That's the first time we had to wear a poncho in Disney! A Mar./April '11 TR DONE 9/5

[jelloarms]

Finally all caught up!

 

[SoonerGirl]

You got some really nice pictures in WS! I think the one of the pink hibiscus with the Mexico temple in the background is my favorite too - such a great shot!

Bummer that your trip is almost over

 

[brookelizabeth]

Those Mickey sleeping shorts are adorable! I didn't see those this past trip, I really need jammies, so I might have to go check them out on the website!

I have had it on my touring plan more than once to take a picture in every country and I've never succeeded.

Heading over to your PTR!

 

[RachelNinja]

Haha, I love how you called it "pull[ing] a RachelNinja"! Hehe, it's the best way to save money! Otherwise these trips would be much too costly!

I thought the Pook-a-Looz were so cute, but now I'm drawn to the Pop vinyl characters. They have them at my local Disney Store, but they're bigger than what I thought they'd be (I thought they'd be Vinylmation size). They're SO cute though! I was thinking about a Maleficent surprisingly, haha. She would make a good mascot if she were small!

Now that I finally watched Tangled, I love that little tower!

Speaking of KK references, don't you just want to get to the top of the pyramid and see what they see? And WOW, I love that flower picture with the pyramid in the background!

 

[wdwgirl03]

I hate leaving parks for the last time. I totally can relate to how you feel. You know you'll be back but waiting for the next trip is so hard!!! I really need to read Kingdom Keepers. I've decided I'll start once I've re-read all the Harry Potter books That flower picture is gorgeous!!!

Yes, you should read the KK books. But Harry Potter is good too. I want to reread those myself. Thanks for the compliment on the picture!

That picture of the Hibiscus flower is so beautiful! And those pj shorts are very cute! I remember seeing them while I was there too, I really wanted them along with every other souvenir I saw

I'm so sad all our TRs are about to end! Can't wait to hear the rest though

I'm glad you said hibiscus because that's what I thought it was but didn't want to post. haha I'm glad I finally got a practical souvenir for once. But I'm with you, it's hard to have self-control sometimes!

Atleast I have my PTR now and then another TR in a couple months.

I like your "artistic" shots. The one of Norway with the flowers is my favorite.

Thanks Meeko.

Great update!! I love Duffy

Me too. I think I might cave and get one in October. I saw a pic of a really cute Halloween Duffy. We'll see though.

Sorry you had to rush through WS, but you got some nice pictures. I love the artistic ones with the flower and Norway. So pretty

Great Hamm vinylmation! You guys seem really into it. Maybe once I get more pins, I'll check out vinylmation. to buying the extra Mickey button.

Oh, that last time leaving the parks is always the worst. It just says "the end is coming soon", no matter if another trip is in the works. :'(

With that said, I can't believe this TR is already ending I'm pretty sure this was my first TR and it's already ending. Probably by the time school begins I'll be TR-less, so many are finishing up

Can't wait to read more!

Thanks Timmy.

Oh yes, we love our vinylmations! And pins. Disney sure sucked us in with both of those things!

It always stinks when a TR ends. Then you just have to find more to give you your fix. haha I don't know how many subscriptions I have.

Leaving the parks for the last time is always so sad for me. It's like I have to get yanked out of there!

I know, I just hate that feeling of leaving.

Those Mickey pj shorts are so cute, you were lucky that they restocked before you left the park. I have a Hibiscus plant that exact color. I love it, the flowers don't last long, but there are always new ones in bloom. You did pretty good with pictures around the world showcase. I didn't know that the vinylmations available for trade are in view? I thought it was a hidden trade?

Yes, maybe Fridays are their restock days because I was lucky with the pjs and the Rapunzel pin.

They do have the hidden vinylmation trade boxes but they've also added smaller clear ones so you can see what you're trading for.

Your artsy pictures were all so nice My favorite was the pink flower one!

Lately all the TR's I've been reading are ending! People need to go back faster

Thanks!

haha, your trip is coming up soon. Then we'll have another TR to read!

It is always sad to be leaving the parks for the last time, no matter how many trips you've gone on.

I like the Hamm Vinylmation and the pajama shorts.

Finally all caught up!

It sure is. I am so jealous of my sister right now. I think today she got her park pass so she was going to go over to DHS this afternoon. I guess one of her roomies is a character performer so she was going to go visit her. Not fair.

