Oh, Just A Few GALLONS of Pixie Dust! - A July/August 2012 TR

[flyergrad09]

That is so odd with that elderly couple! I have the hardest time accepting that there are shady old people too. I don't know, maybe it's because most of the old people I know are super nice and sweet, but whenever I hear about an older person that steals something or gets in trouble with the law, I always feel bad for them.

I'm super curious to see what ends up happening with your extra dining credits... but based on how this trip has been going so far, my guess is that it works out in your favor!

UGH. I seriously can't handle rude people on rides. It's not like Living With the Land is some sort of crazy public transportation boat where I could see someone taking a phone call (and even then it shouldn't be loud!), it's a ride!

 

[marDgreen88]

That is so odd with that elderly couple! I have the hardest time accepting that there are shady old people too. I don't know, maybe it's because most of the old people I know are super nice and sweet, but whenever I hear about an older person that steals something or gets in trouble with the law, I always feel bad for them.

I'm super curious to see what ends up happening with your extra dining credits... but based on how this trip has been going so far, my guess is that it works out in your favor!

UGH. I seriously can't handle rude people on rides. It's not like Living With the Land is some sort of crazy public transportation boat where I could see someone taking a phone call (and even then it shouldn't be loud!), it's a ride!

I agree! I definitely know what you mean, it's the same way for me! I honestly don't know what was going on. I don't know if they were getting 'busted' for something or not, but that's the way it looked! Unfortunately I'll never know, but for your sake, we'll pretend that they didn't do anything bad.

Well, your guess is as good as mine, and I know the answer already so...

Me either! It's the worst! YES. That's such a good point! She could have waited until she was off the ride and hung out in Sunshine Seasons for a few minutes. We were all pretty annoyed, to be perfectly honest! Oh well.

 

[emma212010]

I love Epcot! It's amazing! Ahhh, Spaceship Earth! I love getting stuck on rides! Unless you're on a time schedule, it's like a bonus! Especially if you're in a reallyscenic area... the dark part on Spaceship Earth is really only good for napping!

OMG I totally agree! I hate seeing people on the phone during an attraction! It's like really?? They're ruining the magic for the rest of us!

 

[Aussiesalad]

Ahhhh I love feeding off other peoples excitement at Disney!
It just makes your trip more magical and amazing when you hear it all around you!
When we were there a few weeks ago we were on the monorail going to MK and the mum next to us says to her little boy (who was 3ish) "Guess what Tyler, we are going to the castle where Mickey lives (hmmm not entirely accurate but hey) and you get to meet him today!!" and the little boy's jaw dropped and he screamed at the top of his lungs "FOR REAL LIFE???????"
The whole monorail car started laughing at it was impossible to not match his level of excitement! So adorable!!!

I love the beauty that is Spaceship Earth....beauty...ful.
Haha but in all seriousness such a great ride! Don't know how I would like getting stuck in it but still a classic.
Ahhh I can't believe you saw the thing with the older couple. I was going to reference Dirty Dancing everyone else beat me to the punch.
Ahhhhhh Mary Kate and Ashley! I miss having their 3 million videos!
('A whole bunch of crickets make a racket' was always my favourite line, so witty those two )
You know maybe with the monorail ramp Disney is up to their old tricks again. Just like they use the angles and perception to make the castle look bigger and more majestic, they make the leaving process so physically draining and horrible with step hills and crowds galore to make sure you KNOW that leaving is awful and you should stay on the Disney property forever and ever...amen

 

[mickeyplanner]

The One With Cars, Toys, and One Boat

If you want to know more, just ask!

Then the show ended.

It wasn’t as short as my description of it, I can assure you.

IT WAS TOY STORY TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Luckily, once you walk the 37 miles back out of the LMA area, you basically end up in Pixar Place!

We walked in and we only had to wait about five minutes in the Toy Story Mania fastpass line!

I’ve loved the Beach Club forever and ever and ever, and I still love it. HOWEVER, I’ve recently been obsessing over the Boardwalk! I just think the whole area looks amazing and I feel like the atmosphere at that resort would be perfect.

