Shopaholic, Workaholic & Bargain Betty Take On WDW A DM/DD TR-Last Day!

[OneTreeHillAddict]

The Minnie drawing is really good! I missed that last time. I love the art show. Next trip, I hope. Still haven't done that HSM prop either. (Note to self...DO IT!) Great updates!!! Awesome pictures!!!

 

[dawnbu40]

Hi Girls!! I got a little behind but I'm all caught up again!! Sounds like you've been having a great time - TSM is fantastic, isn't it?? We rode it a bunch of times too and loved it every time!!

Sorry about the toe incident... hope it doesn't hinder your touring plans.

The Backlot Tour looked like an amazing adventure!! You guys are great sports!!

Can't wait to hear more!

Hey Amy! Glad you've caught up! TSM is so fun! We ended up riding a total of 8 times! Caitlin was a trooper about the toe and didn't let it slow her down. I forgot to mention in our report how she also got some "mystery rash" on her feet! First aid wasn't sure if it was from a plant or the heat and we talked to another family there whose daughter had it too! Weird! We had a blast being "movie stars" and would do it again in a heartbeat!

The Minnie drawing is really good! I missed that last time. I love the art show. Next trip, I hope. Still haven't done that HSM prop either. (Note to self...DO IT!) Great updates!!! Awesome pictures!!!

Hi Tammy! Glad you stopped by! We knew Dale would enjoy the art lesson so we made a point of stopping by for him and we were right he loved it! The HSM props were fun and our PP has some where Caitlin joined us too. (wish that would arrive!) Thanks!



Since I don't have a PTR going I'll post this here....

99 DAYS!!
Double Digit Dance!!

 

[MEK]

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Since I don't have a PTR going I'll post this here....

99 DAYS!!
Double Digit Dance!!

Congrats. 99 more days! DH and I are actually going back in...ah....86 days. I can't believe we are actually going back during free dining. I feel so spoiled.

 

[dawnbu40]

Congrats. 99 more days! DH and I are actually going back in...ah....86 days. I can't believe we are actually going back during free dining. I feel so spoiled.

Actually now its only 95 days (counting down til adr day ) You're going again in 86 days?! Wow! That's great!

 

[dawnbu40]

When we left Park Fare we decided to hop on over to the MK.
We took the

from

to

When we arrived we headed to Adventureland! Our first stop was Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride. There was no line and we'd never ridden it so I thought we should try it out. However, I'm not really sure what I was thinking! I HATE the Teacups, Carousel and Dumbo and pretty much any ride that goes in circles since they make me queasy! I guess I forgot that in my exuberance to ride the Carpet? Well I quickly remembered how much I hate things like that! The ride not only goes in circles but it also goes up and down! I was in the back,behind Caitlin, and I thought she was making it go up and down and I was yelling for her to stop! She was laughing and saying she wasn't controlling it. Then the camel spit in my face! Let's just say that ride was too long and I was relieved when it ended! Thankfully, Dale wasn't taking any pictures!

After that memorable ride we headed over to the Haunted Mansion. The park was empty and we walked right in!

After we left our Ghost Hosts we were off to sail the seas with those dreaded Pirates! Again, we were able to walk right on the ride!

When we left the dashing Captain Sparrow our next stop was Fantasyland! We visited Snow White's ride first and boarded with a minimal 5 minute wait and then rode Pooh with the long wait of a whole 10 minutes!
For our final ride that evening we chose one of our all-time favorites! Philharmagic! We all love this attraction! I was a little disappointed in the condition of the theater though. I noticed the carpet was ripped up and the seats were in bad shape too. I hope they do a quick rehab to get it back in tip top condition! This show is too good to be in a semi-rundown theater!

By the time we left it was starting to get dark and the castle was all lit up! This is the pic Dale took but you all know it just doesn't do it justice!

(he's got to learn to take better night shots before we hit MNSSHP in Sept!)

So we left before Wishes because we were all tired and we wanted to be back at MK in the morning for rope drop!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Wow - you got a lot done at MK that night!! Sorry your night pictures didn't come out better - I was just looking through my photos, getting ready to import some new ones into photobucket, and I was thinking the same thing about my night shots. I wish mine had come out better too.

Yay for 95 days!! I hope you'll continue to post pre-trip updates here. I'd love to hear how your ADRs turn out. Are you going to try to book them online?

I came close to booking FREE DINING with my friend in late September, but it didn't work out for this year. There's so much going on in the fall with the kids getting back to school, etc. Maybe another time?

 

[dawnbu40]

Wow - you got a lot done at MK that night!! Sorry your night pictures didn't come out better - I was just looking through my photos, getting ready to import some new ones into photobucket, and I was thinking the same thing about my night shots. I wish mine had come out better too.

Yay for 95 days!! I hope you'll continue to post pre-trip updates here. I'd love to hear how your ADRs turn out. Are you going to try to book them online?

I came close to booking FREE DINING with my friend in late September, but it didn't work out for this year. There's so much going on in the fall with the kids getting back to school, etc. Maybe another time?

