Operation Photopass! First trip to Disney World - TR - COMPLETED 07/16

[Trentmom]

Congrats on the new job!!!

We will be patient

 

[wakica]

I'm all caught up!!! Great Trip Report

So, let me get this straight. Your in Red Deer? so is that where you caught your plane? I find it odd you would go to WYG then to MSP and then to MCO. You'd think you'd just go to YYC Calgary first bc it's so close?? But being based in small Regina SK we get the milk run usually too - it's usually over to YYC first though, then across the country the other way and then down into the states. LOL what a pain! This time we didn't want to deal with all that plus the bad arrival and departure times so we went to Tampa. Found a better price, better departure and arrival times AND only ONCE cnx in Minneapolis. It's was blissful for a change. LOL

I love your baby photos and wedding photo Very nice!

You mentioned the size of WDW being like a city - well It is! My city. LOL We discovered that WDW owns 47 square miles and our city is 46 square miles! WOW hey?? They don't have ALL their space developed mind you but still - it IS the size of a city. haha

I like it that you are comparing rides between WDW and DL. DH went to DL 4 times as a kid and to WDW 5 times with me and refuses to go back. I personally wouldn't mind experiencing it though so I'm very interested in hearing about the differences. thanks for sharing them

You are the 2nd person I've read about today on DIS being afraid of butterflies!!! LOL - what's with that? I guess there are more people with butterfly fears than I realized.

I loved your accidental pavement shot. Maybe you were trying to photograph a lizzard that took off or something.

Loved seeing the Banff pics We go there ocassionally but more often Canmore b/c it's less "touristy" and busy and this past year we spent some time in Jasper. It's just so beautiful all over that area!!

and what's with the ToT photo?? ROFL Those guys in the front row look like they are making fun of that kid??? It had to be preplanned though bc it's so dark and you can't see what's going on like that. I was wondering if maybe the guys had planned to do it to the one guy on the other side of the aisle from them?? expecting him to have a reaction or something? cuz I just couldn't see them doing it to a kid. hahahaha.

Looking forward to more!!!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

BUMP!!

 

[DisneyStitch626]

Thanks for all the congrats guys! While the job is great, I am having a difficult time getting back into working so much. And leaving Seth on top of that just makes it so hard. Wish I could be a stay at home mom, but money needs to be made. Hopefully I will get used to it soon!

I'm all caught up!!! Great Trip Report

So, let me get this straight. Your in Red Deer? so is that where you caught your plane? I find it odd you would go to WYG then to MSP and then to MCO. You'd think you'd just go to YYC Calgary first bc it's so close?? But being based in small Regina SK we get the milk run usually too - it's usually over to YYC first though, then across the country the other way and then down into the states. LOL what a pain! This time we didn't want to deal with all that plus the bad arrival and departure times so we went to Tampa. Found a better price, better departure and arrival times AND only ONCE cnx in Minneapolis. It's was blissful for a change. LOL

I love your baby photos and wedding photo Very nice!

You mentioned the size of WDW being like a city - well It is! My city. LOL We discovered that WDW owns 47 square miles and our city is 46 square miles! WOW hey?? They don't have ALL their space developed mind you but still - it IS the size of a city. haha

I like it that you are comparing rides between WDW and DL. DH went to DL 4 times as a kid and to WDW 5 times with me and refuses to go back. I personally wouldn't mind experiencing it though so I'm very interested in hearing about the differences. thanks for sharing them

You are the 2nd person I've read about today on DIS being afraid of butterflies!!! LOL - what's with that? I guess there are more people with butterfly fears than I realized.

I loved your accidental pavement shot. Maybe you were trying to photograph a lizzard that took off or something.

Loved seeing the Banff pics We go there ocassionally but more often Canmore b/c it's less "touristy" and busy and this past year we spent some time in Jasper. It's just so beautiful all over that area!!

and what's with the ToT photo?? ROFL Those guys in the front row look like they are making fun of that kid??? It had to be preplanned though bc it's so dark and you can't see what's going on like that. I was wondering if maybe the guys had planned to do it to the one guy on the other side of the aisle from them?? expecting him to have a reaction or something? cuz I just couldn't see them doing it to a kid. hahahaha.

Looking forward to more!!!!

