No Sleep Till Disney! We can save money by flying at 6am! (Updates!! 12/7 - p.12)

[JenSop]

Congrats on your Best of 2009 list, that's awesome!

Love all the pics of AK and your Yak & Yeti meal! I have a lunch ressie there for my Oct trip with DS7 and my mom this year and I'm so looking forward to it!

Thanks!

We've eaten at Yak and Yeti twice now and both times were great! Enjoy your lunch!

 

[JenSop]

Day Four, Part Three - We're on Top of the World!

After coming back from AK that night, we relaxed for a bit, then decided we would take advantage of a special perk - visit the Top of the World Lounge/Observation deck to watch the fireworks!

This is a very specific perk, as it's only open to DVC members who are currently staying at BLT. You have to check in at the booth in the lobby of the building and show your room key (which shows you are DVC.) We already knew that BLT was not on the top of our list for a return visit, so we should definitely do this while we were here!

We were taken up to the top with a group of other people as well. (Saw non-DVC trying to get in and were told they weren't allowed, so apparently they're being really strict with the rules.)

We got to the top and started looking around. The outdoor observation area isn't anything special - just a concrete patio-type area with a high wall so you can still see, but can't fall over. The lounge itself is kind of small, but very nice inside.

However, it wasn't long before I realized that I wasn't exactly wearing the right clothing for being up there. It's very windy. A light-weight wrap skirt was not the best choice. Even though I had biker shorts on underneath, I thought it best to get changed....

So I grabbed my room key and booked it back to the room - grabbing the first thing I found that wouldn't look too sloppy - my jean skirt. No blowing around with that!

Of course, I then had to go all the way down to the bottom and check in at the desk again....

Finally.... here's the pics!

Looking over to the MK:

Looking at the Contemporary Resort:

Looking in at the Top of the World Lounge:

Self portraits with a view behind us...

Fireworks!!

One last pic in front of the awesome view:

We were tired after our long day, so it was back to the room. We saw the tail end of the water parade out the back of the resort before it went into dock. I've loved that since I was a little kid and was trying to race to a good spot to get a picture before it was done, but we were too late. The lights went out and we didn't get to see it more. Oh well - plenty more times!

Good night!

Next up - We attempt the near-impossible: double rope drops! - MK EMH at 8am and Epcot rope drop at 9am! Can we do it?!?!?

 

[redlight]

I love the fireworks and that last picture of you. Looking forward to the next segment.

 

[JenSop]

I love the fireworks and that last picture of you. Looking forward to the next segment.

Thanks!

You know, the one thing that you could really observe by watching the fireworks that high..... they are REALLY spread out!

The farthest ones apart had to have had a good mile between them!

 

[Shannon84]

Ok so lots of updates since I last checked in Yay!! I love both of the picture options that you had, but I really like the second one better (not sure if it is too late for my opinion haha)

Your food pictures made me hungry!! Next time I know better to read a TR when I havent had lunch yet

I have not stayed at BLT, but a friend of mine was staying there last year when I was staying at POP. I agree the area up there on top isnt anything special to look at, but the view for fireworks is really one of a kind. Its so nice that they are very strict about only allowing DVC guests staying there to go up, that way it keeps a small crowd.

 

[JenSop]

No update, but wanted to share that I've made it to 1000 posts! woohoo!

I wanted post #1000 to be in my TR! (hee hee - cause I'm a dork like that.)

I will be getting up a new update really soon!

 

[redlight]

Woo Hoo! 1,000 posts!

 

[ChiCat]

Wow that was an amazing view

 

[JenSop]

Hello Dear Readers!

Sorry for the lack of frequent updates lately. Things always get busy for me in the fall. I'm getting ready to put out another CD (as many of you know, from me asking about which picture to put on the cover...)

We also started rehearsals for my fall show: "Yeoman of the Guard." It's one of Gilbert and Sullivan's lesser known operettas, and probably considered their most operatic and dramatic. I'm singing the role of Elsie! If any one lives in the Philly area and wants to see it, it'll be the first two weekends of November! Let me know if you'd like more details. (Sorry, my website is not updated with the information yet! I'll get on that soon.)

