Oh Come All Ye Faithful... DIS TR Addicts... UPDATE 4/19

[ILuvCrush]

My vote is July 21-30... it is your birthday after all

 

[Donald is #1]

Welcome back!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Hey!

I feel your pain. And I'm totally behind on this little shindig. But I just wanted to say hi, I'm here, and welcome back to sad reality. At least we have the DIS to relive the fun memories! I hope your trip was awesome.

Hey yourself! So glad to have someone going through withdrawal along with me! I'm totally behind on your TR so we're even. I hope you and HRH had a great trip and I can't wait to hear about it. With all the snow coming tomorrow and Sunday I'm thinking I'll have some quality DIS'ing time!

You know, there is a way to fix the ticker problem...

I hear June 6 -- 13 is a great time to visit.

I hear that's a great time to visit too!

I was away from the DIS yesterday so I couldn't say Welcome Back!

So.... Welcome Back! We all missed you and can't wait to hear about your trip- whenever you're ready to share!

See ya on the Gnome thread!

Thanks so much. Missed you too. And I have much to catch up on, on the Gnome thread!! You guys went through a lot of pages!

I also hear May 23 - 30 is a fine time to visit.

That castle picture is gorgeous!!

Another good solution to the ticker problem.

My vote is July 21-30... it is your birthday after all

And another solution! Look at all of you problem solvers!

Welcome back!

Thanks! Are you in withdrawal too?

 

[TarzansKat]

Hey yourself! So glad to have someone going through withdrawal along with me! I'm totally behind on your TR so we're even. I hope you and HRH had a great trip and I can't wait to hear about it. With all the snow coming tomorrow and Sunday I'm thinking I'll have some quality DIS'ing time!

I won't lie, my trip had some moments, but overall, it was great. You know, I never looked at the snowfall as a good thing until you talked about being on the DIS.

 

[Donald is #1]

Thanks! Are you in withdrawal too?

Yep, on Tueday half way through my first day back at work, I was wondering why I didn't stay longer.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I won't lie, my trip had some moments, but overall, it was great. You know, I never looked at the snowfall as a good thing until you talked about being on the DIS.

Oooh... now I really can't wait to catch up. I'm not generally a silver lining kind of gal but DIS'ing was the first thing I thought of when confronted with being snowed in!

Yep, on Tueday half way through my first day back at work, I was wondering why I didn't stay longer.

I know! No Disney trip is EVER long enough. I want to move there!!!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I wanna go back!!

 

[Circusgirl]

I wanna go back!!

Me too!!!

It was super fun to meet you and share some special times!

Seattle has joined in with the national trend and we had a significant fall of snow today. I got back late last night, slid into work this morning and then came home early so I could get to the top of my hill before everything froze. Not sure what will happen tomorrow!

It was a wonderful time, especially getting to meet and hang out with you and the rest of the DIS gang.

 

[Lady Lallie]

I wanna go back!!

I just want to be there!

I really think you could have a nice long weekend in May.

 

[Charleston Princess]

I want to be at Epcot, too!

I guess Georgia is still missing out on the snow, but I will admit that as I read about the record amounts falling all over the country, that might be a good thing.

 

[29apr00]

Welcome back!! Just came over from your october trip!!

Love the teaser holiday pics! I can't wait for you to start this TR! I'm very interested in the Yuletide backstage tour!!

 

[Lady Lallie]

I want to be at Epcot, too!

I guess Georgia is still missing out on the snow, but I will admit that as I read about the record amounts falling all over the country, that might be a good thing.

I'm coming to live with you.

 

[Charleston Princess]

I'm coming to live with you.

Okay. The elves are bringing cookie making supplies tonight, so we can have baking day tomorrow.

 

[Lady Lallie]

Okay. The elves are bringing cookie making supplies tonight, so we can have baking day tomorrow.

Sounds wonderful. We'll bring our gingerbread tree to go with your houses as well. How do you feel about cats?

 

[Charleston Princess]

Sounds wonderful. We'll bring our gingerbread tree to go with your houses as well. How do you feel about cats?

We have two -- Bagheera and Topaz would love to meet Ruby and Sulley .

 

[Lady Lallie]

We have two -- Bagheera and Topaz would love to meet Ruby and Sulley .

Done and done. I'll go home and tell Marc we are moving!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Done and done. I'll go home and tell Marc we are moving!

Yeay!

 

[Alarose]

I'm home. Tough re-entry back at work today. Thank goodness the holiday vacation is just around the corner! So it'll take a while to get my butt in gear on the TR but taking a page out of Lynn & Chuck's book, I thought I'd share a picture or two to tide you over.

How I wish I was looking at this tonight:

Wow, it seems like you had a WONDERFUL trip! I can't wait to read all about it. Take all the time you need to readjust. If you are having too much trouble post Disney, you better go ahead and start planning another trip lol

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Me too!!!

It was super fun to meet you and share some special times!

Seattle has joined in with the national trend and we had a significant fall of snow today. I got back late last night, slid into work this morning and then came home early so I could get to the top of my hill before everything froze. Not sure what will happen tomorrow!

It was a wonderful time, especially getting to meet and hang out with you and the rest of the DIS gang.

It was super fun to meet you too!!! What a great trip!! Despite some less than Floridian type weather. Gloves in WDW... there oughta be a law! Sorry the snow followed you to Seattle. Looking forward to reading your TR and I really hope that our paths cross in WDW again soon!!

I just want to be there!

I really think you could have a nice long weekend in May.