We had a new camera so we weren't real familiar with it and should have "practiced" with it more before we went! I am usually the family photographer but this year Dale was and Caitlin and I noticed that as the week progressed he took fewer and fewer pictures. I don't know if he got tired of it or what but the final days are short on pics!

As for Sept., I can't do tour adrs online because we booked through a travel agent. (I normally book it myself so this is taking a little getting used to!) The TA has offered to make them but I'm going to call in myself so I can know right away what we get and it will be easier then having to give her my 2nd and 3rd choices in case what we want isn't available. I'm sure it would be hard to get away at the start of the school year with young kids. (Heck its hard to get away at all when your kids are young! Ours is 18 and this is the first we've left her ) You'll get to go when they're older!

 

[MEK]

I agree...you got so much done in the MK. I couldn't do 1/3 of that in June. I am looking forward to September because I can't wait for low crowds.

I made my ADR's by calling on Monday. Then I went online. I can't believe how booked up everything is. I'm not completely happy with my ADR's. I really wanted Ohana's, and I could have eaten there, it if I wanted to eat at 9:30pm. That's a little too late for me.

 

[dawnbu40]

I agree...you got so much done in the MK. I couldn't do 1/3 of that in June. I am looking forward to September because I can't wait for low crowds.

I made my ADR's by calling on Monday. Then I went online. I can't believe how booked up everything is. I'm not completely happy with my ADR's. I really wanted Ohana's, and I could have eaten there, it if I wanted to eat at 9:30pm. That's a little too late for me.

I would hate going during peak season. I love the luxury of walking on rides or having minimal waits! Hopefully we'll both have low crowds in Sept!
I'm thinking Ohana will be our tough one too! For our May trip we tried for months to get a decent adr time and it never happened. We lucked out when someone posted on the Dis that they had one they wouldn't be using and they gave it to me! We enjoyed that meal so much, so we were very grateful! Keep trying though, something might open up!

 

[WrightFamily06]

Great update Sorry to hear about you being queasy on The Magic Carpets , I know exactly how you feel . The other rides you rode are some of our fav's also and how cool that your waits were so short ! I also tend to feel a bit queasy in Philharmagic when there riding on the magic carpet . LOL

 

[dawnbu40]

Great update Sorry to hear about you being queasy on The Magic Carpets , I know exactly how you feel . The other rides you rode are some of our fav's also and how cool that your waits were so short ! I also tend to feel a bit queasy in Philharmagic when there riding on the magic carpet . LOL

I always close my eyes at that part of Philharmagic!

 

[WrightFamily06]

I always close my eyes at that part of Philharmagic!

We must have similar stomachs

 

[MagicShell]

Sounds like a fun night at the MK. My husband doesn't ride the round and round rides either, but we did convince him to ride Dumbo last time. I think Dumbo is short enough that it didn't really bother him.

 

[dawnbu40]

Sounds like a fun night at the MK. My husband doesn't ride the round and round rides either, but we did convince him to ride Dumbo last time. I think Dumbo is short enough that it didn't really bother him.

Well maybe next time I am feeling brave I will give Dumbo a try then! I don't think I've ridden it since I was a kid. I usually sit that one out while Dale and Caitlin ride.

 

[dawnbu40]

I'm so excited and I've got to share our news with our Dis pals!! So tonight Caitlin was in our community's annual Summer Festival Beauty Pageant and WON!!!!! She won a 1200$ scholarship, a gift basket with hair care products and what every princess needs.....a tiara! The festival is next weekend so she gets to ride in the parade, judge the baby contest and do other special things at the festival all weekend. Our whole extended family was there to cheer her on and we were all so proud! I'll post some pics in the morning!

 

[NWOhioAngela]

Congratulations Princess Caitlin!

 

[PrincessCaitlin]

Thank you for the kind words!
As promised pics from last night

After I found out I won

After the Crowning

My Mom and I

My Dad and I

 

[NWOhioAngela]

That gown! Is that Dis Lime Green I see?!

 

[dawnbu40]

That gown! Is that Dis Lime Green I see?!

 

[PrincessCaitlin]

Day 6

Today we were headed off in search of Characters in Flight!

I was really excited to try this out! I had read about it on All Ears so I thought the view would be spectacular!
So when we got there we had to wait a little bit before we could purchase our tickets. You can't purchase your tickets until the balloon is docked again. We bought them and were on our way! If you don't like heights you shouldn't try this! The part you stand on shakes on the way up and down and one mom on it had to sit down!


My mom also opted out and went shopping while we were in the balloon


View of the Marketplace

View of Epcot

View of DHS and EE

You can see three of the parks but MK is blocked by the Contemporary

The Sorcerer's Hat in DHS

The Contemporary

The Grand Floridian

Typhoon Lagoon

Looking straight down at Pleasure Island

Saratoga Springs

Planet Hollywood

We had an amazing time! It was a great picture taking opportunity and it was awesome to see WDW from so high up! Next time we go my dad and I plan to go on it at night for a totally different experience!