SSRmonkey November 2012 Trip Report

[SSRmonkey]

Pre-dinner at Wetzels was excellent as usual. There used to be a ton of birds around there all the time fluttering around and being annoying. The two times I was there this week I haven't seen any. I wonder if they installed one of those noise things that only birds can hear to scare them away. Or maybe the new "Welcome Home" sign across the lake made them realize they would be much happier at SSR.

Koala insisted that he wanted a cinnamon and sugar pretzel, but I told him his paws would get sticky. He didn't care, so that's what we got. Sure enough, not even 30 seconds after his last bite he was complaining about his sticky paws. Even after washing them, he had pieces of napkin stuck to them all night. It's really tough to get the sticky out of fur!!

We headed back to DHS to use our FP for TSM. Dad got his highest score ever and it turned out to be the highest score of the hour! 232,800!

After celebrating we went over to check out the Osbourne lights. We made it in time to see the first light up for the night.

I really wanted an egg roll, but I was out of luck.

Yep, that's Santa in a cop car. Maybe he had a Meatball night with the elves.

We decided it was time for HTT. Koala hates this ride, but will agree to ride it once a year. He actually liked it this time and decided he wanted to try RRC again and leave his eyes open the whole time. He hasn't done that in years! I don't know what's gotten in to Koala. Maybe he found some Bailey's after all!

I thought I found the Sasquatch, but turns out it was Chewbacca. The blue eyes were what really made me believe it was the Squatch.

Then he started to talk and I realized it was Chewy. Koala speaks Wookie very well so he was able to translate for me and get some Squatch hunting tips from Chewy. Apparently they are attracted to lightsabers and lemon snow cones. We'll see...

After Muppets, we decided to head over to DTD. It was a happenin' place tonight. We went straight to Paradisio 37 for some dinner, starting with Mac and Cheese bites and some ShockTop beer for me.

After dinner, we saw a lady that looked like just like Barbra Streisand, but she was with some guy who wasn't James Brolin, so I figured it wasn't her and didn't ask for her autograph. We also saw the guys from the Geico commercials playing guitar and banjo. Ok, it wasn’t really them, but it looked and sounded like them. Maybe it was the beer I drank.

I think the highlight of the evening was a slightly intoxicated elderly woman dancing the night away to a Maroon 5 cover band. Nothing like an Adam Lavine wannabe serenading this woman with "Makes Me Wonder".

Today we are off to Epcot to see Figment and Nemo and hopefully fit in a Soarin too.

 

[SSRmonkey]

It was a great day to head to Epcot. The crowds were very low. First we went to Soarin to get FP and then headed over to Nemo and Figment. Koala begged us to let him go to Captain EO, but three outvoted one, so Koala had to settle for this Hooter instead of Captain EO's buddy...

Koala and Donald decided they should go get some margaritas, but Mom said it was too early. Koala insisted that it was 5:00 in Mexico, but I think he was a little off.

I was in the mood for some Kung Pow chicken, but I was vetoed on that too. Instead, I tried on a new hat. I like this one, it has a braid in the back and makes me feel better about my receding hairline. Maybe if I ever catch up with the Squatch he would donate some hair for me. There's got to be a Bosley hair transplant place around here somewhere.

Off to Japan for some Koi fishing. I brought my mini fishing rod, but was kicked off the dock before I could even get the bait on the hook. Koala created a diversion by running in front of the Segways that were on the tour of the World Showcase. He pretended he got stung by a bee and was going into shock. I snuck back to one of the other bridges and Koala had a miraculous recovery. I didn't have any luck with the Koi, though. Apparently Finding Nemo fruit snacks do not appeal to Koi fish.

These were from after "the diversion".

It's time to do some laundry. After that I think we'll probably eat dinner off property and head to Orange World to take some fruit home with us. MK is open until 1am, so I think it may be a late night tonight!

 

[disney212]

Love your TR! You always have such great pictures in your reports. WeI will be there in 31 days, we can't wait.

 

[SSRmonkey]

We had a change of plans today. After spending some time at the pool (which was still a little cold), we looked at the weather forecast. It turned out that it was going to be a perfect night for the Squatch hunt. So we scoped out some areas that we thought the Sasquatch might be hiding.

Along the way we found some discarded Squatch food. Either that or some really tiny Squatch scat.

We found a nice Squatch back scratcher or as Koala called it, the Squatch Scratch.

If I were a Sasquatch I think I would hide out near this bridge and vegetation. There's a lot of coverage there during the day and a little water under the bridge. You wouldn't have to leave all day!