We did end up flying out of Calgary. I don't think Red Deer has a big enough airport to fly out of, so we always do Calgary.

Thank you for all the compliments!!

I could not believe how big the WDW was. All the roads were like one big maze to us! It was a bit of a surprise.

It is definitely worth giving DL at least one visit. I loved WDW, but Disneyland is still my favourite. Everything is within walking distance, some of the versions of the rides that are in WDW are better, as well as some that WDW doesn't have. And it's just got a charm about it that still gives you the "Disney bubble" feeling. I would add it to your list for sure!

I've been terrified of bugs most of my life, haha. Moths are my worst, and to me, a butterfly is just a colorful moth. I don't fall for the beauty.

Canmore is beautiful too! We pass through there on the way into Banff, and it's just as nice. Jasper is really pretty as well. I love that whole area of the province.

That ToT photo was so funny. It must have been staged. We were too into the ride to pay attention to the guys talking before hand, but it had to have been set up.

Thanks for joining!

BUMP!!

Working on another update finally! I've been so wrapped up with work, and someone also talked me into reading the Hunger Games, so now I am also wrapped up in those books too.

 

[DisneyStitch626]

Where were we...oh yes! Tower of Terror.

Tower of Terror was great as always. It's a little different than Disneylands, but I like it equally. WDW's has that extra part where you go forward down a hallway on the ride, but Disneyland's seems to be a little more thrilling. It shoot's you up a lot faster, and it seems like you fall a bit farther. Maybe I am wrong, but both are good rides anyways.

Anyways, after ToT, we weren't quite ready to use our FP's for RnRC, so we wandered on over to the Animation building. I really wanted to do a drawing, since the 2 times we've been to DL, I hadn't been able to for whatever reason.

On the way in, we spotted my favourite mouse, and noticed the line wasn't too bad, so we stopped to get some photos.

Then we went over to wait for our turn to draw.

This was on the wall next to the line :

During our segment, we got to draw Goofy!

Here is mine:

And Dillon's:

I loved that class. We both started out feeling hopeless. Dillon's circle had like 15 corners. But in the end they both turned out pretty great. Who knew we could draw?!? It was a lot of fun.

After drawing Goofy, it was finally time for RnRC!! I was so excited for this ride!

Loved, loved, LOVED that ride! I love the launch, it was just like California Screamin' and I loved the darkness, and then the Aerosmith music just made it so much more enjoyable. So fun!

After our ride, we decided getting another FP was a good idea. When we got out, it was starting to rain a little bit. We decided to wander the shops to try and stay as dry as we could. While we weren't too far away, we decided to take another ride on ToT since it was only a 10 minute wait.

There's some pretty funny faces in this one:

It was pouring when we got out of ToT! So much so, that I broke down and spent the $8.50 on a poncho, cause I can't stand being cold and wet.

We did a bit more wandering in the shops. I picked up a couple of keychains. A Stitch one for me, and a matching Mickey one for Laurie. I just thought they were so cute.​

Next up: Lights, Camera, Action! And TSMM!​

 

[DisneyStitch626]

Once I got my poncho (Dillon didn't get one as he is not a wimp: his words), we wandered over towards TSMM, as it was almost time for our FP's.

What a fun ride! Other than the queuing area, the ride is basically the same as Disneyland's. Still just as fun, and definitely worth getting a FP for.

I didn't do as good as Dillon, but I still had lots of fun.

After TSMM, we still had about an hour, so we wandered over towards the back of the park to explore. We noticed that Lights, Motor, Action (or whatever it's called) was about to start, so we decided to see what it was all about.

It was interesting to watch, because with the fresh rain, the cars were sliding around a lot more than they normally do.

It was a pretty cool show, but we had to duck out a little before it was over so we could make it to our reservation on time. It had gone longer than we expected.

It was time for our dinner at Sci-Fi Diner!

We checked in and were given our buzzer and told to sit down. After about a 10 minute wait, we were shown to our car. We got one at the very back of the restaurant.

We loved the atmosphere. It was something very different, that's for sure.

The waiter came to take our drink order and informed us that milkshakes were included on the dining plan! I was excited about this and ordered an oreo shake while Dillon ordered a Vanilla coke.