Continued in Next Update[/SIZE][/FONT]​

I love you nails. I might have to do that for our next trip.

I am right there with you, my favorites resorts are BLT and BC.

 

[mickeyplanner]

The One Where 'Ohana Means FOOD!!!

.
Continued in Next Update[/SIZE]​

It is a family tradition of ours to eat breakfast at Ohana before heading to opening ceremony. So we have been at the Poly numerous times and I have never noticed the chair/throne your dad is sitting in. Where is it located so we can find it on our next trip?

 

[marDgreen88]

I love Epcot! It's amazing! Ahhh, Spaceship Earth! I love getting stuck on rides! Unless you're on a time schedule, it's like a bonus! Especially if you're in a reallyscenic area... the dark part on Spaceship Earth is really only good for napping!

OMG I totally agree! I hate seeing people on the phone during an attraction! It's like really?? They're ruining the magic for the rest of us!

Me too! Honestly, lately I've been wondering if it's my favorite park. It's just so wonderful! Hahh it was kinda relaxing, in an awkward way! The music was nice and the stars were pretty, we were just hanging out on our backs pretty much though.

Right? It's so annoying. It's especially annoying to someone like me because I go out of my way to make sure I'm being courteous to others in situations like that. It bugs me when people don't even care. I'm guessing you can relate!

Ahhhh I love feeding off other peoples excitement at Disney!
It just makes your trip more magical and amazing when you hear it all around you!
When we were there a few weeks ago we were on the monorail going to MK and the mum next to us says to her little boy (who was 3ish) "Guess what Tyler, we are going to the castle where Mickey lives (hmmm not entirely accurate but hey) and you get to meet him today!!" and the little boy's jaw dropped and he screamed at the top of his lungs "FOR REAL LIFE???????"
The whole monorail car started laughing at it was impossible to not match his level of excitement! So adorable!!!

I love the beauty that is Spaceship Earth....beauty...ful.
Haha but in all seriousness such a great ride! Don't know how I would like getting stuck in it but still a classic.
Ahhh I can't believe you saw the thing with the older couple. I was going to reference Dirty Dancing everyone else beat me to the punch.
Ahhhhhh Mary Kate and Ashley! I miss having their 3 million videos!
('A whole bunch of crickets make a racket' was always my favourite line, so witty those two )
You know maybe with the monorail ramp Disney is up to their old tricks again. Just like they use the angles and perception to make the castle look bigger and more majestic, they make the leaving process so physically draining and horrible with step hills and crowds galore to make sure you KNOW that leaving is awful and you should stay on the Disney property forever and ever...amen

Hahaha I didn't realize Mickey and Cinderella were roomies! That is ADORABLE though! Seriously so cute!

Hhah getting stuck was not so bad (for me at least. My sister did not enjoy it). It was relaxing in a way, but also very awkward because of how we were positioned!

I don't even know what was happening! It was so SO weird! Hahah that's okay, you had good intentions of referencing it first, I believe you!

YES!!! I love fellow MK&A fans! My sister and I were about as obsessed as you can get! We would sit around and like picture what we would do if we got to meet them. So cool.

OMG. You just nailed it. Seriously, that has to be it! While it may have negative side-effects on some, for us Disney diehards, it just makes us want to stay FOREVER! YEAH. We're going with that. Very nice.

I love you nails. I might have to do that for our next trip.

I am right there with you, my favorites resorts are BLT and BC.

Aww thanks! You should give it a try! I always like to 'Disneyify' my nails before I go and that way is very easy and cute, and not very time consuming!

I can't wait to stay at the Beach Club someday! BLT is the best and I miss it so much!

It is a family tradition of ours to eat breakfast at Ohana before heading to opening ceremony. So we have been at the Poly numerous times and I have never noticed the chair/throne your dad is sitting in. Where is it located so we can find it on our next trip?

That sounds like a perfect tradition if you ask me! Well, it's downstairs and it's near a hallway. We didn't go down the hallway but I'm pretty sure the tiki is right outside the Boutiki store! If you walk down the stairs and then walk straight ahead, passing the Lilo and Stitch surfboard, it should be right there!