I think this might be a Squatch print...It looks like he might be wearing Timberlands.

This is to Sasquatch what Charmin Ultra is to humans...

Mom and Dad decided to do some shopping tonight, so once it got dark, Koala and I set out for our hunt. I know, these glasses make us look like the Blues Brothers, but it was as close as we could come to night vision goggles.

And we're off...beware these pictures are a little grainy.

We decided that our "night vision goggles" were (surprisingly) having the opposite effect and we couldn't see anything. So we ditched them and moved on.

We tried to blend in to the scenery...

We snuck over to the bridge and waited...

I tried my Squatch call and I swear I heard something answer me. We disguised ourselves. I think Koala did a better job.

After a good three hours of hunting we thought we better get back. Besides, Koala was getting hungry and if anyone recalls, he gets a little like betty White in those Snickers commercials.

One last check...

We may have to go back to Bass Pro Shops for some camouflage and a camelback so Koala doesn't whine about being thirsty. Or we could just get one of these...

It would be very easy to hide under our cammo.

Tomorrow we aren't sure what we will do in the morning, but we are going to MVMCP tomorrow night! Between the excitement of the hunt tonight and the anticipation for tomorrow I hope I can sleep!

 

[Cee]

Oh my goodness, you guys are hilarious!

 

[Disney Princess]

Good efforts on the Squatch hunt! Too bad you didn't find anything. I hope you have a great time at the party tonight. Do you have festive outfits to wear?

By the way, Murder She Wrote just finished up. I thought of you when flipping channels.

 

[SSRmonkey]

Unfortunately I left my "I Ate Santa's Cookies" shirt at home. A gross oversight on my part, but I'm sure I'll find something suitable for Santa Mickey.

Today we went to Orange World so we could bring home some oranges and grapefruit and then experienced the Kissimmee police at their finest as they arrested someone outside the Nike Outlet store. I'm not sure if he stole stuff from Nike or made off with some french fries from Wendys next door.

We were hungry and decided to head to EoS. When we got there, though, the line was huge so we went to Captain Jack's instead. Dad got an open faced chicken parmesean sandwich and Koala and I split a Fuzzy Captain. It was delicious, but I have to make sure I don't drive on the Tomorrowland Speedway for a couple hours.

If you can believe it, Mom and Dad left Koala and I at the room and went to Pirate's Cove Adventure Golf at Crossroads. How rude! They were probably afraid we would try to throw golf balls onto I-4. Maybe a smart move on their part. They said it was awesome and Dad got a hole in one on the secret hole of the day and won a free game. Maybe when they go back to redeem it, they will take us with them.

Time to get ready for MVMCP! I can't wait. I'll take lots of pictures and drink lots of hot cocoa!!

 

[SSRmonkey]

Sitting in the snow on Main Street. It doesn't taste like the snow at home. At least it's not yellow.

 

[SSRmonkey]

Just got back from the MVMCP. I have over 300 pictures to sort through and will post the good ones tomorrow. Preview: I have proof that Duffy hates me. Dad and I got on the big screen. And there were real live Gypsies there tonight.

I have sugarplums dancing in my head. I hope they don't keep me up! Good night!

 

[SSRmonkey]

MVMCP was awesome!!! We arrived early, around 6 or so. Since the festivities hadn't started yet, we decided to head to Pirates first. Koala is disappointed that they took out the Dead Men Tell No Tales part, but I really like the mermaids. Koala narrated over top of the mermaids singing, though, and repeated the Dead Men Telll No Tales line at least 8 times before the plunge into the pirate battle.

Up next was BTMRR. It said it was a 30 minute wait, but we pretty much walked right on. It was excellent as usual and I'm glad they have the possums hanging from the trees again.

Then we headed to Haunted Mansion. By the time we were done there, it was cookies and hot chocolate time!!

Since I left my Christmas shirt at home I thought I at least better wear my light up Sorcerer Mickey hat.

After our snack, we headed over to Pooh. On the way there, we saw Scrooge McDuck. He makes Koala angry so we didn't stop for pictures. Surprisingly, Pooh was a walk on. The whole gang was there in the Hundred Acre Wood picture spot, but the line was so long. I knew Koala wouldn't make it, so we moved on.

The new queue for Dumbo is awesome. We stopped at the play area for a bit and then had a great flight on Dumbo. Then it was off to the Barnstormer. I don't know why we hadn't been on this before, but it's a really fun ride. I'm glad we gave our cookies some time to digest, though, before we went on. Especially since Koala tried out his knife throwing skills while we were in line.