My shake was delicious, but Dillon's drink had way too much syrup in it. We miss the real vanilla coke.

We both ordered the steak dinner again. I know, we are rebels we are. But we love a good steak.

These steaks were ok. A little greasy and fatty again, just like at Coral Reef, but still decent. The veggies and potatoes were very good, although the potatoes had quite a bit of Parmesan in them which took a bit of getting used to.

Then it was onto desert!

I ordered the Apple Crumble which I loved! My best desert of the week:

And Dillon ordered the cheesecake which he also loved:

Here we are in our car just before leaving:

Overall it was a great meal, the atmosphere and desert were the best parts for me.​

Next up: Fantasmic!​

 

[DisneyStitch626]

Our FP's for RnRC were ready when we finished our dinner at Sci-Fi, so we started the trek back to the other side of the park.

After a second ride on RnRC it was about 8:00pm we had pretty much crossed all the majors off the list. As we were walking out, we noticed that they had started seating for Fantasmic! and decided to see how full it was for the 9:00 show. There was still plenty of seating left, so we decided to stay for the show. I was excited. I was told the Disneyland one was better, so it wasn't on our must do's, but I'm glad we managed to make time for it anyways.

We got a seat right in the middle of the stadium.

The show itself is just as hard to photograph as it is in DL, so only got a couple photos:

After the show, we still had a little time before the park closed, so we decided to see if we could get on Star Tours.

The hat at night:

I was expecting at least a 30 minute wait, but it was a walk on. Our car didn't even fill up! I guess because it is at the back of the park, it doesn't get as packed as DL? Or maybe it was just the time of night.

A blurry C-3PO:

After Star Tours, we decided to try Muppet 3D before the park closed for the evening:

It was a really cute show! I really enjoyed it. There were only about 10 of us in the theatre as it was almost 10:00pm which was park closing time.

So once we exited the ride, we made our way to the exit of the park, and over to the bus stop to go back to the hotel. It was a long day, with no hotel breaks, so we were looking forward to heading to bed. The next day was our off day, we were planning on sleeping a little later. But we do have a 10:50 reservation at 10:50am that we had to get up for!​

To be continued....​

 

[Trentmom]

Looks like a very productive day

Great Goofy drawings

RNRC is an awesome ride, glad you enjoyed it

Have not eaten Sci Fi's in year, but do love the atmosphere in there. I would be annoyed thought if they tried to sit me in a table like those people in back of your pic. Not fun unless you are in a car

Can't wait for more

 

[Ms. Heimlich]

I'm late coming in, but I am loving your TR. Looks like you guys had a great time.

I'm sad you had a so-so time at Coral Reef. Our last trip, it was a favorite of our family!

loving all the photos!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Another great update with more wonderful photos!!!

Both of your Goofy drawings are really good!!! Those animation classes are fun & they make it look so easy!

I'm excited to ride the Rock-n-Roll Coaster.....but I'm also a bit freaked out. I've never done corkscrews before and the only inversion I've done is on California Screamin'.

So you shared a car with someone else at the Sci-Fi diner?? I guess it makes sense to get more people in there and they have their backs to you.....but it still would seem a bit strange having strangers right in front of you like that. Maybe it's just me?? Good info on the milkshakes being on the dining plan. Is that for all the restaurants or just select ones?

We're not planning on doing the Fantasmic show, I've seen videos on the show......it's different from the one at DL.....some of the differences I liked, but some I didn't. We right now only have one day planned for this park and have other things we want to do. If we add a 2nd day (our pick-a-park day) here....we might see about watching it.

Thanx for the awesome keychain!!!

 

[wakica]

Loved the Goofy drawings!! DD and DH looooove the drawing class. I sat through 2 back to back classes one day and just waited for them and rested my feet. the time we revisited I did it with them to humor them and we drew stitch. He was HARD!!! Your goofy's looked like they'd be hard to draw too but you both did such a great job!!

Again, some great ToT faces!