 

[mickeyplanner]

Aww thanks! You should give it a try! I always like to 'Disneyify' my nails before I go and that way is very easy and cute, and not very time consuming!

I can't wait to stay at the Beach Club someday! BLT is the best and I miss it so much!

On our last trip I did mine and my DD nails red with white polka dots to look like Minnie Mouse. The cast members got a kick out of them. What other things have you done on your nails for Disney?



That sounds like a perfect tradition if you ask me! Well, it's downstairs and it's near a hallway. We didn't go down the hallway but I'm pretty sure the tiki is right outside the Boutiki store! If you walk down the stairs and then walk straight ahead, passing the Lilo and Stitch surfboard, it should be right there!

We will look for it during on January 2013 trip for sure. We have dinner and breakfast reservations at Ohana for that trip.

 

[marDgreen88]

On our last trip I did mine and my DD nails red with white polka dots to look like Minnie Mouse. The cast members got a kick out of them. What other things have you done on your nails for Disney?

We will look for it during on January 2013 trip for sure. We have dinner and breakfast reservations at Ohana for that trip.

I've done that too! I did it last December. It's so cute! I've attempted other things, but the Mickey heads are my standby. I like to change the colors with the seasons! It's simple, but classic haahah.

Awesome! Wow, January is just around the corner! Sounds great!!!

 

[marDgreen88]

The One Where the Pixie Dust Adventures Continue...

Day 4: Wednesday, August 1, 2012

On the first day of August 2012, I woke up around 6:30 to get ready for another fantastic Disney day!

We were all awake, and we randomly ended up hanging out on my parent’s balcony before we started getting ready. It was such a beautiful morning on Bay Lake!

I still couldn’t believe how amazing our view was! I honestly wish every single one of you could experience it (and it makes me so happy to know that some of you have/will get to)! It was mind-blowing!

Jacob peeked in on us from the living room. GOOD MORNING!

Eventually it was decided that my parents would go over to the Contempo Café and get us all some breakfast. I requested a Mickey waffle, but didn’t even think about asking for a specific side dish, and ended up with… nasty Disney bacon. Ahh well, it could be worse! Hahah.

Look at that bacon. My fingers are literally touching each other WHILE holding the bacon. It’s so thin and icky, I just can’t even believe it. Disney has so much wonderful food, but they just cannot perfect that bacon.

Since I’m basically the best TR writer in all the land, I didn’t even pay attention to what everyone else ate that morning. I was fully immersed in the goodness of the Mickey waffle. I’m sure everyone else ate food and enjoyed it so that’s all that really matters, right?

After breakfast was in our bellies, we got ready for our day and then headed down to the Contemporary Resort lobby!

Remember when I said that we noticed that there were mysterious ‘extra’ dining credits listed on our receipt? We wanted to make sure that was legit, so we went and asked someone at the front desk and explained what happened.

He told us that they were indeed legit, and had been added ‘for our troubles' with our keycards. It hadn’t really been trouble at all, but we thought it was SO generous of them to basically give us a bunch of free food! We were so excited to have some extra credits to use! We originally hadn’t planned an ADR at all for that night!

We headed to the bus stop, where our bus was already waiting for us! My sister handed over her iPhone, and I immediately went on the Disney website to see about making us an ADR for that evening!

There was a certain restaurant that my mom had really wanted to try out, but unfortunately we couldn’t fit it into our schedule. With these extra dining credits, I thought it would make so much sense to at least see if there was any availability there, even though I knew there was virtually no chance of that being a possibility.

BUT WAIT! There was ONE opening for that night! My dad called up Disney Dining and got us booked for it immediately!

Where do you think we were going to go??? I’m not telling yet!

Once again, we stopped off at the Polynesian to pick up some more people. A cute little Irish family got on the bus at the Poly. They had three little kids and they were all dressed in their swim outfits ready for a day at Blizzard Beach! When the bus pulled into the BB parking lot, they were so excited. They kept OOOOHing and AHHHHing over everything, and the dad said, "Lots of fun to be had today everyone!" AWW. One of the little girls was the sassiest little thing I’ve ever seen. She was adorable. My goodness. It made me happy. Yet another example of families having fun together at Disney! It’s such a great thing to see in the midst of all the crying kids everywhere.

