Starting 2007 Off Right - Final Day is Up!!! Pg 16!

[goofymania101]

I love your trip report! nice characters! I've been looking for Max FOREVER! Can't waito to read more!

courtney

 

[distrekker]

Enjoying your trip report. We suffered a miscarriage on our first pregnancy - but now have two boys (5 yrs and 18 mos!) We went to WDW in 2000 for a Valentine's trip just the two of us . . . Then had the babies and were there again just this last October 2006 - I must say it is such a different experience w/ kids vs. w/out! Enjoy the time you two have together alone . . . as when those kiddos arrive - there isn't time for anything!! Our 5 year old fell in love with Disney - it was amazing to see it through his eyes! Keep up the good writing - can't wait to hear more. . .

P.S. Okay . . . it is April and we had SNOW in Minnesota this week - today was 25 degrees for the high and zero windchill!? What gives?!?!? I hope OH is warmer!

 

[allie_to_you]

Great TR! Can't wait to read more. I love the pics!

(our meal at Crystal Palace in 2005)

Keep us posted & good luck with the house selling!

 

[AshleyMWC]

I started you TR a while ago, but re-read the whole thing again today to refresh my memory, I love it!!

You guys remind me so much of my DBF and I. We started dating about 2 weeks before my senior prom, and we are now going on almost 8 years together...yikes!! We both LOVE WDW and we love eating and drinking well when we are there. Maybe one day our paths will cross in the World

Keep the TR coming, I am loving it!!!!

 

[TifffanyD]

Very cute pics! Sounds like you guys have a lot of fun! I clicked through to see the pics and then took note of your location when I saw flight out of Cleveland. I'm in Mentor too! Going in September as well - staying at POP

 

[arizonacolbys]

Hello there!! It's been WAY too long!!! Things have been just crazy in my world & I've tried to go back & write more SO many times, and well, it just hasn't happened!!

So, a little update - we are still trying to sell our current house - we accepted an offer on it about a month ago & went thru the home inspection & everything, only for our buyer's financing to fall through. We had already gotten a storage unit & started boxing stuff up since he needed us out within like 4 weeks, too. So, after our house was off the market for almost 2 weeks, we had to put it back up & start over again. During this whole process we had moved up our build date on our new house, which we have now had to bump back to at least October instead of our scheduled August move-in date.

It's been a really cruddy couple of weeks with this all going on......so what are ya gonna do, when you're feeling blue???











Plan another trip to Disney!!! So, with all the stress we've been under lately with this madness, when the Free Dining promo was announced for real it really got me thinking that we could use another trip to see Mickey. I mean, we already have AP's good until 9/23/07, we now won't be moving in August like we thought & then you throw the Free Dining on top of it - count me in!! As soon as I brought it up with hubby, he was totally on board!! I thought I might need to "talk him into it," but that's what's so great about us - we're usually on the same page with these things!!

So, we had several things to plan around to utilize our AP's & Free Dining - hubby has his Annual Drill training for the Guard for 3 weeks this year (instead of the usual 2) & they're in August this year instead of July. On top of that, he has inventory that he can't miss at work the 2nd & 3rd weeks of September. I originally booked us for 9/10 - 9/20 - then found out about the inventory. So, I instead booked us from 8/26 (first day of Free Dining & 2nd day after hubby will have been away for 3 weeks!) thru 9/5/07 at POP Century!!

The good news with the change is that I found cheaper airfare & got that booked - some of the cheapest we've had in years - $150/person, roundtrip, non-stop to MCO. That combined with 10 nights at POP means our trip will only cost us $1,300 (not counting any spending money for drinks & souvenirs we may "need" along the way!) So, while I've been busy planning our 10th trip to the World together, I've started working on my trip report from January - I want to get it complete before the upcoming trip!!!

 

[arizonacolbys]

You definately have an excuse then! We are looking to sell our house in July (right after we get back from WDW)... We are looking to buy something bigger... I almost have a hard time focusing on things now-- and mine is that far away too!

Have a great weekend!

