September 2011 - We are going to Disney World {THIS MONTH}! (Third Thread)

[MamaJessie]

I am DH to Sparks19.

All I am going to say for now is I am 'born again' Disney. Hands down, the most MAGICAL vacation ever.

I liked and understood Disney before. Its a new LOVE for me now. This redneck actually walked around the world in a home made camo "mickey ears" hat. DW made it for me.

Safe travels all.

It's always more fun once the husband's get addicted too


Home from the trip, just pulled in. So...tired....... Will post stuff tomorrow, and hopefully start a TR.

Janabana - How was the 40th?

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

It's always more fun once the husband's get addicted to


Home from the trip, just pulled in. So...tired....... Will post stuff tomorrow, and hopefully start a TR.

Janabana - How was the 40th?

Welcome back! Glad you made it home safely!

 

[sillylily]

Well, we're home! We got home yesterday evening, and I spent the afternoon getting a mountain of luggage stowed and putting the house to rights. We were in a minor accident about 30 minutes from home yesterday. A truck threw a tire directly in front of us, and it destroyed the entire front bumper of my Camry. It shattered my headlight, and ripped my front bumper on the driver's side. Ugh. No big deal, though, it's a simple repair. We had passed one of the more horrific accidents I have seen on the road, so as long as the car was roadworthy and we were all okay I didn't care so much.
The great news is that the mess with my legs seems to be clearing up on it's own!It had to be something I got into at Pop, since it started before we hit the parks at all. I tend to have serious histamine overload to skin irritants, so I'm going with Marblies and guessing it has something to do with what they use on the bedding. Geez, I sound like a walking train wreck!
Onto the good stuff! We LOVED Pop! We were in Building 2. You can see Spaceship Earth, ToT and the bowling pin pool all from a standard building. The entire resort is bright and colorful and whimsy, which is right up our alley. We had a medical fridge, and it was in the room waiting for us when we arrived, so that was wonderful as well!
Epcot: Super love! Definitely my favorite park. All of us loved Mission Space, Test Track and Soarin', along with The Seas and Living With the Land. The World Showcase was spectacular as well, I could spend a day just exploring the different countries. We did Epcot on our first and last park days because we enjoyed it so much!
Magic Kingdom: We had Crystal Palace reservations at 8:05, so we were able to check out Main Street with barely anyone else there. The autumn decorations are gorgeous!!I took well over 100 pictures before getting to our breakfast reservations. We liked the food at CP; we were on QSDP, and most of the food in the park was just blah to us. The character time was great, since the Hundred Acre Woods peeps are our faves! As far as parks go, though, the only one who loved MK was me. I can do coasters, but I prefer attractions, so I love MK. HM and POTC are my favorites, but my DH and oldest DD didn't really enjoy MK at all. The Mountains were their faves. My younger DD and I had a great time, though!
DHS: Ugh. Least. Favorite. Park. Star Tours, RnR and Starring Rolls, the three biggest highlights. It isn't a terrible park, it just wasn't my thing. My youngest DD found her roller coaster in RnR, and wanted to go a bunch! She's like me, and doesn't like big drops, but loops are our thing. We got a later start and didn't make RD, and FPs for TSM were gone around 12 pm, so no TSM for us. I would have liked to give it a try, but the wait was posted at 70 minutes. We didn't wait more than 10 for anything else all week, so it seemed super excessive.
AK: A close second for the overall family fave. My younger DD and I had plenty of attractions, since neither of us could bring ourselves to do EE. It's Tough To Be a Bug was one of my favorites, so I'm glad we didn't miss it! The animal trails were fabulous, and we had awesome character greetings. We even found Jiminy Cricket at Rafiki's Planet Watch, which was unexpected and fantabulous.
All in all, our WDW time was wonderful, and I'm sad that it's over. It'll be at least two years before we visit again, so I'm bummed about that. But, I guess that means I start the planning stage all over again!

 

[sillylily]

Welcome home, MamaJessie, and welcome, puckstop31! I'm Glad everyone made it home safely!!

