Surprise!! We laughed, we cried, we lost a child, we did American Idol!! FINISHED

[MEK]

Love your TR and the fact that I can see half your pictures at work makes it a bonus. cute kids. congrats on winning AI.

 

[LAH LAH]

The phone rings...and rings...and rings...I open my eyes...Where are we? Good gravy, we are sleeping in Disney beds!!!! This is no dream! Finally, Elsa rolls over and answers the phone. Stitch is on the line to cause trouble and wake us up. And away we go. Another day at Disney!

This morning finds us without a gross toilet story...and for that I am thankful.

Now, we have done Disney as a trio before, but this would be the first time going it alone after three days of tag teaming. I wasn't sure what to expect but I shouldn't have been nervous. We make a good team and the kids are good kids...and for this I am thankful again!

For some odd reason we seem to skim over Animal Kingdom and we didn't want to make that mistake again. We were going to make it to the opening no matter how tired, groggy, and whooped we were. So there we were all lined up at the turnstiles about 10 families back from the front waiting for that opening music...and what do I see? 2 cast members slowly walking to covered turnstiles. We quickly ditched our line and find ourselves at the front of our own line!

We wait for the go ahead and through the gates we go...speed walking, skipping, all but running towards the Tree of Life...and then there it is in front of us...the rope. We must have been really speedy because only 2 or three other families are waiting. A nice elderly cast member approaches us and asks if we will be heading to Kilamanjari Safari first. I replied "We will go anywhere you ask us to if you pick us for the show". That must have been what he wanted to hear because next thing we knew we were on the other side of the rope!!!

With in a few minutes the crowd grew to a pretty big size.

And then the safari truck pulled up:

It was our job to carry the rope behind the truck as it slowly made its way to the Kilamanjari Safari:

Watching the show on the safari truck before doing our rope responsibilities:

And then the truck started its trek and we proudly did as told. There were a ton of people behind us and they didn't like the speed at which the truck was going and they were nipping at our heels the whole time. I didn't dare turn around for fear of being trampled, but raised my camera high in the air and took this photo:

And then it was over. Our 10 minutes of fame came to an end So we rode the safari...boy what a difference riding this with a chill in the air...it seemed like ALL the animals were out to see. We enjoyed the safari so very much!

When we exited the ride we ran into a mother and daughter we had chatted with in the turnstile line and we decided to go as a group and ride Expedition Everest and Dinosaur...and Badda-Bing, Badda Boom we enjoyed them both in about 20 minutes!

Coming out of Dinosaur we stumbled upon a great side show...Dip, Smear, and Splat. We stopped to watch and Elsa got singled out to help with the show. They even gave her a certificate as an honoray Dip, Smear, and Splat member.

Elsa cherishes these certificates and I didn't want to carry it every where so we ducked into a market and bought a $3.95 magnet and had the lot shipped to our resort. And away we go!

Primeval Whirl was next in line and our new found friends needed to ditch us for breakfast. We were sad to see them go...but we charged on!

We grabbed some pizza lunch...and got the classic AK picture:

We were very interested in finding Devine. So we inquired as how to make sure we wouldn't miss her. One cast member said wait here...another said over there...another was coy...and then a lovely lady cast member told us where she would be coming out from, and when she would appear! Thank you lovely lady...we would have missed it without you. We waited and then she was there!!! She was beautiful and graceful. We watched her and followed her for all 20 minutes she was out. Elsa and I didn't want it to end. Michael watched from afar and was amazed.

Can you see her face?

Her right leg and arms are supporting her...that is her left leg above her head!

Michael was amazed, but kept his distance. I think he was afraid she would trip over us.

We could have watched her all day!

We decided to see the Flights of Wonder but we had about 40 minutes till the next show, so we decided to kind of mill around. That wasn't one of our better choices. The sun was shining down hard, it was crowded in that area, and we didn't have a real plan. All of this equalled a complete overload for Michael...we were patient and tried to work through it and we made it until we only had 10 minutes to go...thankfully a cast member saw our GAC and allowed us to sit in the empty shaded building while the pre-show went on. It was a perfect time for Michael to become refreshed. It is this kind of thoughtfulness that allows the "Michaels" of this world to enjoy Disney in the same fashion that the "Elsas" do.

It was a wonderful show. And these were the kids favorites:

We had to leave today by 4 in order to make it to our only sit down meal. It was at Down Town Disney's Planet Hollywood. We were dissapointed to find out that we would miss the afternoon parade as it started right at 4. Our time was quickly running out so we scheduled to do Lion King (fantastic) and ride EE just one more time. With both of those complete we had just enough time to get Elsa's hair wrapped. That was the most expensive yarn I have ever purchased.

