Not One, Not Two, But Three Trips In One (now with PICS!)

Nice trippie KyDerby guy! Can't wait to read more. You must have a mental time clock in your head.

I wish...not quite *that* good. :) I was just live blogging from my phone and now I'm just adding more detail to it. :thumbsup2

Next one coming up soon!
 
Chapter 5 - Day Two of Magic
Saturday, August 9, 2008


Running a little behind schedule but we should still get to the MK right after park open. Probably get a FP for Buzz and ride Space Mountain. Then train it over to Big Thunder Mountain And Splash Mountain and try and get more FPs for one of them, then Haunted Mansion and Pirates and then off to Fantasyland!

Not even going to think of having to go home tomorrow. Just going to be thinking about HAVNFN!


9:00am(ish) we park at the TTC so the kids get a chance to ride the monorail (my leg is screaming bloody murder already...oh boy) Along the way we go right by the new DVC tower at the Contemporary. :love:

We get to the Magic Kingdom entrance (and I didn't get any pics of the kids in front of the signs...bummer) and I knew we would have to get new tickets made up. One thing I forgot to mention before was that tickets we had were having problems in the FP machines all day the day before (one of the CMs said keeping them even near a digital camera can demagnitize them...hmmm...not sure on that) Anyway, we get to the entrance and sure enough, 3 of the 4 tix won't scan so we have to wait for a CM to bring us new ones. Hannah's already inside the gate and looking like she wants to make a break for it! :laughing: We finally get our tickets and go thru the turnstiles and off to Tomorrowland we go!!

9:38am - Ahhhh...Star Tunnel music at Space Mountain...this is AWESOME!!

Now we're aboard our spacecraft and we take off into the darkness and then the flashing blue tunnel and around the turn and up the hill (wave to the nice spacemen, kids) Then the ride begins and the girls are screaming and having a blast. I hear my oldest laughing out loud a few times...oh this is great! I'm gonna cry. lol.

We already have our FPs for a later Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin so off to the train station to head over to Frontierland and the other two mountains: Big Thunder and Splash! All aboard! Oh, do take note that there is no partying in the seats on the train. We see the DVC tower again and the Contemporary (ahh...that MK view room 2 years ago was amazing!)

We arrive in Frontierland and head for BTMRR after I get the FPs for Splash Mtn. I remark to Hannah how I lost my cell phone on BTMRR the last time we rode it but a sleuthful CM found it (I ended up losing that cell phone 3 times on 3 different rides at 3 different amusement parks...it was returned every time!) The new one goes into my shoulder bag, though...no chances this time!

Our train ride was fast and wild but we did get stopped on the tracks for a brief few seconds and then we were on our way again. It was neat hearing the "breakdown spiel" that I'd only heard off Live365 and we ended up hearing the breakdown spiels on Splash Mtn and Haunted Mansion later on. In a way I was happy. :laughing:

So, after the wildest ride in the wilderness we went in search of a laughing place and found it next door at Splash Mountain! :thumbsup2 This has some of the best theming all throughout it as any attraction at Disney! Oh no! Look out, Brer Rabbit! Ah....no worries!

We actually got a bit wet on Splash Mountain this time, too! :thumbsup2 Felt good as it was already warming up un-nicely. Oh, time to get FPs for Splash and head on to the Haunted Mansion! We got to the mansion just in time to be trapped in a room with no windows as we were lowered toward our possible doom! "Hey, kiddo? Feel like volunteering to be the 1000th haunt?" :eek:

11:52am - After we got spooked by the mansion, we realized we were all pretty hungry. Columbia Harbour House was just a few minutes of hobbling away so off we went for some sustenance (Not a fan of the new chicken nugget breading but the fish is ok.). And just as we were finished with eating and about to head over to Pirates...*boom* A deluge. So we hung out a bit longer and got some desserts to nibble on until the downpour turned into a trickle. We'd already ridden most of the big rides at this point so we were making good time despite my back or pinched nerve or whatever it was that was causing me tremendous pain. But I'm slogging through...not gonna let this shooting pain stop me from HAVNFN!

1:14pm - Arrrr...me be in need of some rum for me bum leg, aye...