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

All in all, our WDW time was wonderful, and I'm sad that it's over. It'll be at least two years before we visit again, so I'm bummed about that. But, I guess that means I start the planning stage all over again!

Welcome back! I'm glad your car incident wasn't any worse (or any farther from home!).

As we continue this thread, I'd love to have ongoing discussions with everyone about planning our next vacations--whether 1, or 2, or more years away!

 

[Marblies]

Next vacations? Shhhhhh. Don't tell DH, but I am already working on a way to get back and call it a "working holiday". I have friends who belong to a condo retirement city about an hour from the World and they have arts and craft shows there for the residents and their families. Think I will pack it all up and drive the 18 hours just to get back sooner. If the girls want to go, they can fly down and meet me when I check in.

 

[janabananas]

Janabana - How was the 40th?

It was super dooper crowded! I made a mini TR in my main TR.
40TH Anniversary at MK day
I still need to upload the pics. Though there are not that many.

I hate to say but the 40th anniversary was kind of anti-climatic. I left after the celebration around 1030am and hoped to EPCOT. It was super crowded there too.

As for future trips, I got this darned AP burning a hole in my pocket so I just have to use it as much as possible to maximize my money's worth!!

I have mini trips for January for our anniversary and another Sept trip, this one is for 5 days, and hopefully booking at BWV on DVC points.

Sillylilly, I am glad you made it home safe and sound (well mostly, poor Camry)!! I missed running into Basketkat, it was just to crowded to find anyone, unless you KNEW you were for sure meeting up. I did see a DISer but she was on a mission, so I didn't want to bother her. Mrs Stitch 626 I think. I will look her up today.

 

[sillylily]

DH made us promise to let him choose the next vacation spot.My two best guesses there are Yosemite or Yellowstone. Maybe he'll surprise us, though, and we'll hit Alaska per the previous plan!Glad I've got the mini trips to tide us over!!

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

DH made us promise to let him choose the next vacation spot.My two best guesses there are Yosemite or Yellowstone. Maybe he'll surprise us, though, and we'll hit Alaska per the previous plan!Glad I've got the mini trips to tide us over!!

Ooh, you could do Adventures by Disney! They go to Yellowstone (among other cool places in the US and abroad). Or, you could do the Alaskan Disney cruise. Maybe you can sneak Disney in there somewhere!

 

[Marblies]

Ooh, you could do Adventures by Disney! They go to Yellowstone (among other cool places in the US and abroad). Or, you could do the Alaskan Disney cruise. Maybe you can sneak Disney in there somewhere!

Or you could just wear matching t-shirts every day and wonder why people are giving you weird looks.

 

[janabananas]

Ooh, you could do Adventures by Disney! They go to Yellowstone (among other cool places in the US and abroad). Or, you could do the Alaskan Disney cruise. Maybe you can sneak Disney in there somewhere!

OOOH nice suggestion!! We want to do the Alasken Disney cruise, or a transatlantic/med cruise in the VERY FAR future... LOL. Maybe as a honeymoon trip?

 

[sillylily]

OOOH nice suggestion!! We want to do the Alasken Disney cruise, or a transatlantic/med cruise in the VERY FAR future... LOL. Maybe as a honeymoon trip?

Alaska is our one summertime pleasure trip. The only reason we didn't go this year was the outrageous price of airfare. It would have been $2K EACH WAY for the 4 of us to go back and forth from SEATAC at peak season. So, we got WDW instead! Horrible trade, right?

Or you could just wear matching t-shirts every day and wonder why people are giving you weird looks.

People gave us weird looks in the parks, because we're generally insane. I was singing and dancing along to All in This Together when Disney Channel Rocks was showing in DHS, and some guy looked at me like I'd lost my mind. So I, of course, danced harder and sang louder. He was gone when i looked up again!
Okay, I have pics, and no idea how to shrink them! Sorry, everyone!

