our non-rushing (sorta) disney anniversary w/ PICS & VIDEO! new TR link - p. 136

[punkin413]

I LOVE the pics of your doggies with the plushies! So very adorable.

I'm glad to hear your last day was the best-that always makes such a nice finale to a trip!!

thanks! they're my babies. and yes, the last day was GREAT!!!! i was so glad too.

Oh My God - What great seats for Beauty and the Beast. I'm only on Day two yet - B&B is my favourite show and I have yet to get a pic of the Beast that isn't blurry because he is always moving. Great pics!

glad you're here - better late than never! no rush - i'm glad i've still got readers catching up. B&B is my favorite, too!!! we got really lucky.

all caught up again..LOVING the WS stuff..i am so happy that Ray decided to give it another shot i bet he is too!!
LOVE the doggies snuggling with the new toys..so cute! Chief proudly wears his red mickey collar out on the town

yeah, i can't believe ray gave in, but i'm glad he did! i have a pluto leash for both sherman and eli. i'm sure i'll return with more disney stuff for them after our september trip.

Yeah for the gum purchase!!!!! lol!!
I do the exact same thing before we go. I always go to Sam's and buy a bulk pack of gum to take with us.

BTW, how exciting for you guys!!! Only 35 more days!!

you can't buy gum on disney property and when i read that i knew that would be a priority for me - TAKE GUM!!!!!! i'm a gum addict.

Awesome that you got your luggage tags!! When our ME stuff came a few weeks back I was ecstatic as well...makes it seem so much more real!!

i know!!!!!! so exciting! you are so close too!!

You guys are going to have SO much fun together.....

i can't wait!

yah luggage tags AND GUM

i think everyone on here is going to have huge collections of those luggage tags after about 20 years.

i know! i already have two. erica said she's give me one to put on my toiletrie case. so that way all three pieces of my luggage will now have one!

that si great you got your tags.

still waiting for mine.

i'm sure yours will arrive any day now!!! so excited that we're all so close!

WOO HOO - Doing the happy dance for the gum purchase!

Hi Dawn,

I have enjoyed all your pics on the food and drinks threads and thought I would check out your TR but being the way I am, I started reading your first one (I know, )

Anyways, I have to know if your DH got his trip to Yellowstone and if so, what you thought of it. I would put both WDW and Yellowstone on my top 10vacations list. I adore them both for very different reasons!!

Katie

thanks! we had fun last year but this year's trip was even better! glad you're reading about all of them. we never did make it to yellowstone. we looked into it after our disney trip last year and realized how expensive it would be. we either want to drive out there (which would require at least 2 weeks off work) or fly out there and rent a camper to drive around that area (which would cost too much money for us). so we're putting it on hold. that's why we came back to disney this year. we're thinking about selling our third car, a volkswagon cabrio convertible, and buying a pop-up camper with the money. if that happens, yellowstone here we come!

 

[Camster0307]

Ok, have to ask - do the Vandy girls know each other from the DISboards? Or are you long-time friends?

 

[punkin413]

Ok, have to ask - do the Vandy girls know each other from the DISboards? Or are you long-time friends?

we are a product of the disboards! what happened is we met on memom's TR. i noticed her user name and i'm a huge vandy fan, too! i have family in tennessee (that's where i grew up) and erica (vandyfan) lives just a little ways from my hometown. memom lives in the next town over from where i grew up, by the way! anyway, erica and i met for the first time when i was home for thanksgiving last year. i met my dad for a vandy football game and she was going, so we ended up sitting together and the rest is history!

 

[VandyFan10]

WOOT WOOT!!!!!!!!!! so super exciting!!!!!!!!!!

um......i bought gum for the trip today. probably won't get as big of a reaction as our package!

I need gum too!! And I will prob bring some so we should have plenty! I didn't realize you couldn't get it on disney property but I completely understand!

BTW, how exciting for you guys!!! Only 35 more days!!

34 Now

Awesome that you got your luggage tags!! When our ME stuff came a few weeks back I was ecstatic as well...makes it seem so much more real!!

I figured you already had yours....I was actually looking for a pic on your TR the other day!

You guys are going to have SO much fun together.....