We finally get to PotC and the line is stopped (presumably to let the lightning in the distance pass further on?) At this point, standing still, my leg feels like someone is jabbing a knife right in the back of my thigh. I was seriously considering leaving the park myself and letting the girls have fun on their own. I sat down on a bench for a bit and a few min. later the line finally started to move and I thought, "what the heck...as long as I'm moving I seem to be ok" I guess the rum be workin! By the time we got aboard our pirate ship, me leg weren't a screamin'. The ghost of Davy Jones must a been lookin' kindly upon me.

2:45pm - "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow, shining at the end of every day...." Yes, the old GE Carousel of Progress, although GE long ago dropped their sponsorship but it's always there for me (esp. when I was at the MK as a kid many, many moons ago, my dad worked for GE :) ) Lots of memories came flooding back as we passed through the decades. This was my first time seeing the new 2000s portion. Next we boarded the TTA (and I got some video of riding on it).

I quickly collected some FPs for Space Mtn and then it was time to help save the galaxy from the evil Emperor Zurg! Somehow Hannah maxed hers out at 9,999,999 before the ride had barely started!! I had over 4 million and eventually ended up around 5,400,000. Our fighter craft had stopped just after takeoff but we could see enemy targets in the distance and we just started shooting for the heck of it and our counters started counting up like mad! Sort of took the fun out of it for Hannah as no matter what she shot at, her score could go no higher. But, she now holds the record for highest score! :thumbsup2

After blasting space enemies, we headed back to Frontierland to burn up our BTMRR and SM FastPasses. The stand-by lines were about an hour each so it definitely pays to collect them early and use them later. Sometimes, MUCH later! Yes, that's a BTMRR FP that 'expired' at 11:55am and us using it at 4:53pm! :cool2:

We started working our way back to the castle and I let the girls rest while I went to get FPs for Space Mtn to ride later in the evening.

6:20pm - Taking a break back to the hotel to freshen up and then dinner at Beaches and Cream. :-) We'd pushed the commando attack on the Kingdom about as far as we could and we all wanted a little downtime to cool off. Monorailed it back to the TTC and caught some nice views again of the CR and new DVC tower and passed by the Grand Floridian, too.



That's it for now, dear readers. I'll post the tales of our evening and late night at MK later on. As for now, other duties are pressing... :laundy:
 
My favorite! the MK!!!!
 

Ky Derby Man -

great update. You will see in my TR that we didn't do half as much as you did. I think June crowds must have been a lot worse than August crowds. I'm going early August next summer!:thumbsup2
 
Ky Derby Man -

great update. You will see in my TR that we didn't do half as much as you did. I think June crowds must have been a lot worse than August crowds. I'm going early August next summer!:thumbsup2

Well, we did a near-commando attack on the parks, even with the rain delays, and it can wear you out...but we were there just for the two days so I figured we could handle it (bum leg and all!)

I'll try and get the evening/night at MK up tonight but might not be until tomorrow.
 
Chapter 5 - Day Two of Magic (continued)
Saturday, August 9, 2008
(with some great pics of Wishes)


About an hour after getting back to the hotel, we hop back into the car and head for the Beach Club. We tell the security CM we're hear for dinner at Beaches and Cream and he lets us in and we grab a decent parking spot and head on to the restaurant. Walking thru the Beach Club brought back so many fond memories of doing the same thing 2 years ago (has it really been that long already?)

We finally get to the podium in front of Beaches n Cream and learn they have a 90min wait. Hannah was visibly upset but I told her we'd be back in a few months and we'll definitely come back and try then but we didn't want to miss an evening at the MK for some ice cream. So back to the MK we went and we ate at Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station (Orange Chicken was decent w/a little kick to it...Hannah got Beef and Broccoli and liked it) We had a nice view from there! Going to get in a couple of rides in then watch Wishes! Then more rides!

Oh, I forgot to mention that before we left for our break, we got to meet Mickey and Minnie! Mickey got a little jealous of me when I got a kiss from Minnie but we became friends in the end.

10:23pm - *sigh* ... Wishes was incredible. Great spot right in front of the castle. What a way to warm the heart! *sssiigggghhhh*

Wishes.jpg


After Wishes we took a visit to the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor and laughed loud enough to fill up the container for Mike Wazowski!

Then we headed over to Fantasyland to ride Winnie the Pooh, Snow White, another viewing of Mickey's Philharmagic 3D (I got to sit next to kiddo this time...held her hand and we almost cried when Aladdin and Jasmine were discovering A Whole New World). Then it was over to Peter Pan and finally, in what will probably become a tradition, ending up with It's A Small World! The ride was ending right as the clock was striking twelve at Cinderella's castle. So we made our way to Main Street and got some ice cream as we left....mmmm....yummy.