Alyssa and I acting like normal

Alyssa and the love of her

Monorail hijinks

Look at my oldest DD. She JUST spotted Eeyore!

My youngest DD being accosted by Thumper, and rescued by her sister!

 

[Smile4Me]

Ok we've been back for a week now and this is the first time I've been on the dis boards for a couple reasons...but mainly because we got Engaged during our trip and I've been so busy with family and a new kind of planning! Our trip was awesome. We got to the parks early and got a ton done...so when 2 or 3 o'clock rolled around and lines grew to an hour waits for headliners and it was HOT we rolled out of the parks. It rained more than on any other trip we had previously been on but that was to be expected. We did the Halloween party and I could not believe the amount of people! Ride lines werent long but character lines were insane. I had a scare that nite where my camera came out of my pocket on space mtn, but the staff was awesome and got it back to us within 15 minutes. Missed the first part of the second parade but thats ok. I liked the fireworks slot but my fiancé didnt care for the music very much. Food was great, reservations were a must with free dining. One of the best meals we had was at Kouzzina. It was the first time we had been over to the Boardwalk which was so beautiful. Definitely will go back there. We didn't get a new room at Riverside but we loved our room and our stay there. It is a gorgeous resort that is so relaxing. Bus service much better than has been reported.

It's been such a whirlwind month. We had a housewarming party, I have school, my fiancé started a new job, we went on vacation, got engaged, I interviewed for a new job-which Ill know about later this week...goodness. I can't wait to read everyone's reports and actually stop and look back on our trip and report on it!!

 

[janabananas]

Ok we've been back for a week now and this is the first time I've been on the dis boards for a couple reasons...but mainly because we got Engaged during our trip and I've been so busy with family and a new kind of planning! Our trip was awesome. We got to the parks early and got a ton done...so when 2 or 3 o'clock rolled around and lines grew to an hour waits for headliners and it was HOT we rolled out of the parks. It rained more than on any other trip we had previously been on but that was to be expected. We did the Halloween party and I could not believe the amount of people! Ride lines werent long but character lines were insane. I had a scare that nite where my camera came out of my pocket on space mtn, but the staff was awesome and got it back to us within 15 minutes. Missed the first part of the second parade but thats ok. I liked the fireworks slot but my fiancé didnt care for the music very much. Food was great, reservations were a must with free dining. One of the best meals we had was at Kouzzina. It was the first time we had been over to the Boardwalk which was so beautiful. Definitely will go back there. We didn't get a new room at Riverside but we loved our room and our stay there. It is a gorgeous resort that is so relaxing. Bus service much better than has been reported.

It's been such a whirlwind month. We had a housewarming party, I have school, my fiancé started a new job, we went on vacation, got engaged, I interviewed for a new job-which Ill know about later this week...goodness. I can't wait to read everyone's reports and actually stop and look back on our trip and report on it!!

CONGRATS ON THE ENGAGEMENT!!! Can't wait to read your TR!

 

[Marblies]

Okay, I have pics, and no idea how to shrink them! Sorry, everyone!

Love, love, love the pics. There really are no words to express the magic of meeting those overstuffed, huggable, Disney icons, but the expressions on your DD's faces say it all!

Ok we've been back for a week now and this is the first time I've been on the dis boards for a couple reasons...but mainly because we got Engaged during our trip!

Hurrah! That is so sweet! (Especially since you were able to squeeze the word fiance into your message 3 times! ) You go girl!

 

[peachydreamyxx]

Hi everyone! We are back from our trip!

We had a wonderful trip, not as amazing as last years but that was more that we were with more people. The crowds werent bad at all except the MNSSHP on 9/27 was mobbed! Last year we had no waits for anything; characters, candy or rides. This year the candy lines had 5-10 minute waits. Crazy! The other day that was packed was 10/1, the 40th anniversary. When they did fireworks at night, you could not move. It was beyond ridiculous and very unsafe. In fact some guy picked up his kids stroller, with the child inside, and was carrying that above peoples heads trying to leave. Couldnt believe it.