And if you've read all my report, you know that I recently started working as a travel agent. I was invited by my agency on a trip to Mexico to tour some resorts, so I'm leaving in about 2 hours and won't be back until Sunday night.

Then five days later, I leave for OUR all time fave vacation spot - Disney World!!! Yes - finally the trip that is over two years in the making.... the Girls-Only-Disney-Trip!! (Seriously - we've been planning this for over two years! And with DVC and annual passes, it's totally a steal for me this time around as far as the money!)

We'll be heading down on the 1st for a long weekend for MNSSHP and F&W!!! Yes!!! For MNSSHP, we're dressing up as the girls in Peter Pan. I'm going to be Tink, and the other two girls are Tiger Lilly and Wendy!

We will TOTALLY be doing a trip report, which should be way fun, as I think us girls are a lot more comfortable with being silly in public!

Soooo......I'll finish this TR and then go right into writing the next! I can do it!

But anyway, that's sort of why I'm extra busy right now. I'm going to try to do an update in between trips. (And since I'm pulling an all-nighter tonight, as I have to leave at 2:30 in the morning, I may just get around to a short update tonight!)

 

[JenSop]

Day Five, Part One! Tuesday: DOUBLE ROPE DROP!!!!

Hi everyone!

Time for a quick update. Although I'm looking at the clock and thinking how insane I am for attempting to start an update at 1:46 am.....

But, hey, I leave for Disney in just over 27 hours (who's counting?) and time is of the essence!

I at least wanted to get started with our next day......



...........




...........


BECAUSE WE ATTEMPTED DOUBLE ROPE DROP!



Okay, so we're not completely insane, but thought it would be kind of fun to try it. We really wanted to get on Space Mountain again, but also wanted a morning at Epcot.

So we decided to go for it!

Especially since we could easily walk over to the Magic Kingdom from BLT!

We got over to MK around 7:30am and got a PRIME spot at the entrance waiting in line...... we were one of the first!

Here are our awesome shots of looking into an empty MK....

And then an empty Main Street, as we are some of the very first people in after the opening ceremony. We were headed for Space Mountain!

There was an actual rope after walking over the bridge into Tomorrowland. (Or was it just a whole bunch of CM's standing in a line that formed its own human rope? Gee, now I can't remember...some one wanna help me out here?)

Obviously, everyone in our cluster was headed to Space Mt, so when it was time, they walked us over in a not-so-organized fashion to the entrance. We were right up near the front of the line - maybe the 2nd or 3rd car to go? It was GREAT!

By the time we got off, though, there was already a decent line.

So no second rides - we had to catch a monorail to Epcot!

We got some pictures on our way back to Main Street...

And stopped for some PhotoPass action!

Next up... journeying to Epcot for their rope drop....

 

[Illuminations_Rocks]

Awesome pictures on Main Street!!

Hope you are having fun in WDW!

 

[Shannon84]

I LOVE those main street pictures!! I have never seen those ones in the car..too cool

We just got back last night, so I am going to attempt to try a TR...I am not sure how to really put it together with the pictures and all, but I am going to try haha

 

[JenSop]

Awesome pictures on Main Street!!

Hope you are having fun in WDW!

Thanks! We had a FABULOUS time!!!

I LOVE those main street pictures!! I have never seen those ones in the car..too cool

We just got back last night, so I am going to attempt to try a TR...I am not sure how to really put it together with the pictures and all, but I am going to try haha

Let me know where your TR will be when it's up!

 

[JenSop]

I am crazy.

(Crazy busy!)

I'm really really sorry for the lack of updates everyone! This is the final week before I take my CD project to the manufacturer (which involves TONS of work), AND I have to be totally memorized for my show by this weekend. (And I have a concert to sing in on Saturday.) This is all at the same time as having to work the retail job, do the travel agent thing, and teach voice lessons.

This is why I am crazy - I am going to do an update right now - starting at 1:34 in the morning! Because I'm crazy!