You got some really nice pictures in WS! I think the one of the pink hibiscus with the Mexico temple in the background is my favorite too - such a great shot!

Bummer that your trip is almost over

Thank you! I'm really happy (and surprised!) and how well it turned out.

It is a bummer but only a couple months until my next one! So my plan of dragging out this trip report worked.

Those Mickey sleeping shorts are adorable! I didn't see those this past trip, I really need jammies, so I might have to go check them out on the website!

I have had it on my touring plan more than once to take a picture in every country and I've never succeeded.

Heading over to your PTR!

I love the Mickey pj shorts! I love how they're Disney but they don't scream Disney. Not that it really matters with pjs...LOL.

It's hard sometimes to get all the pictures. Too many other distractions. Hopefully I can try again in October.

Haha, I love how you called it "pull[ing] a RachelNinja"! Hehe, it's the best way to save money! Otherwise these trips would be much too costly!

I thought the Pook-a-Looz were so cute, but now I'm drawn to the Pop vinyl characters. They have them at my local Disney Store, but they're bigger than what I thought they'd be (I thought they'd be Vinylmation size). They're SO cute though! I was thinking about a Maleficent surprisingly, haha. She would make a good mascot if she were small!

Now that I finally watched Tangled, I love that little tower!

Speaking of KK references, don't you just want to get to the top of the pyramid and see what they see? And WOW, I love that flower picture with the pyramid in the background!

Yes they would!

Ooh yeah, I've seen those Pop vinyls. I really liked the Tinkerbell one. Good thing there is no Disney Store around here anymore otherwise I'd be in trouble. The Maleficent one was really cute too!

Isn't Tangled good? Love that movie (and love Flynn Rider! ).

I would like to see lots of things that the KK see!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Happy Thursday everyone! I think I better start wrapping up this TR seeing as school starts a week from today (where did the summer go?!). My parents come home today after their trip to take Emma down for the CP. If you didn't see my post on my PTR, she found out her work location on Monday-she'll be at Hollywood Studios! Then yesterday she had Traditions and got her Cast Member nametag. So awesome. So far it seems like she's having a great time-she's got a couple days off before all her training starts. Can't wait until I get to go down there to see her.

Friday, April 1, 2011 cont'd (part 7)

Now that we had said good-bye to Epcot, it was time for the final bus ride back to OKW. While we were waiting for the bus, I decided to go ahead and open up my Animation vinylmation that I had gotten at Mouse Gear. I was really hoping for the Fairy Godmother or maybe Mushu. But, seeing as I have horrible luck with blindboxing vinylmation, this is who I ended up with:

Yeah, not exactly my favorite. See, I tend to favor the "cute" vinylmations and this one just didn't cut it. Sorry Quasimodo. I'm trying to decide if I should take him in October and try to trade him (except for the fact that I saw a LOT of these in the open trade boxes...I don't think there are too many people who like it. Which sort of makes me want to keep him. LOL). On the bright side, atleast it wasn't another Naveen.

After a few minutes our bus arrived and we headed back to Old Key West. I'm pretty sure I mentioned in one of the first updates how the bus stop we went to was the last one since we were right near the Hospitality House. It takes a good ten minutes to get around to all the stops so we ended up getting off at a different station and walked back. That way I could take a couple more pictures of the resort-this time in the sunlight!

Walking back to our room. We had to pass the Hospitality House (on the left) and the store and restaurant. You can also sort of see the flagpole out front which is where the bus stop was. Our building was right across the street. I said it before but it really was a great location!

Such a pretty resort. I was really going to miss staying there. I am sure we'll be going there again. I loved it.

When we got back to our room, it was time for some more vinylmation opening. Claire had two more figures to open. First was her holiday one:

St. Patrick's Day! She was pretty happy with that one. I thought it was a cool design too. Then she opened her animation one. As soon as she opened the foil, she exclaimed, "You have got to be kidding me!" Who did she get?

Yup, she got Quasimodo too! Seriously, we have the worst luck! You would think the odds would favor us in getting two different designs but no. GRRR. One of the bad things about vinylmation...

So what was the plan for the rest of the afternoon/evening? Well, we still hadn't gotten a chance to eat at Earl of Sandwich (now a must-do restaurant like so many other DISers!) so we decided to go to Downtown Disney.