Eventually we made it to OUR destination… Animal Kingdom!!! YAY. Listen, it was about time we were there! It was our fourth day at Disney, and I usually go to DAK on the second day, so I was more than ready to finally be there! I love me some Animal Kingdom, yall.

As we were walking in, I couldn’t help but notice that the skies had grown a lot darker. I was hoping that didn’t mean we’d get rained out of Animal Kingdom!

Just look at this sky…

OMINOUS. Also, look at that picture again. See the tram in the background?

The tram announcer kept yelling into her mic.

“PLEASE DO NOT BOARD THE TRAM!” She said it at least 10 times and I was just thinking, okay… nobody wants to get on. Stop it.

When it passed us, we were like, “Hmm, do yall want to get on the tram? Looks like fun.” HAHA.

I’m really going to miss that slogan! I knew it was just for a limited time, but still. (Yes, that was a play on the new slogan. I’m funny like that.)

We went into the gift shop right outside the entrance, and we bought…

A squirt bottle fan.

Listen, feel free to judge me. I’d been eyeing those things ALL week, and I wanted one. They just looked so refreshing! Plus, we all understand what August at Disney is like, right?

As soon as we got into the park and made it to where the Tree of Life was in full view, we found a PhotoPass photographer! She took us to a great spot where nobody would be in the picture behind us. I mean, if only all of the parks had a spot like that!

I never actually got to see ANY of our other PP pictures, but I did get to see this one! After our 2010 trip, my mom ordered a picture of us in front of Spaceship Earth... ON A PUZZLE.

So this year, she ordered another one! As you can see, the picture is on the box and then you can put it together as a puzzle! It’s SO COOL. Let’s view it.

I just wanted to show you what it looks like… this is my face on a puzzle piece.

That is both hilarious and awesome. Seriously, it’s a fun tradition that we have. I told her that now we just have to go back a couple more times for a hat picture and a castle picture, so we can have the complete set. I don’t think she agreed.

So anyways, now that I finished my PhotoPass advertisement, let’s move on with the TR.

We headed straight towards the Kilimanjaro Safari after we took our picture. As soon as we got in the queue, it started sprinkling, and it continued throughout the safari. It’s not like we were surprised though, that sky was way too menacing!

We had a really great safari guide (is that what you call them? I really have no idea). She was very well spoken and seemed to know so much about the animals, which is basically what you want out of a safari guide!

I hadn’t been on a safari since my first trip, so I was excited! I adore animals more than I can say, and I get really excited to see so many exotic animals up close. (This is why I need to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge.)

This guy looks like he means business.

Some submerged hippos! She told us some scary things about hippos and their teeth and what those teeth can do, so basically I’ll be standing clear of the hippo teeth.

At one point, the safari trucks got stopped because a giraffe was blocking the road.

We suddenly saw a pickup truck going through the savannah. Our driver said they went in on the truck to bribe him with food and lure him out of the road. That reminded me of my cat, to be honest. HAHAH.

As soon as we passed the giraffes, the same one decided to go back on the road so he could get more food! That guy knows what he’s doing!

See that tongue? I know you see it. Now, try to imagine that tongue salivating all over your hand... can you picture that? It feels like goo. How do I know this? At my local zoo you can...

FEED GIRAFFES. It's honestly the coolest thing ever but it's also HIGHLY disgusting. But I mean, you're feeding a giraffe. So you get over the disgustingness and you just feed it. Because it's a giraffe. And giraffes are awesome. So when the people in the truck behind us started freaking out that the giraffe was getting so close to them, I was just like, whatever yall. One time a giraffe ate food out of my hand. BEAT THAT!! (Okay, yes, I do think it's really cool that I've fed giraffes before. But I'm gonna stop bragging now and move on to the rest of the safari.) I just wanted to throw that out there. Metro Richmond Zoo yall!

Now it’s time for… ELEPHANTS!

Yall. I’m pretty much in love with elephants. They are the most adorable creatures. I know they’re huge and can probably do some serious harm if they wanted to, but they seem so gentle to me!