We went over to Buzz. Dad had his best game ever and Mom had her worst. I think she only scored 9500 points. I don't know if her laser was broken or she just bit the big one. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt, but if it happens again I'm going to have to revoke her Buzz privileges.

We still had time to check out the Laugh Floor before the first parade. It was awesome!!! Dad got put up on the big screen as having the urge to get up and dance. I joined in and Buddy Boyle loved me!!! After dancing, he kept putting me back on the screen. Apparently he loves monkeys. It was so cool. I wish I had a picture, but I didn't have the camera out.

It was time to head over to see if we could find a spot for the parade. There were so many people there, but we found a spot near the castle. Until a giant who was standing behind us decided he needed to stand in front of us. I swear the guy was 6 foot 4 and was with a bunch of real live gypsies. I felt like I was on that TLC show, My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, without the wedding part. Since we could no longer see, we decided that we would try to get a better spot for the late parade and went to Cosmic Rays to get some chicken nuggets.

Once we were done eating, we got back to the front of the castle for a spot to watch the new Celebrate the Magic Show on the castle. My favorite part was when they made it look like a gingerbread house.

We stayed right there for the fireworks. Here are a few of my favorite shots.

Since we didn't see any of the first parade we thought we would find a seat for the late parade. We ended up at the base of Main Street right behind the Walt and Mickey Statue. It was the perfect viewing area.

Just waiting...

And waiting...

And waiting...

It was getting very chilly, so I'm glad the parade finally started!!!

Pluto said hi...

Some of you may recall that I have a bit of a bone to pick with Duffy. It goes back to when he first showed up on the scene at Disney. I think that he saw my TR and decided to steal my identity. I still haven't figured out how to prove it, but I did confront Duffy about it. Ever since, when we run into each other it's not pretty. I had to blur out his hand gesture to me in the parade. It's a good thing you can't see what signals I was sending to him...

Those pesky chipmunks were there too. Good thing I haven't run into them one on one this trip...

Gingie!!!

Oops! Wrong theme park!

I love the toy soldiers.

I think this was Prancer. Of all the reindeer, I think I would want to be Dasher or Comet, but not Prancer.

Santa!!! I know him!!!

I can't wait for Elf to be on TV. Probably in a week or so after Thanksgiving! Yipee! I agree with the 4 food groups. Candy, candy canes, candy corn and sugar!!

After the parade ended, we thought we better go see Mickey and Minnie.

By then it was pretty cold, so we decided that we would pick up some rice krispie treats and call it a night.

 

[Splashboat]

Love you TRs

 

[Cee]

We feel the same way about Duffy. And did you know....there is an "Elf - Musical!" Oh yes..... It was on Broadway last year and they might be bringing it back this year. Not sure. Maybe another field trip!

 

[SSRmonkey]

I didn't know about Elf the musical. I will have to check that out.

On our way home now. I have pictures from Epcot last night but was too tired to post when I got home. I will be sure to get them up tomorrow.

Now back to making sure Koala doesn't distract Mom and Dad while they are driving. Koala is my full time job.

 

[TIGGERmetoo]

Thanks for reporting - have a safe trip home.

 

[SSRmonkey]

On Friday morning we decided we better head to DHS for another round of TSM. We got there around 9, but it was pretty busy already. FP for TSM were up to 11:20! We decided we would get FP and then get right in line even though the wait said 60 minutes. It really wasn't too long, though, since FP return times hadn't started yet. We were only in line for maybe 40 minutes. I thought that was a good sign and that Dad would be able to beat his previous record. No such luck. In the dart popping part of the game, his gun wasn't working, so he lost out on a whole lot of points. It came back in the next round. He still had a pretty good game, but not quite like before.

After that we went over to Epcot to try to get FP for later that night. Epcot was supposed to be really busy, but it wasn't. FP were only up to 1pm, so we rode Nemo again and Figgy and hit up Club Cool.

FP were still only at 4pm and we weren't planning on going back until later, so we set off to try to find a Santa Mickey statue that Mom and Dad saw earlier in the week and finally convinced themselves to buy for our Mickey Christmas Tree room.

They should have learned their lesson before--there have been a few things over the years that they have seen and thought, "I'll get that later" only to find that when they are ready to get it, it's gone. After checking Mouse Gear and the Art of Disney with no luck, we thought it was going to be one of those things.

