Now a Trip Report!!! Will We Stay or Will We Go? A Thanksgiving Pre-Trip/Trip Report

[MeMom]

I think I have died and gone to Animal Kingdom heaven!
Awesome updates!
I have an intense S-team meeting during my planning time today, and it is raining like crazy outside. Starting my day with your pictures was a great help in taking on a positive attitude about the day.

 

[jillyb]

I think I have died and gone to Animal Kingdom heaven!
Awesome updates!
I have an intense S-team meeting during my planning time today, and it is raining like crazy outside. Starting my day with your pictures was a great help in taking on a positive attitude about the day.

I'm so glad I could make your day a little brighter! It made my day brighter just looking at all the pictures again and remembering that day!

 

[jillyb]

Magic Kingdom – Friday, November 26

The alarm went off and the last thing we wanted to do was get up. All the late nights and sleep in morning had spoiled us! Since our goal was to see the Fairies today, rope drop was a must this morning.

I don’t sleep with my wedding rings on so every night I would put them on the entertainment center. They are the last things I put on when I get ready in the morning. This morning was no different from any other. I go over to the entertainment center to put on my rings but don’t see them. Since there’s a lot of other junk too I move stuff around and find my wedding band hiding under a receipt. I move some more stuff but don’t see my engagement ring anywhere. Hmmm…ok…move some more stuff around…still no ring. Now I’m starting to get a little worried. I look in the cubby holes, on the floor, behind the entertainment center, I look on the table and under the table…no ring. Now I’m panicking. Clay had been outside and as he comes in I tell him I can’t find my engagement ring. He’s not happy and he looks in all the places I looked and I even looked on the beds…still no ring. On top of not being able to find my ring, I had no idea where Flat Stanley was. This sent Hannah in a panic because losing Flat Stanley would mean she’d get a zero. This day was not starting out to be a magical day. We gave up the search for the lost items and were eating breakfast in the Pop food court at 7:10.

We made it to the Magic Kingdom with plenty of time to spare (time stamp is 7:50) and we were parked close enough to be able to walk.

We were using our last Give a Day voucher today so first stop was Guest Relations. We had already gone through the turnstiles when Hannah announces she needs to go to the potty. I have no idea where a bathroom is so approach a CM, who tells me we have to go back out the turnstiles. *sigh* So off we go and wait f.o.r.e.v.e.r. for Hannah.

It was 8:18 when I took this picture and we’d already been waiting about 10 minutes!

We finally make our way back through the turnstile and go up to the right hand tunnel at:

Since we had some time to kill I did what I always do…took pictures!!

We saw the opening show for the first time:

I was hoping Hannah wouldn’t want to ride Dumbo but, of course she did. The plan of attack was the girls and I were going to head straight to Dumbo while Clay went to get Fastpasses for Space Mountain. On our first trip, the Castle was closed so we had to go around so I was hoping that this time around it would be open so we could go straight through. As prep for the Dumbo dash, I had told the girls earlier that they were going to have to walk very fast and that if they’d just stick with me for that little bit then we wouldn’t have to be so rushed after that. The rope dropped and we were off! I’ve got to hand it to them, they did a great job! Hannah was holding my hand and Alison was beside Hannah. Hannah complained as we got close to the Castle so I reminded her that she was the one that wanted to ride Dumbo so stop complainin’ and keep walkin’! LOL

This was a beautiful sight to behold!

The time stamp is 8:50 so either the CMs let us in early or the time is wrong on my camera! LOL

At 8:54 we were:

We made it on the first ride of the day baby!!!! This was my first time riding Dumbo!

Covert construction pictures (I’m sure it’s changed quite a bit since November! LOL)

Where is everyone??!!

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[jillyb]

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Clay hadn’t made it back by the time we did Dumbo so we rode Snow White and Peter Pan. Hannah nixed riding Pooh because it’s a baby ride. As the girls and I were headed to Small World (another first!), Clay joined back up with us. He had originally said there was no way in heck he was riding this but he surprised me and rode with us anyway. I really enjoyed it and I think the girls did too. Clay was probably ready to rip his ears off. LOL

Time for tea!