I CAN'T WAIT!

i think everyone on here is going to have huge collections of those luggage tags after about 20 years.

I bet you are right....I'm upto 4 now

still waiting for mine.

You will get yours soon Scott!

Ok, have to ask - do the Vandy girls know each other from the DISboards? Or are you long-time friends?

Anyway, erica and i met for the first time when i was home for thanksgiving last year. i met my dad for a vandy football game and she was going, so we ended up sitting together and the rest is history!

Awwww....that's so sweet

Ditto Camster, we have become VERY good friends over the last 8-9 months. And I can't wait to have my first 'girls' trip and good time with a fun girlfriend at DISNEY!!!!!

 

[KristinAnne]

Hey Dawn! Question about your Christmas trip. We are contemplating December 09 long weekend trip. How long are you guys going for? I'm a teacher, so I could only manage 2 days off (it would likely be Friday night-Tuesday), but I'm trying to think of logistics...how are you thinking about working your trip? Are you going to do all the parks? Yes, I like to plan waaayyy in advance...especially when there aren't any vacations on the horizon!

 

[punkin413]

I need gum too!! And I will prob bring some so we should have plenty! I didn't realize you couldn't get it on disney property but I completely understand!

from what i've read, they don't even sell it at the hotels. i guess that's why you don't see much gum stuck to things! but i have to have gum or i will go into withdrawals! i chew orbit maui melon mint. i think i gave you a piece the other day. anyway, i bought a 3-pack so between that and yours, we'll be good!

Ditto Camster, we have become VERY good friends over the last 8-9 months. And I can't wait to have my first 'girls' trip and good time with a fun girlfriend at DISNEY!!!!!

me too!!!!!!!!!!! i started my countdown today. i'm not done though - i gotta get more mickey heads.

Hey Dawn! Question about your Christmas trip. We are contemplating December 09 long weekend trip. How long are you guys going for? I'm a teacher, so I could only manage 2 days off (it would likely be Friday night-Tuesday), but I'm trying to think of logistics...how are you thinking about working your trip? Are you going to do all the parks? Yes, I like to plan waaayyy in advance...especially when there aren't any vacations on the horizon!

we're staying for 4 days - 4 parks in 4 days. we're on a budget that trip so we didn't want to get park hoppers. it really just depends on what you're into as to what your schedule would be. if you want to do all 4 parks in 3 days you'd obviously need a park hopper. here's our plan:

thursday - sleep in (we will be tired from the late-night arrival the day before), epcot, lunch at beaches & cream at the beach club, tour beach club and boardwalk for christmas decorations, back to epcot for christmas storytellers and illuminations

friday - DHS - lunch at sci fi, fantasmic at 7:00 and then osborne lights afterwards

saturday - MK - castle lighting at 5:45-6:00, dinner at kona cafe at 6:30, tour GF to see christmas decorations, back to MK for spectro and wishes

sunday - AK - breakfast at tusker house, jingle jungle parade at 3:45, WL to see christmas decorations, MK for MVMCP

if you want to do all four parks just get park hoppers. you will have to skip some stuff, but it's just an excuse to go back! you won't have much time to see the resort decorations though, if that's important to you. are you doing MVMCP? my only pointers would be (and this is stuff i've learned through my research).......

~if you get park hoppers, try to make your MK day on a day where there's a MVMCP that night - the park won't be as busy.
~you can see the osborne lights AFTER fantasmic, even if the park is closing. from what i understand, they leave the lights on about an hour after closing.
~be sure to get the dinner package if you're doing the candlelight processional. we're not doing it because we will have a 4yo with us. but i hear if you don't get the package you will be standing in a VERY long line.

i will for sure do a TR so you can see how our plan works out!

 

[jordanyosh]

The power of the internet and a love for Disney bringing people together. Walt himself would be proud.....

Go USC Trojans.
Go UCLA Bruins.

