DH had some fun in Dinorama.

Jay had a lot of fun playing the games and won 3 times. One of the reasons I love this kids so much is that he didn't win one thing for himself. They were for his little brother and his cousins. He always thinks of everyone else before himself.

After we were done in Dinorama we saw a few more characters.

We also got a couple of great photopass shots.

After we were done with the Animal Kingdom we were headed over to DHS, I will never get used to that name. We must have had some Pixie Dust take us there because none of us can remember how we got there. DAY 3: DHS coming up next.

 

[tazdev3225]

DAY 3: PART 2

We got to DHS somehow because we did spend the rest of the day there. The first thing I wanted to do was get some photopass shots with the little extras. We got one when we first got there and then we found out who to look for to get the others. Here are our photopass shots:

I definitely think I had more fun with this than my guys did.

We then headed for Toy Story Mania. I did take a lot of pictures there but evidently only added the score between my DH and I. He barely beat me but I was way more accurate so I can rub that in.

I know we did a few rides but the wait for Toy Story was really long and we had 5 PM reservations at Hollywood and Vine so we headed over there next. While we were waiting for the pager to go off all the characters went past us to go to the Sorcerer's Hat. As one of the Evil Queens went by us she stopped to tell DGS that he was a very rude little boy. Jay looked at her like she was crazy. I was just laughing it was so funny. It is these little things that really make me love Disney. We only waited about 15 minutes and the pager went off. We were seated and got our drinks and then it was off to the buffet. I know a lot of people really don't like this place but we all thought the food and service were great.
After dinner we headed over to get some pictures with a few characters.
Jay and me with Mickey

We also saw Frozone from the Incredibles. It was then time to head over for Fantasmic. I don't think I will go out of my way for this show again. I always manage to sit near really rude people. I can only expect it to be worse now that there will only be 2 shows a week. I did manage to get one or two good shots of it. Here's one:

We decided after Fantasmic to call it a night. We had several long days and were heading back here in the morning. This was a final shot as we left. It is one of my favorite night shots.

Up next Day 4 or the hotel.

 

[loralie]

Great trip report. Your DGS is cute. I loved Fantasmic so I hope to see it again in May. Can't wait to read the rest.

 

[scottny]

great update and pics.

I love the photopass pics. I forgot to ask for them.

 

[tazdev3225]

great update and pics.

I love the photopass pics. I forgot to ask for them.

I debated pre-ordering the photopass CD. I am so glad that I did, even though I took a lot of pictures it was so much fun to get the little add-ons. It was even nicer to be able to show pictures of me on a trip. Now I have to go on a major diet before I go again next year, darn food it just wants to be eaten. It will just be DH and me next trip but I want to do the photopass again.

 

[scottny]

I debated pre-ordering the photopass CD. I am so glad that I did, even though I took a lot of pictures it was so much fun to get the little add-ons. It was even nicer to be able to show pictures of me on a trip. Now I have to go on a major diet before I go again next year, darn food it just wants to be eaten. It will just be DH and me next trip but I want to do the photopass again.

I gained 8 lbs while we were there. I have lost 6 so far. I hope it continues.,

 

[tazdev3225]

I am sorry for not updating sooner for anyone who has been looking for new posts but the holidays and a new grandbaby have kept me busy. was lurking around other TR's and really missed seeing Disney at Christmas so I am throwing a bonus mini Philadelphia TR in here. My city gets a lot of bad press but I love it here for all the traditions we have. For as long as I can remember the old Wanamaker building (I think it's Macy's now) has had a Christmas light show. If anyone remembers the movie Mannequin with Kim Cattrall and Andrew McCarthy it was filmed here.They also have a Dickens Village. My mom and I took my DGD downtown to start a new tradition with her. I am just going to post a fewpicks and then add some comments.

Later that night mom and I took my DGD and DGS to a christmas Village in the Lancaster area. While it was not as good as Osbourne Lights it was nice and had some hidden surprises.

Here's Mickey:

The Christmas Cactus:

A few surprises:

Some more buildings:

Pixie Hollow?

And my DGD and DGS:

It wasn't Disney and looking at some of the characters in Dickens made me very aware of that. It was the closest thing I could find to Disney until I am there in December. Hope everyone enjoyed my side trip and the real thing continues next.

Sorry for anyone reading this. I cleaned out my photobucket account and accidentally deleted these pictures. I will try and fix this later.

 

[tazdev3225]

DAY 4:
I was the first one up again and after showering and getting my DH up I headed to the food court. This was the one rare day where we had breakfast. I grabbed egg platters for the 3 of us. Filled my mug with coffee and got hot chocolate and coke for the guys. Even with a tray I had a hard time getting back to the room juggling all that along with 6 waters and the utensils. Somehow I did manage although I would have loved to get a picture of me on the way back to the room. I'm sure it was pretty funny to the other people as I passed them. After eating and cleaning up the mess we were off to Hollywood Studios. DGS and I as we entered DHS:

After a couple of pictures we ran into this character. She had DH and I hysterical she was so funny with DGS. She offered him a million dollars for DH and I. Jay is a great kid he told her "no way". Then she wanted to buy him from us to be a bodyguard. We kept him. Jay had the best time with her.