Time to head to Toon Town for rope drop!

We saw Anna (from TGM) and her girls at Toon Town rope drop and Julie and her family were behind us. I was behind a German lady with a huge stroller. I soon realized I was on the wrong side for rope drop. GRRRRR I told the girls to hold hands at rope drop as we needed to try to keep up with the CMs. The girls did good with this. However, it came time where I needed to cross over and I quickly cut in front of the German lady with the huge stroller. (I know…big no-no) I’m not sure exactly what she said but I’m pretty sure she called me a very bad name in German.

Anna and her girls were in line for the Princesses and I had turned my head to say something to her. I was walking pretty fast up the ramp when next thing I know WHAM! I turned to see what immovable object I had collided with to see a woman standing there holding her toddler. Yep…I mowed down an innocent baby. I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me. I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life. I apologized profusely and the woman just waved her hand and told me not to worry about it. Even though the child wasn’t crying, I was looking all over for any bumps, bruises or blood. Thankfully there were none. We started talking and she was telling me this was their last day and she was Disney’d out...she was ready to go home. Her DH and other DD joined her shortly and that was that.

Don’t know what was said but Hannah apparently thought it was pretty funny:

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[jillyb]

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Julie and her family were next in line as we were walking out. The girls had already gone through the door and, again, I was talking and not really paying attention. There was a pushbar on the door so I used my backside to push the door open while saying something to Julie. As I’m saying “bye”, I pull away from the door and I feel a tug. Yep…the strap on my baggalini had gotten caught on the end of the pushbar. What other embarrassing things am I going to do today???!!! LOL

We hit Barnstormer and saw Anna and her girls again.

As you can see, the sky is not quite as blue as it was when we started out.

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[jillyb]

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Then to Mickey and Minnie’s house for one final time.

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[jillyb]

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I had no idea Clay was a connoisseur of fine art!

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[jillyb]

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It was getting close to time for lunch so we headed back through Fantasyland and saw:

Whoa! Where’d ya’ll come from??!!!

We had lunch at The Plaza Restaurant and really enjoyed it. This is the first place that acknowledged that Clay and I were celebrating our anniversary. We got nothing at check-in (and I was too tired/excited to mention it then) and, even though I noted we were celebrating on all of our ADRs, up to that point it was never mentioned. As we were waiting for our food I saw Anna and her girls checking in.

View from our table:

I got a bowl of tomato bisque soup, a chicken sandwich with chips and a brownie sundae for dessert.

Clay got a bowl of potato cheese soup and a hamburger. Hannah had a PBJ with fries and Alison got a cheese steak sandwich with fries and a banana split for dessert.

The Mayor came in to wish someone “Happy Birthday!” while we were eating:

The server also brought out a dessert for Clay and I for our anniversary. Piece of cake maybe? We had her put it in a to-go box but it never got eaten. We were stuffed!

After lunch we were done! We got a few Photopass pictures on the way out

and headed back to Pop for a very long break. There were no arguments about taking a nap when we got back. I think we were all asleep before our heads hit the pillows. We were heading back to the Magic Kingdom for a late dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern and then closing the park down at midnight!

Up next: closing down the Magic Kingdom!

 

[micandminforever]

I loved all the pictures of toontown. It is so sad that it will be gone when we return, at a time not know yet. I just know I will return.

The pictures of the girls with the fairies are great and looked like they were having a blast.

 

[Poolrat]

Good job on getting Toontown "done" one last time. I love all the flowers in Minnie's house. The Daisies, buttercups and the palm trees are my favorite.


You did it right - up early for rope drop - stay until the crowds hit and then go back and take a nap.

 

[jillyb]

I loved all the pictures of toontown. It is so sad that it will be gone when we return, at a time not know yet. I just know I will return.

The pictures of the girls with the fairies are great and looked like they were having a blast.

Glad you enjoyed the pictures. I wanted to get as many as I could to remember. It is sad that it's gone but I'm excited for the new things that are coming.

The girls were a bit mixed on the fairies. They thought they were rude!