Good luck to you both in selling - it is definitely the most stressful & frustrating thing we have ever gone through. I hope the market picks up soon & you sell quickly!!!

Awesome TR, can't wait for the continuation!

Thanks for following along!

Can't wait to hear more! We love POP too. Interested to hear how you liked CBR.

Well.....I'll tell ya all about it, but we ended up missing POP!!!

Hope the house hunting/buying is going well...

Still plugging along at it - thanks for readin!

Emily,
Good luck on the house deal. Keep writing as you find the time...it's a great report!

Thanks!

Your report has me thinking we shoud do Crystal Place... we have never ate there, and I am sure our would like it.

Can't wait for more!

Crystal Palace is a must do for us every trip - we've been cutting down on character meals these last couple trips & Crystal Palace still doesn't get cut from our list!! The food is always delish there!!

subscribing!!

Happy to have you here!

I tend to be the same way as you, and Dh just like your hubby. I hate to iron and IF it's really needed, guess who irons for me....LOL...Yes DH. What can I say, He loves me!

LOL - that's great...I'll have to see if mine wants to iron for me!!

Hi!

I just found your trip report and read all of it I really like it and can't wait to read more!

Thanks!!

Just bumping you up to Page 1.

More to come soon, I promise!!

I started reading your pre-trip awhile ago...
I'm just getting caught up on your TR. Great Job so far... you have me hooked again!!!
Can't wait for more!

-nat

Thanks!!

 

[arizonacolbys]

You guys are so cute! I love it so far!
Me and my BF spent a lot of time at the UK last summer with a pint and some bealtes action!

Thanks! We really spend a lot of time in the UK - hubby loves the Rose & Crown & we just love relaxing in the evenings there with the Beatles.

I just found your trip report and I'm loving it

Thanks!!

I am really enjoying your trip report, and can hardly wait to read more. The pictures are great also. Congratulations on the new house.

Thanks - we're very excited about it...at this rate, we just hope to move into it in 2007!!

Just found your TR. I am sorry for your loss. Here is wishing you pregnancy dust Good luck on the whole house thing. Cannot wait to read more!

Thank you!!

Loving your TR! It is helping me not go crazy till our trips that are coming up!

I always get hooked on everyone's reports for the same reason!!

Yayyy, your trip report is lots of fun! You look so warm and cosy in your pink sweats!!

Plus, I now officially want some blue crocs!

LOL - I used to hate those Crocs, but I tell you they are SO comfortable - I'm looking at the new flip flop Crocs before our August trip!!

I love your trip report! nice characters! I've been looking for Max FOREVER! Can't waito to read more!

courtney

We've seen Max a couple times - I think he's even in Toontown at MK sometimes.

Enjoying your trip report. We suffered a miscarriage on our first pregnancy - but now have two boys (5 yrs and 18 mos!) We went to WDW in 2000 for a Valentine's trip just the two of us . . . Then had the babies and were there again just this last October 2006 - I must say it is such a different experience w/ kids vs. w/out! Enjoy the time you two have together alone . . . as when those kiddos arrive - there isn't time for anything!! Our 5 year old fell in love with Disney - it was amazing to see it through his eyes! Keep up the good writing - can't wait to hear more. . .

P.S. Okay . . . it is April and we had SNOW in Minnesota this week - today was 25 degrees for the high and zero windchill!? What gives?!?!? I hope OH is warmer!

LOL - nope, we went to the Indians Opening Day the first week of April & it got SNOWED OUT!!!! We were frozen!! It felt like we should be at a football game instead!!

 

[arizonacolbys]

Great TR! Can't wait to read more. I love the pics!

(our meal at Crystal Palace in 2005)

Keep us posted & good luck with the house selling!

I love the santa hats on the topiaries at CP!! Thanks!!

I started you TR a while ago, but re-read the whole thing again today to refresh my memory, I love it!!

You guys remind me so much of my DBF and I. We started dating about 2 weeks before my senior prom, and we are now going on almost 8 years together...yikes!! We both LOVE WDW and we love eating and drinking well when we are there. Maybe one day our paths will cross in the World

Keep the TR coming, I am loving it!!!!