After this we headed back to Toy Story since it was right after the park opened. The wait was only about 30 minutes so we got in line and enjoyed the queue area again. The details in there just amazed me and DGS and DH were pretending to be in a Candyland game as we walked through. Jay wanted to ride with DH so he could beat him, so I got to be alone on the ride. I would have loved to have gotten a pic or two of them but I was having to much fun playing myself.
After Toy Story we decided to see some of the characters that we didn't see before.

I love that kid because he got in all those pictures to make me happy. He did draw the line at Handy Manny though. I really tried to get him in line for that but he refused.
We did the Backlot tour again just because we like it.

After that we went on the Great Movie Ride

We also did Star Tours at some point and took some pictures as we headed to the exit.

Then it was time to head to EPCOT. In sticking to my promise to my DH and DGS in not having a set schedule and being in a huge rush we did something we have never done before on any of our trips. We slowed down and took the Friendship Boat over to EPCOT.
The boat ride coming up.

 

[twinmom]

I am enjoying your trip report. I want to write one but I need to figure out the picture thing. I am computer stupid

We love the Luau. We have been twice. My boys like the food there better than most anywhere on property and they are always entertained by the show.

I am inpressed at all the pictures your grandson allowed you to take. My boys hate it when I ask the Photo pass guy to take our picture. I think you have a keeper!

 

[tazdev3225]

I am enjoying your trip report. I want to write one but I need to figure out the picture thing. I am computer stupid

We love the Luau. We have been twice. My boys like the food there better than most anywhere on property and they are always entertained by the show.

I am inpressed at all the pictures your grandson allowed you to take. My boys hate it when I ask the Photo pass guy to take our picture. I think you have a keeper!

Thank you. I was very impressed with the luau and my DGS LOVED it. He wants to go again when we take him back.

I think he's a keeper too. I can't wait to take the other grandkids one day but I really have a lot of fun with him. He really didn't mind getting in the pictures because they are for the other kids to see and he loves making them happy. He even waited in line for the princesses 2 years ago for his cousin. He's upset that I'm not taking him this year but I can't take him out of school.

 

[tazdev3225]

DAY 4 Friendship Boat to Epcot

When we left DHS I saw the dock for the Friendship boat so we decided to take that as the boat had just docked. As I really don't know what resorts we passed other than the Swan and Dolphin I will just post some pictures I took along the ride.

It was a really relaxing ride and a beautiful way to see another side of Disney. Well worth the little bit of extra time it took. Up next - EPCOT.

 

[tazdev3225]

DAY 4 EPCOT

The Friendship Boat landed by the World Showcase which was great because that was where I wanted to be. We went through Canada which was another first. In all the trips I have taken I have never really checked out Canada. I was surprised to find there was a really beautiful garden back there.

After Canada we walked up towards England and I was very happy. I got Jay to pose with me when i saw:

That has always been one of my favorite movies. We went in one of the shops and jay took this:

What can I say the boy is a little strange sometimes.
We walked around the WS a little more but really bypassed a lot of the countries. We did sample a few of the Food and Wine booths.

I know I got a pina colada and the Pastelon de Amarillo at San Juan. The Pastelon was really good, even Jay liked it. DH was being a pain and didn't try it. Istanbul we tried the Pistachio baklava. That was really good. Jay ate it all after we forced him to try a bite.
We headed to Mexico and went on the ride there. I have a feature on my camera that lets me take infra-red photos so I used it here.

I'm not even sure what that is. Then I got a few more shots that had Donald Duck in them.

We left the World Showcase and headed to the Universe of Energy. I know this is a slightly worn ride but we like it as a change of pace. A few pics from there:

We had dinner reservations at the Coral Reef so we headed over to the Living Seas. This is Jay's favorite place in EPCOT, he would spend the whole day there if he could. We did the Finding Nemo ride but Turtle Talk was closed down when we got off of it so we wandered around for a few minutes.

That boy really is a clown sometimes. We were hungry at this point and they were shutting the Living Seas down for a private party so we headed out for dinner. Up next the Coral Reef and the end of Day 4.

 

[tazdev3225]

DAY 4: The CORAL REEF and the rest of the night.

It was time for dinner and we headed to the only place my DGS JAy requested for the trip. He loves it there. I tried to get a table by the aquarium for him as a surprise but the wait would have been to long, so we had a table in the middle after a very short wait. This was the only time I really wished we had the appetizers included in the DP as Jay and I love the Lobster Bisque. We ordered one and split it. He's such a good kid. We all had the steak just with different sides. Jay had FF's, I had string beans and DH got it the way it comes. Jay also got the frozen sour apple drink. He knew what he wanted before we even sat down.

I was really glad that we didn't get the table at the aquarium. A turtle decided to stop and watch the people eat. The people that were down there were incredibly rude. While the family that was at the table tried to eat other people down there were practically sitting in their laps to take pictures of it. I give that family a lot of credit for remaining calm. I got this from where I was sitting.

We finished dinner and had our desserts. Jay had ice cream.

After we finished dinner I took advantage of the Living Seas being closed and got some pictures out front without other people in them.

I have never been able to get a picture there without a lot of people in my way. Jay saw this and of course we had to get the picture.

We watched Illuminations while eating Kaka Gori's. I love those things.

We headed toward the exit to go back to the hotel because we were tired and looking forward to a little sleep as we had to be up early the next day.

Day 4 is complete. Day 5 or a review of the hotel is up next.