And while we didn't get greeted by the Dream Team, it was a great trip for us. It felt like a Million Dreams! And, yes, Disney *will* see us again real soon!

12:34am - On the bus back to the Beach Club and we hop in the car and head on back to the hotel (we, well...I, didn't take the wrong turn to wind up cruising thru Celebration this time, like I had the night before)

1:22am - Wrapped up a wicked weekend of HAVNFN. Back at the hotel and getting everything stuffed into suitcases so we don't have to worry about that in the morning. Then it's time for bed and a trip to Downtown Disney tomorrow and then the long drive home.


Next installment? DTD and a DVC tour!
 
aaaahh Wishes.... great installment!!!! :hug:
 
Thanks!

I'll finish up with our day at Downtown Disney later on this afternoon! :)
 
Thanks!

I'll finish up with our day at Downtown Disney later on this afternoon! :)

I love Wishes!! And Aladdin and Jasmine always get me on the verge too.

Thanks for another installment. You really packed a ton into 2 days. Good commando style!

Look forward to reading the rest.

Have a good day.
 
nice shots Jerry!

love wishes :)
 
Aww, you had me singing the song from Wishes, wishing all the while that my trip was sooner... Great photos from MK, Jerry.

Can't wait to read the next instalment of your trippie. Something to look forward to for tomorrow...
 
Chapter 6 - One Last Bit of Magic (and the drive home)
Sunday, August 10, 2008


8:15(ish)am - Checked out of the hotel and everything is loaded in the car and we're off to Downtown Disney. Why couldn't we have gotten out of the hotel this early on the days we went to the parks?! :confused3

:rotfl:

8:40am - Just got to Downtown Disney (where everything is still closed for the morning) for one last bit of Disney magic. We plan to just pick up some souvenirs, grab a bite at Earl of Sandwich, some dessert at Ghirardelli and then hop back in the car and head home. I don't wanna go home, though! None of us do!

Oh wait...part of the World of Disney store is open. The girls are playing princess dressup (at least they'll be my Disney princesses who will never turn into pumpkins) and Hannah found just a tiny bit of Camp Rock stuff. Woo hoo!! (or something). I think Kiddo wants a Bibbity Bobbidi Boutique makeover now! lol! *sigh* Wish the girls were still little.. :) They may still end up with a baby brother or sister...one never knows!

We end up spending about 2 hours walking around the store and we get a bunch of stuff: Mickey head kitchen towels, Mickey head ice cube trays, coasters, t-shirts, Camp Rock stuff, rings, a football, and more and all tucked into a nice discounted (if you buy $60 or more) rolling tote. I should have broken the purchases up some...could have gotten a couple more totes at a good price! :laughing:

We finally extract ourselves from the Disney store and make our way to Earl of Sandwich. The line was kinda long once we got in so I reluctantly gave in to the kids and we hit up McDonald's. :sad2: blah.

On the way back to the car we happen upon a DVC station and I inquire about the new tower under construction next to the Contemporary Resort. I get nothing but a "Oh? The mystery tower?" from the DVC rep. :rolleyes:

We start chatting about the DVC benefits and an offer of some gift cards after an hour presentation leads us to go ahead and go for it. So, we pile into a big golf cart and off to Saratoga Sprints Resort where the DVC sales offices are setup. We meet with Laurie (sp?) ... :love: (he he) and listen to the whole sales pitch and are shown some model rooms of the Animal Kingdom Villas they have setup at SSR and back to the offices to go over the financial details. I'm *this close* to signing but I know I can get in at Boardwalk Villas for $10-15 less per point through DVC resales (yeah, the length of the timeshare is several years less but I'll be well past retirement age at that point so I don't really care. :rotfl: )

We get some free ice cream and four $15 gift cards and are driven back to the DTD parking lot and we head right back to the World of Disney store to buy more stuff!! :thumbsup2 I got a cap with different images of Donald Duck on it (the only thing Donald I could find in the store!) and the girls got purses or t-shirts.