Okay, I know I took a lot of elephant pictures, but they’re the best! Plus, they make the coolest noise. They have the cutest floppy ears. They’re just wonderful! I want to ride one. I know feeding a giraffe from your bare hand is pretty cool, but I imagine riding an elephant is slightly cooler. THAT would be something to brag about!

Since we’re on the topic of elephants, I have to share a picture from our first safari from June 2010.

There was a newborn baby elephant at the time. The mommy elephant was WASHING IT WITH HER TRUNK!!! It was beyond adorable and it was amazing to see something like that. You can’t see her washing the baby in the picture, but you can see the baby under the mommy. SO CUTE. It warms my heart.

Stuff like this just further proves to me that Disney gives you the most incredible and unique experiences. How often can you say, “Oh yeah, I was riding in the car and I saw a momma elephant wash her baby.” Seriously though. I love it. I love Animal Kingdom. How can you not love Animal Kingdom?

As our safari continued on, I finally got to see something I’d wanted to see for a long, long time!

Continued in Next Update​

 

[beachmama3]

AHHH Love those views from your room!! They are so awesome! I would love to wake up to that...tomorrow.

Totally agree about the bacon. They need to work on that because bacon should be delish always.

I love the puzzle tradition! That is so awesome. My boys are getting to be a good age for puzzles, I should get them one of our Disney pics as a puzzle for Christmas! Thanks for the idea.

So exciting about the extra dining credits! What a great thing for Disney to do!

 

[jecskc]

I LOVE that puzzle !!! I need to do that with our Disney pics !! I have a 1000 piece puzzle of the castle that Thomas Kinkade painted and I LOVE it.

I love Giraffes, too and one came soooo close to us last time we went on the safari, I almost reached out to touch it. I wonder what would have happened if I did. You think Disney security would jump out of the bushes and kick me out??

I love the baby elephant pic !!!

We stay at BLT in April and I. CANNOT. WAIT !!!!!! So loving your photos !!!

 

[dara00]

ok I've been away from the boards for too long apparently. what's the new slogan??

as far as feeding giraffes goes...

my daughter

me and my son

we've done it a few times actually!

 

[beachphotog]

Limited time magic? is anyone else as stumped as I am at how that made it through the ad execs?

Oh the baby with her mama?? So cute!!!

How awesome that you got to feed a giraffe??? I seriously love giraffes, their probably my favorite animal!

And how great about the extra credits!!! I wonder where you'll use them? Boma perhaps?

 

[lauren_elizabeth]

Hellllooo Marissa! I'm currently at the start of your Day 3, but am just popping in really quick to let you know I'm still here.

 

[marDgreen88]

AHHH Love those views from your room!! They are so awesome! I would love to wake up to that...tomorrow.

Totally agree about the bacon. They need to work on that because bacon should be delish always.

I love the puzzle tradition! That is so awesome. My boys are getting to be a good age for puzzles, I should get them one of our Disney pics as a puzzle for Christmas! Thanks for the idea.

So exciting about the extra dining credits! What a great thing for Disney to do!

Aren't they incredible? I think I've said this at least 32,000 times, but I cannot get over the beauty of it. AMAZING! I agree! I hope you get to do that someday!

Seriously, what's with that bacon? ICK!

Thanks! Yeah, that sounds like a fun idea! Oh, you're totally welcome! I will say that Spaceship Earth is not the best one to do, because it's terribly hard! I couldn't even finish it and I'm assuming I'm a lot older than your boys!

It was! We were so excited! They're seriously so generous. It's amazing.

I LOVE that puzzle !!! I need to do that with our Disney pics !! I have a 1000 piece puzzle of the castle that Thomas Kinkade painted and I LOVE it.

I love Giraffes, too and one came soooo close to us last time we went on the safari, I almost reached out to touch it. I wonder what would have happened if I did. You think Disney security would jump out of the bushes and kick em out??

I love the baby elephant pic !!!

We stay at BLT in April and I. CANNOT. WAIT !!!!!! So loving your photos !!!

Thanks!! I'd totally recommend it! It's a really fun tradition.