4 o'clock came too quickly for us but we didn't want to miss our 5 o'clock reservation so we headed for the busses...but wait...there is no bus here for Down Town Disney. I checked the board again. Yup...no DTD bus. What do we do now? I asked a smart looking lady and she said to take a bus to the transportation/ticket center and catch it there. So we followed the smart looking ladies advice and just made it on the bus before it pulled away. Standing room only, but I didn't care 'cause our problem was solved. Or was it? We chatted with a family whos 5 year old son was curious about the orange things firmly planted in Michael's ears. Michael took them out and showed them to him and then gave him one of the new sets from his pocket to keep...but only if he promised to obey his mom if she said he had to give them to her. You would have thought those earplugs were gold...the boy LOVED them!

While we chatted with earplug boy's faimly we told them how our crisis was averted by taking this bus...only to be informed that THIS STOP DOES NOT HAVE A BUS FOR DOWN TOWN DISNEY!

Up Next: Would we make it to our dinner reservation on time?

 

[nessz79]

Loving your family and the trip report so far!!

 

[mom_of_3_70737]

I am loving your TR Keep it coming!

 

[Paparazzimama]

GREAT trip report!!!!! Hanging on for the next post . . .

 

[LAH LAH]

Love your TR and the fact that I can see half your pictures at work makes it a bonus. cute kids. congrats on winning AI.

Loving your family and the trip report so far!!

I am loving your TR Keep it coming!

GREAT trip report!!!!! Hanging on for the next post . . .

Thanks guys!

 

[DearDaisyinDurham]

LOVED the pictures!! What a neat thing to get picked for opening, so wonderful seeing the smiles!! (the crowds were scary though!!)

 

[LAH LAH]

LOVED the pictures!! What a neat thing to get picked for opening, so wonderful seeing the smiles!! (the crowds were scary though!!)

They were on a mission...one to trample us! It was a wonderful treat.

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Love your trippie so far! Can't wait to hear more.

Mind if I ask how much it was to set your daughter's pearl in the ring? I think my daughter would love this. Also, did it fit her finger well?

 

[LAH LAH]

Love your trippie so far! Can't wait to hear more.

Mind if I ask how much it was to set your daughter's pearl in the ring? I think my daughter would love this. Also, did it fit her finger well?

Not at all!

The oyster is $14.99. If yours is a dud you get to pick a new one. Some have 2 inside. We saw about 20 being opened and 2 had double pearls! We saw white, champagne, and one rare blue/silver pearl. They measure it, clean it, and bag it for you.

Average size is 6.5 mm and the largest they have ever opened there was 9.75mm.

They had ring, necklace, earring, pendant, pin, money clip, cellphone pendants, and cuff link settings...and probably more I don't remember. They had yellow gold and sterling silver. Elsa's ring was $29.50 (that did not include the $14.99 pearl). She was looking at another setting but they informed her that they didn't have it in her size. I am not sure if the one she chose was the only one they had in kid sizes...it was her second choice. It fits perfectly!

My mom's necklace pearl cage was $17.50. The chain was not included. I thought it was very reasonable. For under $50 Elsa got a souvie/ring she will actually use.

It took them about 15 minutes to mount it. I think we will do this every year. It was really fun!

I hope that helps!

 

[AGPrincess]

Great trippie! I loved hearing about American Idol...how cool!

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Yes, I do still call them Meema and Peepa (at almost 16 years old)!

Sounds like a nice AK day

 

[LAH LAH]

Great trippie! I loved hearing about American Idol...how cool!

Thanks...I've been following your snobbery too

Yes, I do still call them Meema and Peepa (at almost 16 years old)!

Sounds like a nice AK day

I like it that you still call them that!

 

[LAH LAH]

Update coming soon...

 

[MinnieLove]

I cant wait to here more. Please take as compliment, you do resemble Minnie Mouse. Same beautiful face.

Cant wait to here how you do without GM & GP for the rest of the trip. I cannot imagine not having adult backup on vacation. But I am sure you will rock!

subbing

 

[CRSTEPHE]

Just found your TR today. Your voice is beautiful--plus I really like the song lyrics too. I'm amazed at how you keep two children happy by yourself! A few years ago my husband developed kidney stones on a Disney vacation and I had to tour with both of my boys--Wow--that was a learning experience.

Can't wait for more...

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Hi there! Another new reader. You have lovely children. I can't wait to read even more as I have read the whole thing in one sitting today!

 

[LAH LAH]

So earplug boys family just informed us that the bus stop we are heading to will not result in a bus to Down Town Disney. So what is a girl who has no idea where she is going, or have any other way to get there going to do?

Thankfully the bus driver was listening to our conversation (yay for eaves dropping) and gave us the 411. "Get off at this stop and hustle over to the Polynesian...it is only a 4 minute walk." If the normal population can do it in 4 minutes I decided we could do it in 2 and half. So off we went...passing people on the left, passing people on the right...speed speed speed. I kept checking my phone for the time and if we were lucky we would just make it to our reservation on time.

We made it to the Polynesian bus stop in record time...and it's empty. No busses, no people, no noise. Was this really Disney? I guess people pay the big money to stay here for that kind of quiet...but this wasn't helping us! Don't they know this was our only table service meal the whole week? Don't they know we have a $15 off coupon to eat at Planet Hollywood? I budgeted that coupon into our food allowance...what if we missed our reservation? Where would we eat? Did we leave Animal Kingdom early for nothing?