Good job on getting Toontown "done" one last time. I love all the flowers in Minnie's house. The Daisies, buttercups and the palm trees are my favorite.


You did it right - up early for rope drop - stay until the crowds hit and then go back and take a nap.

That was the first time I'd seen the flowers and I thought they were so funny! I was going through the pictures this afternoon and Madison saw the palm tree picture. I asked her if she knew what it was but she couldn't figure it out. I told her it's a "palm" tree and held out my hand. Then she got it! LOL I showed her the flower pictures and told her the names and she thought they were funny.

Doing rope drop that day was a must! And so was that nap! After the adrenaline rush to Dumbo and then the fairies it was all I could do to stay awake! We all started to hit the wall right before lunch and after eating we smacked right in to it.

 

[MeMom]

Then to Mickey and Minnie’s house for one final time.

It's nice to have all the Toontown pictures as we say our goodbyes to the old and welcome in the new. Just think what a workout our cameras will get when all of the new stuff opens!

Great pictures. I enjoyed starting my Monday off with a huge dose of Disney fun!

 

[jillyb]

It's nice to have all the Toontown pictures as we say our goodbyes to the old and welcome in the new. Just think what a workout our cameras will get when all of the new stuff opens!

Great pictures. I enjoyed starting my Monday off with a huge dose of Disney fun!

I imagine I'll have to take two cameras then just in case I burn one up with all the pictures I'll be taking!

 

[jillyb]

Just thought I'd share a few life pictures with ya'll before my next update.

I walked in to Hannah's room one day and discovered this:

She informed me that she had built Walt Disney World. There was Cinderella's Castle, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and a pool. She didn't have anything for EPCOT so she left that park out.

Hannah and Alison were bored one Saturday morning so they decided to make a poster about saving the enviornment. Here's the final product:

Hannah has a boyfriend! He's been calling her but we've always missed his calls. One day he finally caught us at home. Here she is on her first phone call with a boy:

BTW: her boyfriend's name is Connor!

It's Book Fair Week at Hannah's school so when I picked her and Madison up today we went to the Media Center to see what they had.

Madison's books are the top three, Hannah's books are the two in the middle and the lone book is mine!

Hannah wanted to get some Harry Potter books but they only had Books 2-7 so I told her I'd try to find the first book so she can start at the beginning.

So, that's what's been going on in our household lately. Will try to work on the next installment and get it posted soon.

 

[MeMom]

.

It's always fun to get new books.
You'll have to share some stories with us when you read the Walt Disney one.

 

[k_reile]

just found your report. I am hoping to take a trip to the world over thanksgiving 2012 and that next week. I am hoping the crowd levels are low because my husband does not do well with crowds...add in heat and crowds...and its irritated DH! LOL! The inlaws were going to go too but my SIL is going back to school and she can't miss the school! So now I just have to talk DH into us going by ourselves which shouldn;t be too hard since we have never had a family vacation with just the three of us...its either been us and his parents to Canada or us and my family to WDW and this summer...Canada!

 

[jillyb]

just found your report. I am hoping to take a trip to the world over thanksgiving 2012 and that next week. I am hoping the crowd levels are low because my husband does not do well with crowds...add in heat and crowds...and its irritated DH! LOL! The inlaws were going to go too but my SIL is going back to school and she can't miss the school! So now I just have to talk DH into us going by ourselves which shouldn;t be too hard since we have never had a family vacation with just the three of us...its either been us and his parents to Canada or us and my family to WDW and this summer...Canada!

Thanks for joining in!

The days leading up to Thanksgiving and at least a couple days afterwards were pretty crowded but we weren't too bothered by them. I think the week after Thanksgiving would be a good time to be there. I'd love to go back during Thanksgiving again. The weather was perfect!

Your DH and mine sound alike when it comes to crowds and heat! I hope you get your family vacation with just the three of you.

