Seaworld, Disney, Celebrities, Friends, and a Hurricane Aug 16 to 26 - Update Dec 1

[afwdwfan]

The Miss America contestants were in the parks filming some promos for the pageant. We got to wait in line at Star Tours while they did some filming there. We were standing by C3PO when they all can running by and Declan decided that it would be a good idea to high five 52 fairly attractive young women (and one HUGE bodyguard). Pretty smart boy I think. Unfortunately, as you can see by that one picture) it was tough to get a picture of them moving by us with very little light to help out.

Yeah, very smart of him! Too bad you couldn't get good pics... he'll never be able to prove it now.


So what was the deal with the ADR? Did you think it was the wrong time, or were they telling you that you were supposed to be there 35 min before your ADR?

 

[declansdad]

Yeah, very smart of him! Too bad you couldn't get good pics... he'll never be able to prove it now.


So what was the deal with the ADR? Did you think it was the wrong time, or were they telling you that you were supposed to be there 35 min before your ADR?

No it was our mess up. Our original asking time was 7:30 but when the ADRs were actually made that was the only one that we didn't get the time we asked for. Unfortunately we forgot about that but all was good in the end.

 

[Queenofallthings]

I never would have guessed those were the celebrities that you saw...how cool for Declan!!

Great pictures of your room and what a view! Great shots around WS too...never seen Illuminations from Rose and Crown but I can see what a great viewing spot it is

 

[declansdad]

I never would have guessed those were the celebrities that you saw...how cool for Declan!!

Great pictures of your room and what a view! Great shots around WS too...never seen Illuminations from Rose and Crown but I can see what a great viewing spot it is

We've been able to watch it from there 3 times now. A couple of year s ago we didn't even need to leave our table. The food is great and the view is an added bonus.

 

[declansdad]

Hello to our two or three readers; it's been a bit so I'm going to try to get a couple of updates in.

August 20 - Disappointment and Happiness!

So we are set to start our second day at WDW. Today the plan was to get up early and head to MK for our 8:10 ADR (I double checked the time) at Crystal Palace. CP is a tradition for us. We haven't eaten here on every trip that Declan has been with us. Usually it is breakfast or dinner but I think we have had one lunch.

We left POFQ for the bus at 7 am, thinking we may have to wait a few minutes but we didn't. The bus was there and we were at the gates of MK by 7:30. Before leaving the room, I took our usual "start-of-the-day" picture of Declan. This is an important picture for the purposes of this update.

We were let into the park and checked in at CP by 7:50 and seated by 8 am

Pooksma and Declan took a few pictures while I waited at the check-in.

We had a great server who went by the name Belinda (she was from Taiwan and her real name was AnYuh). Belinida was the name her English teacher gave her when she moved to Florida.

We didn't wait long for the characters to start coming by.

After breakfast we headed for Fantasyland. We wanted to ride Peter Pan as it had been a long time. We decided to grab FPs for PP and received a surprise.

We headed for BTMRR.

After BTMRR we thought why not head across the park to Space Mountain and along the way we stopped to chat with Pioneer Donald.

Notice anything different in this picture of Declan?






No pin lanyard! He had taken it off on BTMRR and left it in the pocket in the car. Declan is a pin trader and this lanyard had some pins he had brought with him to trade as well as some new keepers he (we) had just bought. The lanyard itself was a Year of a Million Dreams lanyard that we had got on a previous trip.



Pooksma and Declan continued on to SM while I went back to check for the pins. I talked to a CM who check a some trains while I waited but nothing was found. She suggested coming back in an hour or two.


They rode SM with as a walk-on and we also grabbed FP so we could ride it again later.


We started back to PP and saw this talking trash can.

We rode PP and walk into Philharmagic without needing the FPs. We checked on the pins again (still nothing) and went to Tom Sawyer Island. This was a first for us.

Continued next post.

 

[declansdad]

We grabbed more FPs for Splash and trucked back to SM. Efficient park touring is the way we roll.