2:22pm - Oh boy...just now leaving DTD! It was fun but boy is this drive home going to be fun now!!
driving.gif
eek.gif


Spent enough money at the Disney store for all 4 of us to have spent another day in the parks! lol! But first, we have to head down 192 to the Dippin Dots store or Kiddo will disown me! :laughing:

5:55pm - OMG! LMAO! Valdosta, Ga...get your picture taken w/the third largest elk in the world! cassburch.com on the billboard. I gotta check that out when we get home and *have* to do that next time down this way!

(ah...it's a car dealership in Elk Grove, Ga....hence the big elk :rolleyes: )

Nice sunset forming south of Atlanta.

9:45pm - North of Atlanta...past halfway.

11:30pm - Past Chattanooga. Car starting to smell like foot :sick: ...A/C recirc button off! Give me fresh air!! :confused:

4:30am (Monday) - My driveway never looked so good. Drag most of the luggage and miscellaneous what-not lying about the car and bring it inside and crawl into bed!




BONUS!!

Chapter 7 - Back Home
Monday, August 11, 2008


I can't believe the vacation is already over. Got home about 4:30am this morning and crawled out of bed about 6hrs later. Time was crawling beforehand waiting for the vacation to arrive and it actually felt like we were gone a month but now back home and doing chores (laundry mostly) and have to run to my daughter's school to get her registered, get her books, locker, etc (of course her mom couldn't take care of that last week...*sigh*) Then shopping for school supplies (check out the calculator we ended up getting) and groceries and back home to work from home for a while.

Welcome back to reality! :guilty:


The vacation was WAY worth it, though! Starting to plan the next trip already (Thanksgiving!) :woohoo:

Well, much to do today and I'm still afflicted with that shooting pain down my left leg (and some numbness in my foot) from that damn pinched nerve or whatever it is. I know it's from when we went bowling Tue. night in N.C. and those stupid house bowling shoes and cruddy lanes made me stick on approach and I wrenched my back. yay. Perhaps a trip to the chiropractor today, too. But I'll leave you with this bit of high-priced fantasy:

$1 million/week hotel stay!
 
They probably will offer the opportunity to renew your points or whatever when it reaches the end of the contract year.

Mystery Tower... lol...
 
Thanks for the last installment but sad your trip had to end.

It is easy to find so many things you 'need' in WOD. :rotfl:

How is your back? Hope you are doing better.

Happy planning! :cool1:

Wonder what that mystery tower could be......hmmm
 
They probably will offer the opportunity to renew your points or whatever when it reaches the end of the contract year.

Mystery Tower... lol...

Yeah...but with a small fee, perhaps? :)

I'll leave that up to kids/grandkids at that point (if I'm still around...if I make it to 2050 I'd be happy. :laughing: ) I know I won't make to "the year 2525".... (btw, isn't that one of the *creepiest* songs ever?!)


Thanks for the last installment but sad your trip had to end.

It is easy to find so many things you 'need' in WOD. :rotfl:

How is your back? Hope you are doing better.

Happy planning! :cool1:

Wonder what that mystery tower could be......hmmm

Actually, my back is ok...it's my leg. The compressed disc is pressing on the bundle of nerves coming out of L4 (the ol' sciatic nerve) so I have the classic symptoms of that but they're steadily lessening after only 2 trips to the chiro! :thumbsup2


I guess now I need to start a Pre-Trip report for the Thanksgiving trip (and to come up with a name!) :goodvibes
 
I love the end of your trip report and I am sorry your trip has come to an end. I'm glad you took the DVC tour. I will definately be dead before my contract runs out, but I don't care, my DS 13 is a Disney lover so I know it will go to good use.

Hope your leg is getting better. After I got home I have had this nagging pain in my right calf. It starts everytime I drive. I still have it from time to time, 8 weeks later. :confused3 Getting olds s--ks.

Please tell me where you were when you took that fabulous picture of the castle during wishes. I have to get that shot! I am going with just DH in Dec and I intend to sit through the whole thing uninterrupted and take lots of pretty pictures.
 
I'll try and get an aerial shot of the castle and point out where we were. Another great spot (away from the madding crowds) is at the top of the stairs to a patio seating area on the cut-through between Main St. and Tomorrowland (just before you get to Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station)

and you might want to see an orthopedic specialist or chiropractor...might be the same thing as me...most of my pain now is behind the left knee and down to the calf...relatively easy to correct w/o surgery. But it was worth whatever pain I was in while standing and walking to be back down there again!

I'm going to add a ticker tonight for the next trip. woo hoo!!
 












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