 

[jillyb]

Here are a few more pictures I took on our way out of Magic Kingdom after lunch:

The time was:

We had these to use later tonight:

I woke up before Clay and the girls so I quietly got the laundry together, grabbed my book and headed to the laundry room. I did some shopping in Everything Pop and got me and the girls t-shirts, got a fruity adult beverage at the pool bar (I think it was called Tropical Punch but I can’t remember now!) and went back to the laundry room. Clay showed up not long after. He and the girls woke up not long after I left so the girls put on their bathing suits and were in the pool. I went out to sit at a table with Clay but by then the sky was getting really dark. It started to rain and Alison decided to go back to the room and get cleaned up. It wasn’t lightning or anything so the pool didn’t close and Hannah stayed in the pool.
Clay and Hannah went back to the room to get cleaned up while I finished the laundry. I had a very nice conversation with an older lady from Virginia who was there with her son and his family. She was telling me how her daughter-in-law did all the planning and how tired she (the older lady) was. She enjoyed spending time with her family but she needed a rest. I suggested she tell the DIL that they should go ahead and she’d meet up with them later. She said she’d tried that and the DIL wasn’t having any of that! I felt sorry for her having to keep up like that. With the laundry finished, I headed back to the room and packed up what we didn’t need…just keeping out what we’d need that night and for in the morning. Then it was time to head back to the Magic Kingdom for dinner and to close the park down.

Dinner was at Liberty Tree Tavern:

I had gone back and forth on whether to do a meal at Liberty Tree Tavern. I’m so glad I made the decision to eat here. It was very good!

After dinner, Clay and the girls wanted to ride Splash Mountain. Me…not so much! LOL The rain had cooled things off considerably and I didn’t want to be wet AND cold and I didn’t want the girls to be either. I was not going to hear the whining about that! Luckily, we were carrying our ponchos so I made everybody put their ponchos on. As we went down the final hill I covered my head completely with the hood of my poncho and curled up as much as I could. Guess who still got wet?! LOL Clay and the girls found this wildly amusing. For some reason I don’t have the picture on my home computer. I think it’s on my work computer so I’ll come back and add the picture later.

Next was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad:

Jungle Cruise:

If you ever see this guy as a Skipper wait for his boat…he was great!

We then hit the Tiki Room and the girls and I rode Aladdin. Much to Hannah and Alison’s dismay I managed to keep us from getting spit on by the camel. LOL Hannah wanted to ride the Carousel but the Wishes was in progress so it was closed. We decided to head to Space Mountain. As we’re walking in front of Winnie the Pooh I hear this noise and suddenly a good size piece of flaming fireworks hits the grounds just a few feet in front of me. If I’d been walking faster it probably would have hit me in the head! LOL

One last ride on Space Mountain:

Even though we had Fastpasses there was a bit of a wait. This time though instead of being directed to go to the right we went to the left. We’d never been on that side before. Let me tell ya…the left side was wayyyyy faster and wayyyyy scarier than the right side! I laughed like a loon through the entire ride! LOL When we got off Clay said that ride scared him and he didn’t like it all all! LOL He said it felt like a couple of times the car wasn’t even on the track. I admit I thought that a few times myself but wasn’t going to say anything because I figured Clay would give me some technical explanation why it wasn’t possible so when he said he felt that I knew I wasn’t crazy! LOL

It was getting close to time for the second Main Street Electrical Parade so we headed towards Fantasyland to find a spot. We stopped and got a picture on the bridge with the Castle in the background.

I hadn’t really decided where we were going to watch the parade so I was quite surprised to see that there were prime spots in the hub right in front of the Castle. This was a great spot! The girls and I staked our claim while Clay went in search of the Grumpy t-shirt he’d seen earlier. I took some pictures of the Castle.

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[jillyb]

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There was a very nice lady sitting beside me who was waiting on some family members to join her. We talked for a while and, as people were starting to come up behind us, I put my bag in between us to save a spot for the rest of her family. Clay showed up just before the parade started and he’d been able to find the coveted Grumpy t-shirt. He wore it to work his first day back from vacation. LOL It says “I’m Grumpy because you’re Dopey”. I really enjoyed this parade! I can’t decide if I like Spectromagic or Main Street Electrical Parade better because I like them both! LOL Here it comes!!!

I can’t be the only one that hears “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane when I see this LOL:

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[jillyb]

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