Next up, one of our favourite rides, the People Mover.

After a relaxing ride we grabbed more FPs, this time for Buzz and headed for....you know it....Splash Mountain. Saw a parade along the way.

Reaching the top of Splash

On our way off, we grabbed FPs for Splash and headed to City Hall to see if anyone turned in the pins. No luck.

Next up was a trip on Buzz. We still haven't found that target that gives you the max score.

We caught that evil Zurg once again but I have to wonder, who keeps letting him out?

More later, time for bed.

 

[Queenofallthings]

Great updates! We have never at breakfast at the CP and everytime I read a post about it, I think about booking it, but it always seems to never make it to our final ADR's!

Great pictures....where's that lanyard and who has it?????

 

[Tink2Day]

Great pictures, loved the one of the castle reflecting in the water.

Did Declan also take his lanyard off at CP, noticed it missing there too....

Such suspense, I hope you found the pins etc! Waiting to hear the outcome.

 

[afwdwfan]

It looks like a fun day of hitting some headline attractions at the MK! I've never had breakfast at CP, but I look forward to our ADR before the park opens during our upcoming trip!

I hope Declan gets his pin lanyard back. I always try to avoid putting things in the pockets on the rides because I'm always afraid I'll walk off without something too.

 

[declansdad]

Great updates! We have never at breakfast at the CP and everytime I read a post about it, I think about booking it, but it always seems to never make it to our final ADR's!

Great pictures....where's that lanyard and who has it?????

The best part of breakfast at CP is booking as early as you can and getting to walk up Main Street without a crowd. It is very easy top get some great pictures without any people in them.

Great pictures, loved the one of the castle reflecting in the water.

Did Declan also take his lanyard off at CP, noticed it missing there too....

Such suspense, I hope you found the pins etc! Waiting to hear the outcome.

Yes he took it off at the restaurant but put it back on when we left so that he could trade pins with the CMs. I don't remeber if he did any trading before BTMRR or not.

It looks like a fun day of hitting some headline attractions at the MK! I've never had breakfast at CP, but I look forward to our ADR before the park opens during our upcoming trip!

I hope Declan gets his pin lanyard back. I always try to avoid putting things in the pockets on the rides because I'm always afraid I'll walk off without something too.

The whole day was back and forth between the big rides. The crowds were pretty good and got better as the week went on.

I'll finish up the pin lanyard mystery tonight. I expect Declan to be wiped tonight so he should be asleep early. He has a cross country meet this afternoon, stop by football practice to complete is pass, run and kick drills, and finally head to his last basketball try-out. Heck maybe I will be asleep early too.

 

[afwdwfan]

I'll finish up the pin lanyard mystery tonight. I expect Declan to be wiped tonight so he should be asleep early. He has a cross country meet this afternoon, stop by football practice to complete is pass, run and kick drills, and finally head to his last basketball try-out. Heck maybe I will be asleep early too.

Wow, he's active! I'm glad he enjoys playing sports though. Much better to be out doing something than sitting around playing video games!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Hey, Darcy! Just found your TR and am heading back to catch up...

 

[mikera329]

What an amazing view for Illuminations!!! Looks like I may need to check out the Rose and Crown for our next trip...to have a picture without a lamp post in it would be wonderful

 

[declansdad]

Wow, he's active! I'm glad he enjoys playing sports though. Much better to be out doing something than sitting around playing video games!

He certainly loves sports. This is his first year for tackle football and cross country. Soccer and basketball are his two big sports.

4th place finish this afternoon at the CC meet. That up 5 spots from last week. Must have been the nutritious lunch we had at Wendy's before the meet.

Hey, Darcy! Just found your TR and am heading back to catch up...

Welcome to another from the DisDads Club. Glad to have a couple of you following along.

What an amazing view for Illuminations!!! Looks like I may need to check out the Rose and Crown for our next trip...to have a picture without a lamp post in it would be wonderful

That is our favourite spot for Illuminations. Nobody is trying to push by you and and get some great food and drink to boot. Can't beat it!