Thanks!! We just celebrated 11 years together on 5/4 & our 7 year wedding anniversary was on 5/13. Do you have any upcoming trips planned?!

Very cute pics! Sounds like you guys have a lot of fun! I clicked through to see the pics and then took note of your location when I saw flight out of Cleveland. I'm in Mentor too! Going in September as well - staying at POP

How funny!!! Where do you live in Mentor? We live out past the Marsh in the Headlands area. Trying to build a new house over in Painesville right now. When will you be at POP in Sept? We'll be checking out 9/5!


Day 3 on the way!!!

 

[arizonacolbys]

Friday, Jan 19th~

We decided to grab a quick breakfast at POP Century this morning on our way out to MGM for a 9 am opening. This really felt like sleeping in to us, since we are usually early risers there to enjoy all of the morning EMH’s that we can!! We both really miss having a different park open early every day – we just haven’t had good luck with evening EMH’s – always much bigger crowds & I think I’m too tired & grouchy by that time of the day to feel like dealing with it. LOL

We always enjoy the breakfast at POP Century – it’s always tasty & a good value that keeps us satisfied for a few hours. I believe I had the Adult Breakfast Platter which consisted of Scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes, a biscuit, sausage (which I requested them to keep – LOL) & bacon that I gave to hubby. He got one of the omelets – I believe he had the Western Omelet - & he really enjoyed it!

I had originally planned on heading to AK this morning, but since we still hadn’t been to MGM (after blowing off the evening EMH the night before) we decided it should be less crowded there today after everyone else went there the night before for EMH! So, you'll have to wait another day to hear about our adventures with the Yeti!

We got to MGM right around opening & it was a bit odd to not be able to run straight to Rock’n’Roller Coaster! We usually run & do that one first (it's my favorite! ), then follow-up with Tower of Terror (hubby’s favorite ride there.) I know I complained earlier in my trippie about this, but MGM is really our least favorite park.

We LOVE Tower of Terror, Rock’n’Roller Coaster and of course, Muppet Vision 3-D, but we can just never find enough there to keep us busy very long. We always do the Great Movie Ride once every trip, but usually that’s enough for us & I also love doing the Animation tour to get a chance to draw a character at the end – I always have fun with that! We both get deathly ill on Star Tours & have been on the Backlot Tour too many times – it’s just not the same since they cut half the ride out to build the theater for the new stunt show. We also try to see the stunt show once a trip, but I think they have too much down time in this show – it’s cool when the cars are driving around, but gets looooong when they’re killing time between set changes. And, as much as I like Indy Jones, I really wish they could update this show!!! We’ve seen the same one for 10-15 years, with no changes! Add to this list the absence of very many good restaurants & MGM has become a part-time park for us. We’re always there for a couple hours in the morning, or evening, but never more than that. We frequently leave here to go & eat elsewhere!

Enough rambling about that….our first stop was Tower of Terror – I believe we may have even done this one twice. The line was definitely longer than usual with Rock’n’Roller Coaster out of commission – I think having these 2 major rides so close together really helps to diffuse the crowds a bit. I really used to be terrified of this ride, but have really learned to enjoy it. Hubby has always loved it & I think he loves dragging me on it just to laugh at me when I grab onto his arm for dear life & scream throughout the ride. LOL

After Tower we headed to one of my favorites – Muppet Vision 3D!! I love getting here early enough to enjoy the pre-show, but we got there just in time to head into the theater, so we knew we’d catch it later in the trip. I loved this show as usual! It could use some updating – it doesn’t have some of the cool effects the newer Philharmagic has - but I still love it!!!

Here is hubby in front of the At-At Walker by Star Tours:

We, of course, went in the Star Wars shop to scope out their merchandise – we both love the Star Wars movies, both having grown up watching the movies – so, it really sucks that we can’t go on the ride without being ill the rest of the day! LOL I think hubby got another Star Wars t-shirt here today.

