Sooze's Surprise Trip for DS's 8th UPDATE! p.20 #287 11/3 Link to New TR p.19

[Sooze]

Great update, Sooze. Tyson looks really excited. I can only imagine how DD7 would look if she were going to Disney all by herself. I took her on the Lucas Oil Stadium tour all by herself on Saturday. She liked it, but I'm thinking that Disney would have been a better choice...

Hope school is going well for you. What grade are you teaching this year? I remember your saying that you'd be heading back to the classroom this year. We're done with six days of second grade and she's already telling me that she doesn't want to go! I'm thinking we'll have a long year!

Can't wait to see you again at the big meet in a little more than a week! And it's the day before my birthday!

Ooooh... how is the new stadium!?! It looks GORGEOUS on TV!!

School is going okay.. I'm in 3rd grade this year. Started the year wtih 28 kids, then they decided to add a SEVENTH teacher to our grade level! So I'm back down to 24. Great kids, love my teammates.. but just completely overwhelmed with the work load. Spending a year out of the classroom and in the tech lab gave me a taste of teaching without all the extras (papers to grade, report cards, parent phone calls, extensive lesson plans). I love my kiddos, but I'm struggling with the WORK!!

Looking forward to seeing you over the Labor Day weekend. Looks like it's gonna be a super DisMeet!!

I think the Donald picture was great, a Donald with an attitude.

Yes! Donald with an attitude for SURE! But, to me, that's EXACTLY how Donald himself would've responded. I thought it was genious!! (Did I spell that right?)

That is quite possibly one of the greatest/funniest moments I have ever read on the DIS! LOVED Donald's attitude! Glad Tyson perked up with his cupcake! Thanks for sharing!

For REAL! I still laugh when I think about it.

OMG, the Donald incident is hysterical!
Sounds like a great day!

It was a great day! Thanks for reading along!!

great picsof the new DVC at Con...i cant wait to see it in december.

loved the pics at chef mickeys.


looking forward to the pirate cruise.

hope things went well with it

Please take pictures of it and share in December... I'll be anxious to see how much further they've gotten.

Stay tuned for the Pirate Cruise...

 

[WDWBetsy]

Oh my... your short Donald story made me laugh so hard I had a coughing fit!!! Sooze, you do have a way of telling a story. That made my day.

Can't wait to read more.

 

[Sooze]

Oh my... your short Donald story made me laugh so hard I had a coughing fit!!! Sooze, you do have a way of telling a story. That made my day.

Can't wait to read more.

Sorry to make you cough. The fun thing is.. it was 5 times funnier when it actually happened!

Hope you guys made it safely to WDW. I'm sure you'll be catching an update on this TR by the time you return... hopefully!!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

That Donald story is too funny!!! Poor vertically challenged Donald!

Can't wait to hear about the pirate cruise!

 

[timandlesley]

Hi sooze,
What a FUN update! I can't believe how short that Donald was, you really get perspective on it when you see Ty next to him and then see Ty next to Mickey in the other picture. That interaction was halarious and LOVE the hand in your face picture and your reaction, what a fun meal. I'm hoping that becomes DVC at Contemporary too, but wonder how many points it will be to stay there!
Can't wait for the next update, you guys are having such fun!
Lesley

 

[TheDISneyFamily]

Hi Susie! Just catching up over here. Wow! Ty had some B-day trip! I bet he will remember this special vacation for a long, long time.

Have fun at the Indy meet! Wish we could go, but we already had plans this weekend. Maybe next year!

 

[JenSop]

Hi Sooze! Just getting caught up on your TR!

Awesome about the FP's!!! I know what you mean about not really even seeing the Dream Squad while down there - same for us. After getting back from the trip, I thought about renaming my TR "Oh Dream Squad, why hast though forsaken me?" (I so wanted to win something!)

Looking at the pictures, Brian and I were trying to figure out just how small that girl in the Donald costume must have been! She certainly played into it though!

Looking forward to the next update!

 

[Sooze]

That Donald story is too funny!!! Poor vertically challenged Donald!

Can't wait to hear about the pirate cruise!

I know.. it's a keeper of a story, isn't it?! Pirate cruise... comin' up!