We got a car way in the back at Sci Fi when we went there years ago too It was still a rreally cool experience though I thought. Did you find it cold in there?? It was VERY cold the time we ate there. and I loooove their shakes that's great that it was a part of the plan.
was that a glowy thing ont he cheesecake??? lol

 

[smile4stamps]

Okay... I'm here... better late than never!! It finally dawned on me today that you probably had a TR going and I needed to find it!! Read it all! Great pics! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[DisneyStitch626]

Loved the Goofy drawings!! DD and DH looooove the drawing class. I sat through 2 back to back classes one day and just waited for them and rested my feet. the time we revisited I did it with them to humor them and we drew stitch. He was HARD!!! Your goofy's looked like they'd be hard to draw too but you both did such a great job!!

Again, some great ToT faces!

We got a car way in the back at Sci Fi when we went there years ago too It was still a rreally cool experience though I thought. Did you find it cold in there?? It was VERY cold the time we ate there. and I loooove their shakes that's great that it was a part of the plan.
was that a glowy thing ont he cheesecake??? lol

I really loved the drawing class! We ended up doing another later on in the trip. We almost had the option to do Stitch, but they asked for a vote majority of the class said they already did him, so we did something else. I was a little disappointed to say the least!

The back of the restaurant wasn't so bad. We couldn't really pay attention to what was on the screen, but not sure we would have if we were any closer. And yes, that is a glowy thing on his cheesecake! It was pretty cool. We ended up giving it to a family in front of us, cause they only got one, and they had two boys, so we did a good deed and let them have it, haha.

Okay... I'm here... better late than never!! It finally dawned on me today that you probably had a TR going and I needed to find it!! Read it all! Great pics! Can't wait to hear more!

Hey Paula! Glad to have to here!

 

[DisneyStitch626]

Ahahahaha! I have to make a post about this because I can't stop laughing!

Well over the last 8 months or so, the disneystore.com has found it necessary to charge $24.50 or more for anything shipped to Canada. Right now they have a jewelled Cinderella Castle on the site for $37,500 and underneath it says free shipping. Well Canada never gets free shipping, so I put it in my cart just to see how much shipping would cost for a Canadian.....$6299.00!!! Six thousand dollars for a Canadian to get it shipped, but it's free for Americans. I am laughing so hard cause I just can't believe it! Not that I could ever dream of affording the $37,000 castle to begin with, but I just had to check.

 

[smile4stamps]

Ahahahaha! I have to make a post about this because I can't stop laughing!

Well over the last 8 months or so, the disneystore.com has found it necessary to charge $24.50 or more for anything shipped to Canada. Right now they have a jewelled Cinderella Castle on the site for $37,500 and underneath it says free shipping. Well Canada never gets free shipping, so I put it in my cart just to see how much shipping would cost for a Canadian.....$6299.00!!! Six thousand dollars for a Canadian to get it shipped, but it's free for Americans. I am laughing so hard cause I just can't believe it! Not that I could ever dream of affording the $37,000 castle to begin with, but I just had to check.

That's utterly ridiculous!!

 

[pg0314]

Just found this thread and started reading. You're not even in Orlando yet and I'm already cracking up over the fact that you're taking pictures of EVERYTHING! I'm the same way!! Heck, I've been known to take pictures of bathrooms.

You guys are adorable and I can't wait to see what's next!

 

[DisneyStitch626]

Just found this thread and started reading. You're not even in Orlando yet and I'm already cracking up over the fact that you're taking pictures of EVERYTHING! I'm the same way!! Heck, I've been known to take pictures of bathrooms.

You guys are adorable and I can't wait to see what's next!

Hi there! Welcome.

Yes we do love to take pictures of everything, haha. Thank goodness for technology these days and that we don't have to worry about buying film every time we want to take more than 24 photos!

 

[DizNee Luver]

WOW......the shipping from the Disney Store is ridiculous!! Maybe they don't like Canadians?? We already knew their shipping rates we're over the top when we did that little experiment with the vinylmation.......but over $6000......really????

PS: I had no clue they had anything on their site for $37,500........

 

[DisneyStitch626]

Maybe they do hate Canadians. Or just maybe they don't realize it's so much. Surely they've noticed a drop in international customers over the last few months. Unless there are people actually paying those prices. Geez! Lol.


Thanks again for doing that btw. I love that Vinyl.

 

[smile4stamps]

I've heard that not only do you have the high shipping to start that some people are being hit with a brokerage fee they need to pay to get their package! Sounds pretty ridiculous!!