While killing some time before the first Indiana Jones Stunt Show, we ran into these guys!

Lightning McQueen & Mater:

Some pics of Dr. Jones in action…

After the stunt show, we strolled thru the shops on the way out & decided to head back to POP Century to relax for a bit & decide where to head for the second half of the day.

 

[*MickeyFan*]

YEA your back! Can't wait to hear more about your trip

 

[*MickeyFan*]

Great update. We did a lot of things this year at MGM that we had never done before, including the stunt show... I don't think we would go back to it unless they change it. It was cool, but I agree the inbetween set up stuff takes tooo long! I had to go on TOT by myself this year (did the baby swap) I was soo scared! I sat next to an older couple, I held onto the side handle for dear life and screamed! We are going to be going back just DH and I in Jan.... Can't wait to ride the rides with him again! jen

I am very excited to know you are back and plan on finishing your TR

 

[ReneeDisney]

Great update! and so glad to hear you have another trip to Disney to look forward to and plan for!
Enjoying the report- can't wait to read more!

 

[Marc A.]

Love your trip report and your planning style. My DW and I had been to DW twice together before we had kids and your reports really bring us back to those days. Alot of freedom to do what you want and at a pace that suits you. Take advantage of those days while you can and keep reporting!!!!

 

[tinawv]

Ready for more.

 

[arizonacolbys]

Well, it was finally warming up a bit this afternoon, so we headed back to POP Century & got changed into t-shirts & shorts for the afternoon. We decided it would be a good day to head over to Downtown Disney for a couple hours to start scoping things out (& a stop at Goofy’s Candy Company wouldn’t be a bad idea either! LOL ) We always go to Downtown Disney at least 2-3 times every trip to WDW. Our first shopping trip is usually to enjoy finding all kinds of great souvenirs that we just have to have, but we usually don’t really buy anything (unless we find some awesome deal on clearance! ) on that first trip.

On this trip to the World of Disney, I ended up purchasing a cute long-sleeve thumper shirt that I really liked & decided I was going to need sooner rather than later after watching the CHILLY weather forecast!! Brrrrrr…… We also headed over to Goofy’s Candy Company for some tasty treats!! I created a giant peanut-butter filled Oreo, covered with Milk Chocolate, dipped in M&M’s & drizzled with White Chocolate. Mmmmmm….wish I had one of those right about now!! And, I also created 3 chocolate dipped pretzel rods – my favorite pretzel rods are the ones dipped in chocolate & covered with chopped peanuts or just the colored sprinkles. Hubby created a Mickey Rice Krispie Treat covered with Milk Chocolate & dipped in Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups & also a set of dipped pretzel rods of his very own. These are so fun to have made & make for tasty snacks in the room throughout the week – a bite here, a bite there. They’re all too rich to really eat in one sitting.

After our relaxing afternoon at Downtown Disney, it was back to POP Century before heading back to a park. We really wish you could get Disney transportation back to a park from Downtown Disney, and vice versa, but understand the issues with the trying to do that. Upon returning to POP, we got our handy-dandy, refillable mugs refilled with some beverages & nibbled on our tasty treats from Goofy’s before getting ready to head back out again. We quickly realized that it was not going to remain warmer for very long & since it was an Evening EMH at Epcot – meaning we could be out until the wee hours – we decided it best to put on long pants & throw our hoodies in the backpack to take along with us for the evening.

We missed out on eating at one of my favorite restaurants during our September trip, so it was on our must-do list this trip – we were headed to Beaches & Cream! We decided the easiest way to get there from POP was to hop the bus to MGM since it is the closest park – only a 5 minute bus ride – and then either stroll or catch a ride on the boat over to the Beach Club Resort to get some grub.

We really enjoy this restaurant & really wish they would expand & accept ADR’s!! LOL We were happy to get a seat in one of the booths – last time we were seated at one of the tiny tables in the middle. We both got the same thing for our early dinner – 2 Diet Cokes & 2 Cheeseburgers with Fries. For dessert, I got the No Way Jose – it is just delicious!! I LOVE it!!