I had 18 minutes to ponder these and many other questions before the bus finally came. I checked my phone...we have 11 minutes till we are officially late...we might just make it!!!

We are dropped off at the Market Place in Down Town Disney at 5:05...ok...5 minutes late isn't too bad...now we just have to find Planet Hollywood. But I see no big blue world...I see no neon lights pointing us in the right direction. So we went back into power walking mode...weaving in and out...left, right, right, left...where IS it? By this time the kids are exhausted and no one really even cares about eating anymore. We just want to sit down. But no...we trudge on. Near tears we keep going. Being that this was our first time to DTD we didn't know that the place is shaped like a giant horseshoe. When we got to the middle of that horseshoe we could finally see our goal...and it looked so far away.

We did make it. Elsa was quietly crying, I was out of breath, and Michael was mad! But we made it. Hey!!!! What was this? Right there in front of us? Another bus stop?!!!! The DTD bus makes two stops. One at the first end of the horseshoe (The Market Place) and the next stop was right here...at the other end of the horseshoe. I wanted to . But I am the adult so I laugh it off and say..."Lets go eat!"

So we made it...but I wasn't sure our reservation would still be good. I check my phone...it's 5:28...surely they would laugh at us. But no one laughed. They just ushered us up the long stairway to the dining area. It was all but empty. Our reservation wasn't even needed. I apologized profusely to the kids and we sat down to eat. After all that, I told them they could have ANYTHING off of the menu they wanted...they didn't have to stick to kids menu...if they wanted lobster I would have bought it. Seriously.

The food was fantastic! So we had that going for us

I promised the kids if they kept up the maddening pace to the restaurant that on our way back we would go as slow as they wanted...and I kept my promise. We were pretty excited about Lego Land and were bummed that most of the Lego structures were behind a refurbishing wall. That didn't go over well with Michael We trully enjoyed what we could see:

This wall was quite a bit bigger than my camera could capture...they could move that magnifying glass to view the lego people...pretty neat!

After we left Lego Land we stopped at the DTD Disney store. I believe it is the largest Disney store anywhere. It was impressive. We bought our souvies and headed home. We decided as a family that DTD isn't for us. It didn't feel Disney enough...could either be because of the "non-Disney" stores, or that I dragged them around the horseshoe at record speed.

The bus ride home was uneventful...but Michael and I knew a secret that Elsa didn't...we were going swimming tonight!!! This is one of Elsa's favorite things to do. I didn't want to promise it at the beginning of the trip because I didn't know if it would be warm enough...and truth be told it really wasn't. But the pools were heated and it was a perfect time to do laundry again. Thanks to the "powers that be" at Disney, the laundry is within eye sight of the pool. What a blessing! I was thinking ahead when we left for the pool and I grabbed the fleece blanket off the bed and wrapped up in that on a lounge chair...I called my sister Sarah and the Meems. We all laughed about the Down Town Disney escapade and rejoiced in being picked for the opening at AK. The air was chilly, but the pool was toasty! The kids swam for about an hour...and shivered the whole way back to the room. But they really didn't complain. They were just thankful for the swimming.

It was around 9:30 and the kids were tired, but not too sleepy. Michael wanted to watch the TV but I was so enjoying the magic of no "outside world" while being here. We ended up making a compromise...we watched some classic Disney sing-a-longs. Soon enough we were nodding off...and another day at Disney was behind us...

Up Next: What important thing would I leave back at the resort while touring Epcot...and must we really loose Pal Mickey once a trip?

 

[gellybean]

Just got all caught up again and I'm lovin' it. I hate that "we're gonna be late" feeling so I sympathize with your Planet Hollywood debacle. And double ewwwwwwwwwwww for that toliet. To channel childhood, that is groooooooooooody!

 

[LAH LAH]

I cant wait to here more. Please take as compliment, you do resemble Minnie Mouse. Same beautiful face.

Cant wait to here how you do without GM & GP for the rest of the trip. I cannot imagine not having adult backup on vacation. But I am sure you will rock!

subbing

Thank you...I have never been compared to Minnie Mouse before...I love it!

We missed Meema and Peepa terribly when they left...but we did ok on our own.

Just found your TR today. Your voice is beautiful--plus I really like the song lyrics too. I'm amazed at how you keep two children happy by yourself! A few years ago my husband developed kidney stones on a Disney vacation and I had to tour with both of my boys--Wow--that was a learning experience.

Can't wait for more...

Thank you! The kids and I make a good team...and we love Disney...so that makes it even easier Sorry about the disrupted Disney trip...that must have been a bummer!

Hi there! Another new reader. You have lovely children. I can't wait to read even more as I have read the whole thing in one sitting today!

Thank you! I'll try to keep it coming!

Just got all caught up again and I'm lovin' it. I hate that "we're gonna be late" feeling so I sympathize with your Planet Hollywood debacle. And double ewwwwwwwwwwww for that toliet. To channel childhood, that is groooooooooooody!

Grody to the max...thats what we used to say