Hahah I have no idea what would happen if you did! I bet the safari driver would have wagged his/her finger at you and given you a stern talking-to or something.

Thank you! It's one of my favorite Disney pictures ever!

YAY!!! I cannot stress enough how amazing it is, seriously. Yall will adore it.

ok I've been away from the boards for too long apparently. what's the new slogan??

as far as feeding giraffes goes...

we've done it a few times actually!

The 2013 slogan is 'Limited Time Magic.' Every week there will be a different special event happening. It's an awesome concept, but the name could use some work.

Very cool! So have we. In fact, we're probably going back on Sunday (my birthday) to do it again! I'm excited!

Limited time magic? is anyone else as stumped as I am at how that made it through the ad execs?

Oh the baby with her mama?? So cute!!!

How awesome that you got to feed a giraffe??? I seriously love giraffes, their probably my favorite animal!

And how great about the extra credits!!! I wonder where you'll use them? Boma perhaps?

Girl, I don't even know. I am LOVING the concept, but that name??? SO bad.

Isn't it the cutest?! I'm so in love with that picture, that's the coolest thing I've ever seen on the safari!

I won't lie, it was disgusting but amazing! I'm probably going again on my birthday this weekend!

Isn't it?! We were so excited! FREE MEAL! Well, not Boma! Unfortunately I've never even set foot on AKL property. That will change someday, I SWEAR! But the place we went to was amazing!

Hellllooo Marissa! I'm currently at the start of your Day 3, but am just popping in really quick to let you know I'm still here.

Helllooooo Lauren!!! Yay, I'm so glad you're still around! It's always so great to hear from you!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

LOVE the balcony pictures, especially the first one where you can see the ripples on the water! Gorgeous.

And about that new slogan...who the heck wants to put a limit on magic?!? WHO LIMITS MAGICAL THINGS!?!?!?! Horrible.

Admittedly, I'm not the biggest fan of AK, but it has most certainly grown on me. I had lots of fun there this year (which you'll have to wait a long time to hear about, seeing as I just started the TR and I include every single detail of every single second, and we didn't go to AK until the fifth day).
The elephants are Sawyer's absolute favorite animals. He would probably ride one, but then I'd have to remind him that they can push over trees, so that might not be the best idea. I'd let him feed a giraffe, though, because goo is just fine by me, and let's face it, my kids are pretty much covered in one form of goo or another pretty much constantly.

Anyhoo...can't wait to hear more about more pixie dust!

 

[shan23877]

I've been following along Marissa, but too busy to comment. But, I'm back!

Not judging about the mister fan, in fact I'll probably buy one on our next trip.

Horrible, horrible new slogan

Love the Tree of Life photo spot-couldn't agree more about how great it is.

Great puzzle! I love having photo puzzles made!

Cannot wait to hear where your ADR is for-you know I love me some Disney Dining.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

The view from your room really is incredible!!! Gotta agree about that Disney bacon - it's so funny that Disney doesn't do bacon or coffee right, but everything else is awesome!

Ugh, not a fan of the new slogan. Magic is NEVER available only for a limited time!!! And the new commercials never make me tear up like the "surprise, we're going to Disney!!" ones. (I actually got a little teary just writing that. I'm such a dork hahaha.)

I will admit that AK isn't my favorite park, but I do LOVE the elephants!! That's so cute that you saw the mom washing the baby!!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Well, you know I love those balcony shots. I seriously cannot wait until April, ahh!!! And I know when I'm there I will think of you. It's funny how certain places remind me of DISers. LOL!

Aww, that is so cute about the dad talking about how much fun the family was going to have.

We definitely bought one of those squirt bottles once. It was a long time ago, but they sure do feel good when it's hot!

haha, love the puzzle! I didn't know photopass had puzzles. But they do have a lot of cool stuff besides the pictures.

YAY for Animal Kingdom and the safari! The giraffes and elephants are awesome. That baby is SO CUTE. That's funny you mentioned feeding giraffes at your zoo because they actually just added something like that at our zoo a couple years ago (I think?). I have never done it though, but we got to see some people feeding one when we went on Father's Day. I was in awe just watching because I love the giraffes so much!

Can't wait for more!