May is sounding good. A Marcette research trip, perhaps?

I want to be at Epcot, too!

I guess Georgia is still missing out on the snow, but I will admit that as I read about the record amounts falling all over the country, that might be a good thing.

Definitely a good thing. Or you'd be looking at this:

Welcome back!! Just came over from your october trip!!

Love the teaser holiday pics! I can't wait for you to start this TR! I'm very interested in the Yuletide backstage tour!!

Glad you came over! The backstage tour was very cool. Can't wait to tell you about it. It doesn't come until the last full day of the trip, though, so we have a way to go...

I'm coming to live with you.

Do you have room for one more?

Okay. The elves are bringing cookie making supplies tonight, so we can have baking day tomorrow.

Yum! What did you bake?

Sounds wonderful. We'll bring our gingerbread tree to go with your houses as well. How do you feel about cats?

We have two -- Bagheera and Topaz would love to meet Ruby and Sulley .

Rut-roh. I'm allergic to cats. And come with a 75lb golden retriever...

Wow, it seems like you had a WONDERFUL trip! I can't wait to read all about it. Take all the time you need to readjust. If you are having too much trouble post Disney, you better go ahead and start planning another trip lol

Thanks. It was wonderful. A magical time to visit. And an opportunity to meet lots of DIS'ers that made it extra special. I'm sure the next trip can't be too far away! I'd say Oct 2009 at the latest... if I can hold out that long!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Well, I guess it is time to get this TR started!!

Overall the trip was wonderful. As someone who has faithfully watched the WDW parade every Christmas morning since I can remember, it was a dream come true to see the holiday decorations in person. Add that to the opportunity to meet other DIS’ers and it was too good to be true!

I had 11 trip resolutions for this trip based on my October trip. I think I succeeded on 7, tried on 2, and failed miserably on the other two. Which ones?? You’ll have to stay tuned to find out! And as a result I have further refined my Disney trip-taking philosophy b/c of course there will be more trips. For one thing b/c my signature looks empty without another ticker!

So a little preview of coming attractions: monsoon, dvc dilemma, upgrade, new friends, lots of laughs, parts of the parks I’d never seen before, several backstage moments, amazingly beautiful holiday decorations, mini resort tour, crowds, renegade ECV drivers, fantastic meals, good shopping...

Let’s get started.

This trip started much like my October trip started. A mad dash the night before to get organized and pack. I hadn’t packed a single thing. I didn’t even have a packing list (resolution #1 for future trips!)! The weather forecast was all over the map which was not helping! On top of that I had some work work to finish and didn’t even get home from work on Wednesday until 7pm and my flight was at 7am on Thursday! So I’m running around like a chicken with her head cut off and I go to print my boarding pass to find out that the printer is out of ink! ARGH!! But it was all in the name of WDW so I made it through.

Headed to the airport in the morning without incident and through security. I didn’t have too long to wait before the plane started boarding. There was a cute older woman also waiting for a flight. I think she was partially deaf b/c she kept shouting at her travel companion “how come she (pointing at me) gets to have a bottle of water and I couldn’t take mine? That’s not right!” Her companion was trying to explain it to her that I had bought the bottle after security but she wasn’t getting it… and she was P.O.’d! I hope I’m still feisty when I’m older!

Flight generally without incident. Only noteworthy item was glancing across the aisle – how can you not, the aisle is so small- to see a “gentleman” enjoying a men’s magazine. On a plane full of kids to Orlando! Granted it was just he and his wife in their row but he was sitting on the aisle. This wasn’t a playboy type magazine – there were some clothes- but still I thought it was inappropriate. I didn’t even take my Glamour magazine on the trip b/c I didn’t want someone to see me reading some of those articles!

So we land on time and thanks to my October trip I knew just where I was going. I was toward the front of the plane and was off and running. My transportation mojo continued with the airport monorail arriving just as I did. On the monorail I saw a guy holding his microphone up to the speaker to record the monorail spiel. His wife was wearing a Mousefest T-shirt… let the invasion of Disney geeks begin! I got to Magical Express and there were seven – count ‘em 7- people in line in front of me. Wahoo!! I chatted with a nice woman in line who was also visiting for Mousefest. Before I knew it I was talking to a CM. He was very sweet. Much like Ken at Beaches ‘n Cream in October, he was able to set me at ease and boost my ego. He says “and tell me, Christine, what is a beautiful girl like you doing traveling by herself?” So he was 65+ and just being nice… I still enjoyed it!

I headed off to the Pop Century Magical Express line. You know I kind of dreaded this. I figured it would be among the more crowded of lines. Imagine my surprise when I was the first and only person in line. Until I realized that probably meant that the bus just left. But then I remembered another TR where someone thought the same thing and it wasn’t true so I tried to think positively. And magically, along came the CM who unclipped the rope thing and told me to climb aboard! I had landed at ~9:55 and was sitting on the bus and moving by 10:30!!!

Unfortunately it was POURING. Seriously. Pouring. A monsoon, if you will. Oh well, what can you do? I’m in WDW at least! I check my blackberry (when will I learn???) and see there is some work stuff that needs attention. And I talk to my mom who is watching my dog and she tells me another dog bit my dog! She’s fine… no worries… just not the trip start I was dreaming of. But again, it’s a trip to WDW so how bad can it be?

Overall, I really enjoy Magical Express. I know it gets some bad press. I feel like they beg for tips a little but I guess we all have to make a living.

Up next… arrival at Pop (and pictures... I took >900 in 5 days!!).