 

[punkin413]

so we are on our last day. i refuse to be sad as this was the best day of our vacation. there wasn't any one thing that happened that stands out in my mind to make it the best day. it just seems like everything went great and there were little things here and there that put smiles on our faces!

this was the only morning of the trip that we had planned on doing rope drop. so we set our alarm that morning (a first since we'd been at SSR) and got up in plenty of time to catch an early bus to MK. we didn't eat breakfast because we were gonna stop by the main street bakery and get something there on the way in.

for those of you who have never done rope drop at MK, it's really cute! we both love the show. i love how the characters ride in on the train! we got there at 8:45 and the show started shortly after. here are some pics.....

the pooh-sized fireman is smokey miller, the MC of the ceremony.

here they come!!!!!

the magic kingdom is now open!

ray also videoed the rope drop. here's the video for you! these two videos are pretty much the whole thing, with the exception of part of the "casey's coming 'round the track" song. you'll notice the little girl throws her pixie dust way too early and mickey looks like he's saying something to her. i wonder if he said something and if so, what he said???? one can only imagine!





as we walked under the train station i snapped a picture of the flag....i had never noticed it before. i love the D! i want one for my house (both for Dawn and Disney!!!)

aaahhhhhhhh........main street and the castle in the morning.......

i love how there are CMs waving at you as you walk down main street at opening. although this year there weren't as many as last year. this guy was just so cute!

ray videotaped our walk down main street that morning. i just love the feeling of getting there first thing in the morning and walking down main street.......i don't know what it is, but i wish i could do this every day!



we went into mainstreet bakery and there was already a line, but it moved really quickly.

i forgot to take pics of the food......sorry! we were too busy trying to figure out what we wanted. we ended up splitting a egg, bacon and cheese croissant and some juice and it was YUMMY!!!!! i didn't get a picture of it either because we walked and ate as we wanted to get to fantasyland before the masses.

time for some pics in front of the castle! we hadn't taken pics from the hub yet and i definitely wanted some.

we met up with our favorite fairy!!!!!

okay......this is where i went a little picture crazy with the castle, which i know some of you will appreciate (memom/erica), but others of you can just scan through these quickly if you're not interested!

continued in next post: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26624871&postcount=1409

 

[punkin413]

what a pretty day!

as we walked up to the sword in the stone, this little boy was pulling it and it moved!!!!! it just kept rising up! it was soooooooooo cool! i saw a female CM nearby who had something discreetly in her hand that was controlling it. i've never seen this before and i just thought it was so cute!

we immediately headed towards peter pan's flight. i love this ride as it's my favorite movie and we hadn't ridden it yet, so it was a must-do this morning! it was a walk-on as it was still really early.

here we are.........OFF TO NEVERLAND!!!!!!!!

another great trip to neverland and back!

tick.....tock.......tick.......tock.......

next we decided to take an early-morning spin on the teacups, so we headed that way......we didn't have to wait long - just long enough for the people before us to ride.

so let me give you the play by play of what happens next. we're walking to our teacup and just as we get there, i turn around to see this.......

IT'S ALICE AND THE MAD HATTER........AND THEY'RE GOING TO RIDE THE TEACUPS!!!!!!!!!!

you guys probably know how i love alice and just all the characters from that movie, so i was REALLY excited! can you see in the picture above the mad hatter carrying a sippy cup? well, someone had left it in the first teacup as they walked in and he saw it, picked it up and was walking around going, "SIPPY CUP.........SIPPY CUP......SOMEONE LEFT THEIR SIPPY CUP!!!!!!!" he is mad, you know.

so we're sitting there watching alice and the mad hatter find the owners of the sippy cup, then they turn around and HEAD STRAIGHT FOR OUR TEACUP!!!!!

i literally started bouncing in the teacup at the thought of them riding with us!!! i bet that's what scared them off......this grown woman bouncing up and down in a teacup with a crazy smile on her face.

anyway, they walked past us and got in a teacup of their own.

i didn't care........I WAS RIDING THE TEACUPS WITH ALICE AND THE MAD HATTER!!! this was really a dream come true for me. i know most of you guys are reading this and thinking i'm crazy, but i've always wanted to ride with them and it was just so cool!!!!!!

i tried to get some pics as we would pass them but they didn't turn out....

here i am excited to be riding with alice and the mad hatter.....

ray's excited, too.....he just doesn't know it.

one happy girl.......

as we got off the ride, alice and the mad hatter went over to the side to sign autographs. we had gotten theirs last year and i wanted to get to rope drop at toontown, so we decided not to wait. but i snapped a picture as we passed. i think this alice is the same person who was belle last year at epcot. she was excellent as belle, too!

what a great morning we'd had so far......rope drop, a yummy breakfast from main street bakery, a ride into neverland and fun with alice and the mad hatter!!!

next up........