Welcome to the TR!

------------------------

I'm planning on finishing up the day at MK later tonight. Take it easy everyone.

 

[declansdad]

Continuing on with our day at MK......................

After finishing up with Buzz we headed back to Splash via POTC and had a few sites along the way.

We had no real wait for POTC and we got to see the new opening with Blackbeard. At Christmas there was nothing at the beginning except the fog.

Before we rode Splash again, we decide to check back at BTMRR one more time to see if the pins and lanyard had been found. No luck!

It was getting close to 3 so we decided to use the Splash FPs and head back to the resort. As we boarded our log, you could tell it was getting close to afternoon storm time. We had a bit of drizzle as we got to the end but as we made our way to the gift shop, the skies opened up. It started to rain like it had never rained before. We found a seat on the porch and started to wait it out, along with everyone else. No one left, even the people with ponchos (I left ours in the room). We waited for about an hour before we ventured out.

On the way out we decided to stop at City Hall to check one more time. We talked to a different CM (Molly was her name) this time and she check their lost and found and called back to BTMRR. As we waited, we chatted with her a bit and she was writing things down on a form. The CMs from BTMRR called back and told her there were no pins to be found. You could tell Declan was disappointed but he was doing his best not to show it. Molly ripped up the form she had been filling out and started filling out a few more. She sad she felt bad and gave Declan a form that let us all on the ride of our choice, another that would get us all a drink and another for a popcorn each. And there was one more form she gave Declan, it got him this:

It was a certificate that got him a new lanyard and starter pin set. He picked the Nerds set which worked out because he was looking for these pins while he was trading.

After finish up with our gifts from Molly we went back to thank her once again. If you ever get a chance to talk to Molly at City Hall, tell her Declan says hi.

We made it back to POFQ around 6 and ended our day.

Later all.

 

[MeMom]

It was great to be able to start the day off with all of these great pictures! Buzz, Splash Mountain, and just being in Magic Kingdom -

Stitch is so cute. I really do wish they would give him a really neat attraction so that more people would enjoy him.

Too cool that Declan got so many 'prizes', including the lanyard and pins.

 

[Queenofallthings]

Molly sure helped turn a bad situation upside down didn't she? She looks like a lovely young lady too!! I do love his new lanyard...I love all the Nerds stuff!!!

 

[afwdwfan]

That's what I love about Disney! That was great that you found a CM who went above and beyond what was necessary to make a bad day better.

 

[declansdad]

It was great to be able to start the day off with all of these great pictures! Buzz, Splash Mountain, and just being in Magic Kingdom -

Stitch is so cute. I really do wish they would give him a really neat attraction so that more people would enjoy him.

Too cool that Declan got so many 'prizes', including the lanyard and pins.

I think it made Declan's day; I know it made ours.

Hope you enjoy your day with your girls tomorrow MeMom.

Molly sure helped turn a bad situation upside down didn't she? She looks like a lovely young lady too!! I do love his new lanyard...I love all the Nerds stuff!!!

She was great! Not that the first CS we talked to wasn't helpful but he gave us nothing more than the standard call this number tomorrow and hopefully they will turn up.

That's what I love about Disney! That was great that you found a CM who went above and beyond what was necessary to make a bad day better.

NOt only did she make it better, she made it longer. We would have been back at the resort 2 hours earlier if she didn't give Declan all those certificates.

Seriously, Molly was a fantastic CM who obviously loved helping people. Hopefully she is still at City Hall helping other guests.

 

[pooksma]

Molly really made our day! We really felt the Disney magic thanks to her!

And the *&*$@ who took the lanyard- you are for stealing from a little kid!

Loved the updated Pirates. Declan's first questions was- I wonder if Davey Jones will be working today. He was surprised to see Blackbeard!

Declan made the mini boys team he was trying out for!