Hubby wanted to try something different this time, so he got a revised Banana Split – no strawberry ice cream in it for him.

Of course, 2 desserts was way too much for either of us to come close to finishing, but we were on vacation, so we enjoyed ourselves.

After our tasty meal, we took our time strolling over to Epcot on our full guts. We stopped off in the UK since we were already on that side of the park to catch a daytime showing of the British Invasion. They really are a big highlight to our visits to Epcot. We have learned that they tend to do the same set each night at 8 pm or the same set every day at 3 pm – so, it is fun to catch them playing at different times throughout our stay to hear a wide variety of Beatles hits. I’m not sure if this varies throughout the year, but we found it to be true on our last two trips. For example, they always seem to play Its Yer Birthday every night during their last set. They usually get a lot of audience interaction with that one!

After taking in another great show, we walked over to get FP’s for Soarin’ & went over to see the Living Seas with Nemo & Friends again & rode Figment to kill some time before our FP time at Soarin’. I believe we also got a ride in on Test Track before heading back to the World Showcase for the evening. Since Epcot was open until midnight with the Evening EMH, we decided it might be a good evening to enjoy some beverages around the World. I started out with a delicioso margarita in Mexico – I got a Mango one this time which was pretty tasty – my only disappointment being that they put salt on my rim instead of the sugar I requested & I just didn’t think it went well with the mango. Hubby tried to get a lime margarita, but they were all out of them at the stand in Mexico & he didn’t want to go wait in another line for one at the Cantina.

So, it was off to Germany for hubby to get a German beer while I enjoyed my Mango Margarita. We sat in Germany for awhile to just relax & take in the sights & then strolled around World Showcase some more. We stopped off in Morocco for a favorite drink of mine – a Tangerine drink that you go inside the Moroccan counter service location to get – back at the little coffee/snack counter they have in the back. I can’t remember what it’s called right now – hopefully, it’ll come to me later – but it is Delicious!! It’s made with fresh fruit juice & is actually one of the cheapest drinks I’ve gotten around the World. Sometimes it even comes in a cute plastic souvenir glass that says Morocco on it. I highly recommend checking it out if you enjoy a sweet drink!!

Since Epcot was open late & we didn’t have to worry about the mass exodus at park closing, we were able to enjoy Illuminations that night. I know many of you here love Illuminations, but it is my least favorite of all the evening shows. Some of the pyrotechnics are really amazing, but I don’t like the amount of time spent on the globe in the center of the lake. I find it hard to even see what’s going on on the face of the globe unless you have staked out seats way in advance for the show & it gets a little slow during that time. I just think they could update parts of this show to get it moving a little better during the globe sequence. (Donning my flame retardant suit…. )

Due to the chilly weather, I know we didn’t really make it much later than Illuminations. We did get to enjoy our evening, and didn’t have to rush out with the crowd after the end of Illuminations. We had to get back to bed for our early date with the Yeti, after all….

 

[IluvXU]

I am glad you are back... sorry about the house not being sold, but for planning another trip. We did make ADRS for Crystal Palace too!

 

[LITTLEKID58]

TFS

 

[TifffanyD]

How funny!!! Where do you live in Mentor? We live out past the Marsh in the Headlands area. Trying to build a new house over in Painesville right now. When will you be at POP in Sept? We'll be checking out 9/5!

I love out by Lake Catholic off Belflower (Independence Place) but my boyfriend and I are moving to an apartment in Willoughby off Lost Nation (Tamarac) in August! We are going 9/9-9/17... we were going to go that first week but there was a wedding that refuuuused to change it's date to suit our vacation . So glad you get to go back and can't wait to read the rest of this report!

 

[Amber74]

I'm having fun reading your TR knowing that I was there the same time as you and froze my butt off too. We actually had 1 day warm enough for the water park but that was in the beginning of the trip. I also went to the P&P party on the 22nd. Then I read you were going back for free dining. I'm going back for that too with adults only this time though. We will be staying at Pop for the first time. How funny. Keep em coming