Hi sooze,
What a FUN update! I can't believe how short that Donald was, you really get perspective on it when you see Ty next to him and then see Ty next to Mickey in the other picture. That interaction was halarious and LOVE the hand in your face picture and your reaction, what a fun meal. I'm hoping that becomes DVC at Contemporary too, but wonder how many points it will be to stay there!
Can't wait for the next update, you guys are having such fun!
Lesley

Yes.. the picture of Ty and Donald is a great way to see how really short he/she was!!

We've been talking with Susie, our DVC guide (we are thinking of adding on to AKL because of the amazing incentives they are offering) and we asked about Contemporary. Of course, she couldn't tell us anything about it, but mentioned that when it DOES open (yes... she, in so many words, kind of said this ) that the price per point will probably be pretty high, because there is a HUGE list of people that want to be called as soon as it becomes official. So who knows how many points it'll cost to stay there.. probably a ton!!

Hi Susie! Just catching up over here. Wow! Ty had some B-day trip! I bet he will remember this special vacation for a long, long time.

Have fun at the Indy meet! Wish we could go, but we already had plans this weekend. Maybe next year!

Michelle!! Where have you been?! It's time for a Lill Family trip soon, isn't it?! Thanks for catching up. And, yes, Tyson constantly talks about how this past birthday was the best, EVER!!
The DIS meet was fabulous! Check out the thread, you can see pictures. Hopefully you can make it to the next one. We'd love to have an official DIS Celebrity there...

Hi Sooze! Just getting caught up on your TR!

Awesome about the FP's!!! I know what you mean about not really even seeing the Dream Squad while down there - same for us. After getting back from the trip, I thought about renaming my TR "Oh Dream Squad, why hast though forsaken me?" (I so wanted to win something!)

Looking at the pictures, Brian and I were trying to figure out just how small that girl in the Donald costume must have been! She certainly played into it though!

Looking forward to the next update!

Ok.. THAT would've been a great title! Maybe next time?

 

[DisneyJo]

How fantastic to get given dream FP's I can't believe the amount of times we saw people at the end of the day wearing full FP's so many times I felt like saying to them that I'd take them off their hands

Donald sounds hilarious at CM's

 

[Blueyed Girl]

I was a bit behind (2 updates!!) We have evacuated from the hurricane and are now in a hotel in mid-Texas somewhere. Basically we are in the boonies!! There is nothing here. Anyhoo, the point is that we are safe and waiting to find out what will happen to our home.

Your updates had me smiling from ear to ear. Thanks for taking my mind off of things for a few minutes. How AWESOME that you guys got dream fast passes!! That was super nice of her and pretty neat that you guys were in the right place at the right time too. Looks like you guys had a lot of fun at Chef Mickey's. I love the Donald story. Too funny! Can't wait to read about the pirate adventure. I hope he got more excited by the next day.

 

[Sooze]

Good morning everyone! Time for a ride in the front of the monorail!! I'm on my way to a Pirate Cruise!!

We woke up easily this morning (thanks to turning in early the night before). Ty was excited about his upcoming adventure, but a bit apprehensive, as we knew he would be.

We took a bus to MK then hopped on the monorail to take it over to the Grand Floridian, where Ty would be launching. We were supposed to be there at 9am (for a 9:30 departure). We made it in plenty of time.. must be our excellent monorail-driving skills...

A monorail shot of the Contemporary construction:

An attempt at a family self-protrait while passing thru the Contemporary:

Since niether of us have ever been to the GF, we had to stumble around a bit to find our way back to the Marina. Of course, when we asked a CM, they were more than happy to help us find our way. When we got to the dock, we saw the 'ship' waiting for us:

Detail on back:

Tyson thought it was hilarious. He said, "That's not a ship.. it's a RAFT!!!" We checked in, paid, and got Ty's life jacket and pirate ears:

Can you see the look of concern on his face:

I think it was hitting him at this time that he was going to leave us behind. I know he thought the pirate thing was going to be fun, be the 3 of us were having so much fun together, he really didn't want to leave us. I think this pirate adventure would've been much more fun for him if we were allowed to come with, or if Shae was with him.

Several of the boys came with plastic swords, or other props. I felt bad that I hadn't gotten Ty anything (except his really expensive Captain Jack Sparrow shirt, but boys really don't care about shirts.. they want objects to swing around!) While we were waiting, Matt mysteriously disappeared. I thought maybe he had to deal with a cell phone call, but started to get nervous that he would miss the send off. Tyson got concerned, too. Then, luckily, Matt emerged from behind the Marina building with one of these:

See? I told you we spoiled him on this trip!