 

[IluvXU]

Another awesome set of pictures.. I love all the castle ones and the one showing the crowds on Main Street. I too love the CM waving... what a cute guy... that is what I want to do someday when I retire from

Good to know the bakery is not crazy at that time either....I bet it was yummy!

Glad you go to ride with Alice... I know you love her! I can't figure out why they rode alone. That does not make sense!

 

[jordanyosh]

Those castle pics are the most beautiful I've ever seen.....other than Vandy Fan's of course...

And those teacup pix are soooo cool....they turned out great.

 

[MeMom]

Who is this MeMom you speak of?

I do love the castle pictures. The sight that you see when you are looking way up into it just has a majesty and a touch of elegance to it.

Score for being able to ride with Alice and the Mad Hatter! That would be fun! And most of us completely understand why that is exciting even to a grow person.

Good character pictures of the opening ceremonies, too! It's always nice to be able to get multiple characters in one picture.

 

[KatGarcia]

How absolutely awesome for you!!!!!!!!

 

[scottny]

great pics and updates.

the castle shots are really good.

the pic of u on the teacups with mouth open is too funny.

How nice to ride next to them.

 

[micandminforever]

The pictures of the castle were wonderful. In every picture you notice something new.

The little boy with the sword was precious.

Thanks for the videos of the Magic Kingdom opening, I felt the pixie dust.

 

[ArielSRL]

we never did make it to yellowstone. we looked into it after our disney trip last year and realized how expensive it would be. we either want to drive out there (which would require at least 2 weeks off work) or fly out there and rent a camper to drive around that area (which would cost too much money for us). so we're putting it on hold. that's why we came back to disney this year. we're thinking about selling our third car, a volkswagon cabrio convertible, and buying a pop-up camper with the money. if that happens, yellowstone here we come!

Dawn, I so want to buy a camper also! It prolly won't be anytime soon, but eventually in the future. I did a 7 week road trip out west one summer and it was great. I did 10,00 miles, 21 states - or something like that - and all kinds of National Parks & Monuments, including Yellowstone; all in a Toyota 4Runner! It was so awesome. Also, my uncle loves Yellowstone so much, this is his second summer of going out there and working. He took my 19 yr old cousin with him and she is working there as well.

Anyway, sorry to hijack, but just wanted to say that when you do take that trip, I am sure you will really enjoy it!

 

[ArielSRL]

Hey Dawn! Question about your Christmas trip. We are contemplating December 09 long weekend trip. How long are you guys going for? I'm a teacher, so I could only manage 2 days off (it would likely be Friday night-Tuesday), but I'm trying to think of logistics...how are you thinking about working your trip? Are you going to do all the parks? Yes, I like to plan waaayyy in advance...especially when there aren't any vacations on the horizon!

I've done this before, as I am a teacher also. Last year, Dec 07 I had 3 days off, Dec 05 I only had 2, so my then-boyfriend and I had 3 days in the parks, so we just chose three parks. I think we left off AK that trip. We also did the same in Sept 06, and we didn't do DHS. We also did not have park hoppers. If you have the park hoppers you could do all 4, or if you get MVMCP tix, you could prolly do AK the morning of that and then the party that night.

 

[punkin413]

okay....first thing's first. it is now officially august, which means i can now say......

I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD NEXT MONTH!!!!!!

The power of the internet and a love for Disney bringing people together. Walt himself would be proud.....

Go USC Trojans.
Go UCLA Bruins.

okay......this will NOT be bringing us together. sorry, walt.

Another awesome set of pictures.. I love all the castle ones and the one showing the crowds on Main Street. I too love the CM waving... what a cute guy... that is what I want to do someday when I retire from

Good to know the bakery is not crazy at that time either....I bet it was yummy!

Glad you go to ride with Alice... I know you love her! I can't figure out why they rode alone. That does not make sense!

i want to retire at disney too!!! if i'm too old and decrepid to play maleficent then i would settle for waving at people on main street in the mornings!

i don't know why they rode alone.....maybe because it wasn't crowded and all the teacups weren't full? not sure. i was too excited to think!