Oh yeah, bring on the crazy dancing smilies! Woohoo!

 

[JenSop]

Day Five, Part Two!

"Workin' that double rope-drop!"

So we just had a great early EMH experience at MK, with a great spot for rope drop!

But time was ticking!

After getting our Photopass pics on Main Street, it was time to head to the monorail to get to Epcot! We walked nice and swiftly, only to see that you couldn't even get in to the monorail at the Express monorail ramp - it was still not open on this end for the day!

So we had to quick walk around to the Resort monorail in order to get over to the TTC.

Once we got there, it wasn't TOO long of a wait for the Epcot monorail. And it was a Tron monorail!

We made it to Epcot just a little past 9am. We missed official rope drop! But it was still early, and I ran to The Land to get our Soarin' Fast Passes!

I met up with Brian over at Test Track. We were going to do Single Rider line, but there was NO line even for regular standby, so we got to ride together!

We thought about going through the Character Spot, but the line was too long, and well, Brian's not that into the characters, so we skipped it.

Next stop was Club Cool. I needed some Coke to cool me down, as it was already insanely hot. (Noticing a trend here with the crazy hot temps?!?)

I was super happy to see that they had gotten the Coke Tee I liked in a size Small! (They didn't have any the other day.) I had to buy it right away, as I might have mentioned before - I have a thing for Coke...

It was around now that I realized I had cut my knee open on Test Track. You know the scratchy surface they put where you step - kind of like sand paper? Well, when you have short legs, it's easy to scratch yourself on one of those spots. Sadly, I didn't have a band-aid, so we had to head to First aid.

I actually didn't know where first aid was in Epcot. I always knew where it was in MK (probably from my park map memorizing when I was 9) but realized that I was clueless in the other parks! We asked a CM, and I figured it out almost right away when he was trying to explain where it was. So I just asked him, "Oh, you mean where that restaurant used to be a really long time ago?" He replied in the affirmative and we were on our way! (It's at the end of Future World, on the left, before you get to Mexico.) The CM working there quickly cleaned up my cut and hooked me up with a band-aid. (And gave me some to take along too.)

We next decided to head over to see Captain Eo! I remember seeing this as a kid when it came out in the 80's. So weird to be watching it again. I recognized the one dancer from the "Chorus Line" movie. It was fun! And you could tell who the die-hards were - they were shouting and clapping for the movie. (Kind of the way I did for the Main Street Electrical Parade!)

Then we headed back to Mouse Gear....

Then used our FP's for Soarin'....

After that, we walked over to the Imagination pavilion, as I'm always on the look out for new Figment shirts!

Half way there, we realized we should have picked up new FP's for Soarin' to use later in the day! So I ran to get them. (Holy FP running, Batman! And in such heat!)

Karma rewarded me with an awesome Figment Tee! (Photo coming later!)

But thank God, World Showcase was finally open, and we were off to get our alcoholic slushies in France! (And a snack to tide us over until our late lunch, of course!)

(I'm really not double-fisting - I'm just holding Brian's drink while he takes the picture...)

Walking around WS....

It's never a trip to WS without stopping in at Germany! We bought some Mozart Kugeln, which are yummy German chocolates. I got a bunch when I was in Vienna in March and we discovered that they sold them in Germany in Epcot!

I got to practice some of my German with the CM's. It's funny, I'm really good at saying some of the basic introductory stuff, but German grammar is insanely hard, and that's where I forget so much. They always compliment my diction (pronunciation), but as an opera singer, I had to take TONS of diction classes and study, so that's actually something I'm really good at. And I always know how to say that my grammar is bad - haha! "Entschuldigung, Meine Grammatik ist schlecht."

(Yes, I'm a nerd. Haven't we established that already? )

We worked our way around WS with time to spare. Our Le Cellier ADR was for 2:25 so we headed to, you guessed it, Mouse Gear! It's the ultimate place to kill time in Epcot!

Finally it was time to head to Le Cellier! We made this ADR closer to the trip, as the rumors were just starting to go around then about the transition to a Signature Restaurant, and Brian wanted to eat there before that happened.