Time for a brief sword fight:

Finally, it was time to board... and Tyson made his way onto the ship with a bunch of yelling, jumping, raucous young men. It made me really see how calm, held back, reserved, and anti-social Tyson is... just like his Daddy!

The ship pulled away from the dock, sat there for a minute, then pulled back in... Apparently, a few people neglected to pay attention to the reporting time and waltzed in at 9:32... I HATE THAT!! We have been waiting around for 30 minutes because we PAID ATTENTION.. and now our poor sons have to wait for YOU because you didn't. GRRRRRR!!

AT LAST.. they set sail..

Time for a DIS MEET!!
I'll try to make a long story short.. but I had a dear friend in College named Brian.. we called him "E"... you don't need the explanation. Anyway... we reconnected on Facebook not too long ago and his Profile Picture was of him and his wife in Disney! Turns out, they just bought into DVC! THEN we find out we'll be there at the same time.. let's meet and say hi!!

So we planned everything out to meet at the GF while Ty was on his cruise. So here we are:

Wait, Sooze, you said this was a DIS MEET! Yes! It WAS!! See his lovely wife, Jen? She is a DISer! You may have seen her lingering on my TR... JenSop. So, not only did I get to say hey to an old friend, I got to have my first DISmeet. Unfortunately, we didn't get to visit for too long. Matt and I were going to do some research on DVC (we looking to add on points). Next time, E and Jen, we are doing dinner or something!!

We hung out with the DVC lady and asked her a few questions. She wasn't really helpful... we really needed to talk with our guide, who, after we tried to call her, turns out she's out for a few weeks following surgery, or something like that. So NOW what? Matt headed to the hammocks on the beach and I headed.. back to the marina! It's WATER MOUSE TIME!!

45 minutes of me, the boat, the water, and a pirate ship to follow

I got some great shots of the back side of Kingdom Tower:

Here's my shot, where I keep a part of my body in it, to help me remember exactly what I was seeing at the time:

And I had to take a picture of this:

Why? You ask. We have video footage of this very spot from 1978 (it's 8mm tape) when my family first came here and we stayed at the CR. We have video of all of us sitting on that hill watching the boats and water skiers go by. Pretty cool.


And, yes... I FOUND the pirates and did a bit of spying... Ty looked fine, but didn't look like he was completely having a ball. I even drove past his ship once, and he waved frantically at me.. with a BIG smile!!

Here are the pirates leaving a beach after doing some searching:

Apparently, the pirates went from beach to beach looking for pieces of a treasure map. Once they got all of the pieces, they put it together, then went and dug up the treasure. Pretty cool!

But what did Tyson think of it? How did he deal with a RAFT full of obnoxious boys? And what do we do next? Stay tuned!!

 

[jwwi]

The water mice are so much fun, I might have to do that again some time. I hope Ty reports that his pirate adventure was fun. Really great shot of the CR new construction. Maybe I will be lucky enough to stay there some day. Thanks for the fun updates and great pictures.

 

[MomofCKJ]

I hope he had a good time! He didn't look so enthused in some of your pictures! I wondered how it was and if my 6y old son would enjoy it.

Allyson

 

[Sooze]

How fantastic to get given dream FP's I can't believe the amount of times we saw people at the end of the day wearing full FP's so many times I felt like saying to them that I'd take them off their hands

Donald sounds hilarious at CM's

Crazy isn't it? Hard to believe people don't know about YOAMD.. how can you NOT?

I was a bit behind (2 updates!!) We have evacuated from the hurricane and are now in a hotel in mid-Texas somewhere. Basically we are in the boonies!! There is nothing here. Anyhoo, the point is that we are safe and waiting to find out what will happen to our home.

Your updates had me smiling from ear to ear. Thanks for taking my mind off of things for a few minutes. How AWESOME that you guys got dream fast passes!! That was super nice of her and pretty neat that you guys were in the right place at the right time too. Looks like you guys had a lot of fun at Chef Mickey's. I love the Donald story. Too funny! Can't wait to read about the pirate adventure. I hope he got more excited by the next day.

Oh, Blue... I'll be praying for your family. I just can't believe that area is getting pelted AGAIN. Seems like Katrina was just a while ago. Glad you're safe and are enjoying my updates!!

 

[Sooze]

The water mice are so much fun, I might have to do that again some time. I hope Ty reports that his pirate adventure was fun. Really great shot of the CR new construction. Maybe I will be lucky enough to stay there some day. Thanks for the fun updates and great pictures.