Those castle pics are the most beautiful I've ever seen.....other than Vandy Fan's of course...

And those teacup pix are soooo cool....they turned out great.

wow.....thanks, jordan! i just kept snapping! and the excitement you see on my face in those teacups pics is genuine....it was truly giddy!!!

Who is this MeMom you speak of?

she's a very sweet woman who takes pictures of beach ball soap operas at 4:00 a.m. and is pretty much famous on the dis. never heard of her???

I do love the castle pictures. The sight that you see when you are looking way up into it just has a majesty and a touch of elegance to it.

i want to live there someday. i'm guessing i'm not the only one, so if it ever goes on the market my chances of bidding the highest won't be good. although i hope i don't live to see that day because that would mean that there was no longer a disney world.

Score for being able to ride with Alice and the Mad Hatter! That would be fun! And most of us completely understand why that is exciting even to a grow person.

it MADE my day!!!

Good character pictures of the opening ceremonies, too! It's always nice to be able to get multiple characters in one picture.

thanks!!!

How absolutely awesome for you!!!!!!!!

i know.....i was so super excited!!!

great pics and updates.

the castle shots are really good.

the pic of u on the teacups with mouth open is too funny.

How nice to ride next to them.

yeah, i thought about not posting it because you can see way more of my mouth than anyone would ever want to, but i had to include it because i was so excited!

The pictures of the castle were wonderful. In every picture you notice something new.

The little boy with the sword was precious.

Thanks for the videos of the Magic Kingdom opening, I felt the pixie dust.

wasn't that sword thing neat? i've never heard of them doing this before.

glad i could provide some virtual pixie dust for ya!

Dawn, I so want to buy a camper also! It prolly won't be anytime soon, but eventually in the future. I did a 7 week road trip out west one summer and it was great. I did 10,00 miles, 21 states - or something like that - and all kinds of National Parks & Monuments, including Yellowstone; all in a Toyota 4Runner! It was so awesome. Also, my uncle loves Yellowstone so much, this is his second summer of going out there and working. He took my 19 yr old cousin with him and she is working there as well.

Anyway, sorry to hijack, but just wanted to say that when you do take that trip, I am sure you will really enjoy it!

no worries about hijacking! very cool about that trip!!! we will do something like that one day - that's something that will come after we have a kid though, i think. i want to wait until we have a child and for them to be old enough to travel without a hassle. then i want to take the camper out west and go to yellowstone and then down the california coast and to disneyland!

 

[ArielSRL]

no worries about hijacking! very cool about that trip!!! we will do something like that one day - that's something that will come after we have a kid though, i think. i want to wait until we have a child and for them to be old enough to travel without a hassle. then i want to take the camper out west and go to yellowstone and then down the california coast and to disneyland!

I think that is a great plan and what I would like to do as well. I just think kids would really enjoy something like that. I guess I pick up on that kind of stuff from my ten years of teaching...HAHAHA. You would hope right?

I did the Cali coast and DL on my road trip, as well. It was really fun.

So when are you planning to start the process of having the kiddies? We need to know! J/K That is way too personal a question for me to ask.

Okay, headed to bed now before I get into trouble.

 

[MeMom]

okay....first thing's first. it is now officially august, which means i can now say......

I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD NEXT MONTH!!!!!!

she's a very sweet woman who takes pictures of beach ball soap operas at 4:00 a.m. and is pretty much famous on the dis. never heard of her???

i know.....i was so super excited!!!

glad i could provide some virtual pixie dust for ya!

That's a nice thing to be able to say.

No, no, no! Not 4 a.m. That's much too early! It's 5 a.m. Remember the whole '5 a.m. is weird but 4 a.m. is just creepy' thing???? At 4 I am still safely tucked away in the room watching Disney's 7 Top Must Sees for the umpteenth time.

Famous? I think infamous would be a better description. (Downright "not right" might even be better. At least that's what Trent says.)

It's all pure magic,
wrapped up in pixie dust,
Welcome to a place where dreams come true!

I forgot to say thanks for the videos earlier.