We were seated in the Alberta section and Brendan was our server. He was great!!!

And even though we had originally intended to do this extra meal out of pocket, we ended up using DDP credits, as we both wanted to get the filet. (Mmmmmmm....... filet.......)

Brendan hooked us up with a tiny dish of cheese soup to dip our bread sticks in.

(Mmmmmmm...... pretzel bread......)

I hate to say it, but we were apparently very hungry and practically devoured our steaks before remembering to take a picture. But they were so good. So. Good.

We both finished with the creme brulee. (Hey we finally remembered to get the darn camera out!)

After our awesome lunch, we killed some time in the little store at that end of the WS entrance, then headed over to the Seas. (I always still want to call it "The Living Seas" and I just refuse to add the Nemo and Friends to the end of the name. Look, I LOVED that movie, but why does everything have to be related to a movie at Disney?!?!?)

We watched the dolphins and manatees for a little bit, then headed down for Turtle Talk with Crush. I thought it would be good to see it - to be able to speak to clients about it. It was really funny! Sort of reminded me of the show that Bill Cosby did years ago called "Kids Say the Darndest Things" or something along those lines. (And I believe even that was a remake of a really old show? Am I right?) Crush talked to the kids and asked them questions that resulted in many a funny answer!

Afterwards, it was time to head back to BLT. It was just TOO HOT! We headed back for a swim.


Next up... our to-die-for dinner at California Grill!
(Mmmmmm..... California Grill..........)

(I hope at least one person is getting my feable attempt at a Homer Simpson reference!)

 

[Shannon84]

YAY update...but so many things to comment on!!! YAY for the Tron monorail, I thought it was really impressive in person We LOVED club cool and ended up buying a ton of coca cola merchandise

It sounds like you guys got a lot done before lunch even!! I swear it felt like time was flying by when we were there, but then again it was TOUGH to get DBF out of bed early

Where did you get the german chocolate from?? We went into the new caramel store they had, but I could not find just chocolate by itself, I was so sad!!

 

[JenSop]

YAY update...but so many things to comment on!!! YAY for the Tron monorail, I thought it was really impressive in person We LOVED club cool and ended up buying a ton of coca cola merchandise

It sounds like you guys got a lot done before lunch even!! I swear it felt like time was flying by when we were there, but then again it was TOUGH to get DBF out of bed early

Where did you get the german chocolate from?? We went into the new caramel store they had, but I could not find just chocolate by itself, I was so sad!!

Well, on this particular trip, they hadn't opened the new shop up yet, so the candy was in that middle store where it always was. However, two weeks ago, I had to ask, since everything was all mixed up! I found the Mozart Kugeln in the wall at the Teddy Bear shop. (Yeah, that makes perfect sense...) But it's still there.

The new sweets shop was insanely busy, so I didn't bother checking it out yet. Next time!

 

[JenSop]

Hi everyone!

So I thought I'd post a sneak peak of the album cover of my new CD! Everything goes to the manufacturer on Monday! This project has been causing me SO MUCH stress lately, and I'll be so glad to send it off to the presses!

(The side-ways writing on the left hand side is the text for the CD spine - it gets designed as part of the cover.)

 

[Shannon84]

WOW!!! that album cover came out amazing!! Do you have somewhere online I can hear your music?

 

[JenSop]

WOW!!! that album cover came out amazing!! Do you have somewhere online I can hear your music?

Thanks! My friend since 4th grade does all my design work - albums and websites. She's awesome!

There's link to my website at the bottom of my signature. I don't have any tracks up from the new album though. That will be coming in the next month or two.

I want to carefully add that the link to my website does NOT link to a site that is selling items of any kind. (You'd have to follow links off of my website to find where to buy any of my albums. Or you could also type my name in to iTunes and last year's CD will come right up, along with another album that I sang on a few years ago.)

I got in trouble on the disboards last year for posting a direct link to where people could buy my album. They're SO picky here - I'm used to the singer forums that I'm a regular on - absolutely no moderation - kind of like the wild west, but for opera singers. Haha!