I love the water mice.. you just feel so free I know, I'm a DVC member and I think it will take a LOT of luck to stay there! (And lots of banking and borrowing of points!!)

I hope he had a good time! He didn't look so enthused in some of your pictures! I wondered how it was and if my 6y old son would enjoy it.

Allyson

I think Ty would've been more excited if he was more of an outgoing boy. The other boys were having a blast playing off of one another, even tho they didn't know each other. I also think Ty would've liked it more if he had a buddy to go with him. Since he's not very out-going, he kinda hung by himself, which is no fun for anybody! He didn't hate it, tho! He said he had fun, just not as much as others!

 

[PrincessV]

When we got to the dock, we saw the 'ship' waiting for us:

No way?!! This is SOOO much cooler than the "pirate" ship at YC.

Then, luckily, Matt emerged from behind the Marina building with one of these:

Matt rocks!

Finally, it was time to board... and Tyson made his way onto the ship with a bunch of yelling, jumping, raucous young men. It made me really see how calm, held back, reserved, and anti-social Tyson is... just like his Daddy!

I understand - Leo's like that until he feels comfortable too.

Time for a DIS MEET!!
I'll try to make a long story short.. but I had a dear friend in College named Brian.. we called him "E"... you don't need the explanation. Anyway... we reconnected on Facebook not too long ago and his Profile Picture was of him and his wife in Disney! Turns out, they just bought into DVC! THEN we find out we'll be there at the same time.. let's meet and say hi!!

Too cool!

So NOW what? Matt headed to the hammocks on the beach and I headed.. back to the marina! It's WATER MOUSE TIME!!

Good for you - this sounds fun!

But what did Tyson think of it? How did he deal with a RAFT full of obnoxious boys? And what do we do next? Stay tuned!!

I have to say, Leo's fellow cruisers were pretty subdued. of ocurse it was like 20 degrees out, but still.

 

[timandlesley]

Loved the update!!! I am dying to know what he thought of the pirate cruise. I have always wanted to put the kids on it but knew they would be apprehensive too. Our friends had their girls go this summer and I was shocked they didn't like it, I'm hoping he had a positive experience. Great you got to catch up with an old friend and a Dismeet at the same time. Any decisions made on the AKL add on? It is a great deal. Yes rumors for Contemporary are at 140-180 per point, too rich for my blood. I sure hope we can afford to stay there, would LOVE to! Can't wait for the update.
Lesley

 

[Sooze]

No way?!! This is SOOO much cooler than the "pirate" ship at YC.

Really? I would think they'd all be the same... hmmmmm...

Matt rocks!

And he especially rocks that the sword cost less than five bucks!

I have to say, Leo's fellow cruisers were pretty subdued. of ocurse it was like 20 degrees out, but still.

These boys were LOUD and wouldn't listen. As a teacher, I just wanted to get on that raft and lay the smack down... I'm glad Ty has the 'i need to be good' gene... just hope it doesn't keep him from having any fun.. know what I mean?

Loved the update!!! I am dying to know what he thought of the pirate cruise. I have always wanted to put the kids on it but knew they would be apprehensive too. Our friends had their girls go this summer and I was shocked they didn't like it, I'm hoping he had a positive experience. Great you got to catch up with an old friend and a Dismeet at the same time. Any decisions made on the AKL add on? It is a great deal. Yes rumors for Contemporary are at 140-180 per point, too rich for my blood. I sure hope we can afford to stay there, would LOVE to! Can't wait for the update.
Lesley

We are adding on !!! We sat down and crunched numbers... 100 more points a year.. plus 100 points to use in the next 12 months! SWEET!! Oh.. and a $500 gift card plus $800 towards our down payment. We just couldn't pass it up.

Hoping to update within a few days. Just so hard to find time now that I'm grading papers again for an hour a night...

 

[Hedy]

Looking forward to hear the results of the pirate cruise.
I saw your family in the Indy DISmeet thread-Shae is so big now!

 

[dddisrunner]

Great update Sooze! Hooray for Matt saving the day by buying Tyson that sword! I hope Tyson enjoyed the cruise, our boys did the one from the Yacht Club 2 years ago when they were 6&4 and they LOVED it! I was glad they had each other to go with though, so I completely understand why he was apprehensive! So great that you got to have a DIS meet/old friend meet! Looking forward to more!