DS had a great time. He loved the characters, loved POTC and was so excited when he met Mater and Lightning McQueen. The pool at CBR was perfect for him. He had a great time and every time we went in he didnt want to get out. CBR overall was great, but we probably wont return. The beds were to small for us and the food court really lacked variety. We did have an amazing room location though so I cant complain. The buses at the resort also were great, didnt have a single problem. Whenever the lines at the parks got to long the buses doubled up. Never waited more than 15minutes leaving the parks, even on busy nights after fireworks.

Going to finish up unpacking. So sad We did book a bounceback for next year though! September 27th-October 7th 2012 at Coronado Springs with free dining! Very excited to go back to CSR!

 

[MamaJessie]

Ok we've been back for a week now and this is the first time I've been on the dis boards for a couple reasons...but mainly because we got Engaged

Congrats!!!

Or you could just wear matching t-shirts every day and wonder why people are giving you weird looks.

That's one way to sway him into picking wdw lol

The crowds werent bad at all except the MNSSHP on 9/27 was mobbed! Last year we had no waits for anything; characters, candy or rides. This year the candy lines had 5-10 minute waits. Crazy!
Going to finish up unpacking. So sad We did book a bounceback for next year though! September 27th-October 7th 2012 at Coronado Springs with free dining! Very excited to go back to CSR!

It was crazy, wasn't it? I saw the first candy line and peeked around the bend thinking it must be a character and it was tootsie rolls We hit the Werther's line (it was short) the one by Cinderella's castle (it was fairly short) and the three in one by Splash Mountain. Oh and one when we were leaving since there was no line then. I just could not justify waiting in a long line for candy.
And congrats on the Bounceback I saw CSR has a Jr. Suite putting it on our short list of resorts we are considering for next time. DH really wants a hot tub so that nixes AoA or connecting values...

DH said today "Why?! Why am I so addicted to Disney? I never saw this coming and it just gets worse every time!!" LOL I love it. We are going to start comparing crowds, temps, activities etc and figuring out when we want to go next, because it really is the only way to make the blues go away

 

[BorkBorkBork]

Ok we've been back for a week now and this is the first time I've been on the dis boards for a couple reasons...but mainly because we got Engaged during our trip and I've been so busy with family and a new kind of planning!

Congratulations!! That's awesome!!

We too are full on addicted and have been discussing our next trip a lot. DH got all fake weepy when I mentioned going to a value and the full size beds so I think that's out. He wants to go to the Contemporary and while I would LOVE it (love the location and the monorail especially!) I am having a hard time justifying the cost when we could go twice for that money. We will start saving for the CR but planning for POFQ next time--liked POR but it was too big. We're talking Nov '13 or Jan '14 so we've got time to save and research it!

 

[haven_alise1997]

DH made us promise to let him choose the next vacation spot.My two best guesses there are Yosemite or Yellowstone. Maybe he'll surprise us, though, and we'll hit Alaska per the previous plan!Glad I've got the mini trips to tide us over!!

Glad to see your back and the thing with your legs is clearing up! Funny my hubby says he gets dibs on our next vacation also and he wants to go out west to Tahoe or something or other...lol....men.

If your kids are roller roaster afficionado's (sp?) try to get in a day Universal next time they had some pretty good ones.

 

[lemonsours]

Hi everyone, today's our day off and we're getting ready to go hang out by the pool, so I thought I'd check in and say hi! Everything has been so wonderful, crowds have been low (we were in AK on the 1st). Except DHS was pretty busy yesterday but we still got to see most everything we wanted, although we missed the Disney Junior Dance Party because Mama Melrose was running an hour behind. I wasn't really prepared for DD not wanting to see any shows. She just wants rides non-stop. Tomorrow is our second Epcot day (actually was supposed to be today, but we really needed a break.) She has already stated she has to ride Test Track and Soarin' again! We got to sample some of the F&W offerings last time and are hoping to see the rest of WS tomorrow.