It was lunch time, so we wanted to try Earl of Sandwich again. We got there and the line was all the way to Mickey's Pantry! We couldn't figure out what was going on, but decided since it was the last day, we would get in line anyway. It took about 25 minutes to get through the line, but we were ok with that.

Mom discovered the kids menu and ordered a grilled cheese. She only eats half a sandwich when she goes there anyway, so I think she'll be ordering from the kids menu from now on. I got PB and J. It was excellent and the jelly blends in with my fur, so that makes it even better.

After a quick trip through Art of Disney and World of Disney and no Santa Mickey to be found, we knew were probably out of luck. So we consoled ourselves with a free piece of Ghiardelli. They had peppermint bark with chocolate on the bottom. Not quite as good as the pumpkin spice squares, but it made us feel better anyway.

We headed back to the room to pack up before heading back to Epcot for the evening. We sat outside for dinner at the Big River Grille. I love that place and since I was just going to be riding in the bag and not walking, Dad let me try a beer sampler. Rocket Red Ale is my favorite.

On the way to Epcot we passed the Screen Door on the Boardwalk and what was in the window???? Santa Mickey!! Woo hoo! So we went in and asked. After about 10 minutes, the lady came back and said they didn't have any more. So Mom asked if they could buy the one in the window. The lady said no--it was for display only. Come on! We couldn't catch a break!

While we were enjoying our relaxed backpack ride to Epcot, Koala was playing around with Mom's phone. He looked like he was up to no good, but I couldn't catch a glimpse of what he was up to.

The last time Koala was left unattended with a phone, he ordered P90X, a Ninja blender, and a Slap Chop. This time, he used his smartphone skills for good and found Santa Mickey online at the Disney Store and was able to get free shipping and a Disney Visa discount. He made Mom's night!!

The line for Soarin was about 65 minutes, but since it was our last night, we decided that we might as well wait. The time was pretty accurate, but it was worth the wait. We entertained the crowd with some karaoke while we waited. You should see our version of "Call Me, Maybe".

Then we headed out for a quick trip around the world. It may be hard to tell, but this is a beaver hat. I don't know why this was in Germany and not Canada, but who is going to argue with the Germans, eh?

These bears looked like they wanted out of there.

Italy looked pretty with its holiday decorations.

I don't know if this an owl, a monkey, or a human...

Koala saw these mini swords and thought they would be really great for sword fighting.

We play speed slice on the Wii all the time, so he thought it would be fun to have real swords to chop things with. Mom didn't agree, so they stayed in Japan.

It was getting late and we had to get up early to go home in the morning, so we headed back through the International Gateway. A trip wouldn't be complete, though, without a trip to Beaches and Cream!

We got up around 5 and were on the road by 6am. I always hate the ride home. It's about 17.5 hours to get home. It could be worse, but the only thing to look forward to is seeing the cat and my Grandparents. Mom and Dad have to go back to work which means that I am stuck watching Koala all by myself during the day. At least there will be Bond-a-Thons on soon and marathons of NCIS and American Pickers.

Although it doesn't look like it, Chloe was happy to see us.

Even though we would rather stay at WDW than come back to reality, we are definitely grateful for the time we can spend there together. We can't wait for our next trip which will have to be sometime before the end of April if we want to get one more trip out of our annual passes.

Thanks for following along with our adventures.

Find me on FB--SSRMonkey Jones.

 

[Chellymouse]

What a fabulous adventure! Looks like you and Koala had a great time! Hope you had a safe trip home! Evil cat Chloe didn't appear to be enjoying her gift of the Mickey hat! Hope Koala behaves for you when mom and dad aren't home!

 

[Shazzasmd]

I always check for a new SSRmonkey report when I stop by here - was happy to find this one!

Glad you had such a wonderful trip - really enjoyed reading about your adventures with Koala (and Mom & Dad)

 

[helenk]

Thank you so much for another great trip report. Your ice cream looks yummy. Mint chocolate chip ice cream with choc chip cookies?
I think that is enough to make me take a break from Weight Watchers when I go in December.

 

[SSRmonkey]

Check out my night vision gear!!

I already tried it out in the backyard. I had Dad put on our Nittany Lion suit so he could better simulate a Squatch and had him run around the backyard. I didn't miss a move! I'm going to go get my winter gear on and sit out by our barn tonight and see if there are any Squatches running around in the grapes.

If nothing else, I'll be prepared for our next trip to SSR. I'm thankful for awesome parents!

 

[Chellymouse]

Love the night vision goggles!! If you're ever in NE Ohio, stop by to see if my DH really is the squatch....he might show up in the night vision goggles!