While waiting for the boat I took a couple more pictures and was thinking how much I wanted to stay. Who would want to leave this?

Atleast we got to enjoy one last boat ride. As we were on our way to DTD, the driver started giving us the spiel about the boats (the routes, last departure times, etc.) but he also told us to look out for wildlife. He was saying how sometimes you could see different animals like otters and deer. I was really excited after he said that, hoping we might get lucky and spot something. Sadly, we didn't see any wildife but we did see something sort of amusing. You know how they have the boats that guests can rent, like the watermice? As we got closer to Downtown Disney and Saratoga Springs, I noticed someone in one of them. Not too unusual except that she hadn't been moving for a while. I was wondering if she was stuck because she was right up against the edge of the water and the grass. Then I saw someone else driving in a golf cart stop and go down to the water. Yup, she was stuck alright! One of the recreation CMs had to race over there to help rescue her. I really wonder how often stuff like that happens on those boats.

Anyway, we finally arrived at DTD and immediately headed to Earl of Sandwich to get our dinner. Luckily it wasn't too crowded but really, it's worth the wait anyway. I think we both ended up getting the kid's turkey and cheese sandwich. So good! Sorry, no food pictures. Needless to say we enjoyed our meal. Since we had already gotten our souvenirs we didn't do any more shopping. We strolled around for a while before returning to OKW to pack up and get ready to head home.

 

[Bridora]

Packing up and heading back home is the worst, isn't it? I never can get things to pack just right how they were on the way down, either!

That is crazy how you both got Quasimodos!! I do like the Shamrock one, though. And Hamm is really cute! I guess that's the point of them, right...so cute you have to buy more!

 

[Jazzabelle508]

That stink that both you and your sister got the same vinlymation. Love your sister's St. Patrick's day vinlymation. I like the holiday ones. I haven't gotten super into the whole vinlymation thing. I wish i were more into it though. Nice that you still had some time at DTD before you had to leave. were you leaving that day or just leaving super early in the morning? My last trip we were leaving super early in the morning so our last day was great because we were able to stay at the park the whole day. sad you trip is almost over but yay for you new PTR!!!! You were smart to start you ptr relatively close to your trip. I just started mine and my trip isn't untill january

 

[jenbear123]

See, that's my biggest fear when buying those vinylmations. I'll get one I don't want and won't be able to get rid of it I like the St Patrick's Day one. But what are the odds both of you would get the same one?! They must purposely make more of the ugly ones or something. So sad it's your last day I'm happy to hear your sister is getting settled. Working at DHS would be awesome. If only.....

 

[dawnbu40]

OKW looks so pretty! It keeps moving up the list of resorts I'd like to try

How strange that you both got the same Vinylmation! I thought the ones up for trade are like pins and the CMs have to trade with you?

It's always sad when the trip has to end but lucky for you another one is already in the works!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Sorry to hear you guys didn't exactly get the vinylmations you wanted, but you can't go wrong with Quasi, even though you wanted something really cute. I would've kept him because he's a pretty cool dude, but that's just me.

OKW looks so pretty! I would definitely like to stay there. Especially with having the boat transportation to DTD, no buses needed And that's so cool about the wildlife being spotted around (when I'd rather see otters since deer are EVERYWHERE here), though sorry to hear you didn't get to see any. :/

Awwww... I can't believe this is ending already, well, it was good your last Disney meal was at Earl of Sandwich, another thing to put on my list of "must-try". Good thing you always have a trip to look forward to, as well!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[meeko_33785]

Sounds like a nice afternoon. A boat ride to Downtown Disney and a meal at Earl of Sandwich sounds wonderful right about now.

 

[IheartDDuck]

What, you don't think that Quasimodo is cute?

I actually traded a Vinylmation on my February trip (which apparently I forgot to mention in my TR). I just happened to luck out and find the Donald one that I wanted (the little key chain one). I just plucked one of my key chain ones off my bag and traded that sucker.

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

So glad to hear about the work location for your sis! I wonder what location at DHS she'll be at! One of my former CP roomies (Katie) still works there seasonally in the QS area near ToT and RnR..Sunset market or something?! lol

 

[Caretames1]

The boat rides sound just like the boat rides for Port Orlens Riverside (which is where I wish I was right now!)

Mmmmmm, in 27 days I will be eating at Earl of Sandwich!

Too bad about vinylmations. We don't have any, but they do look cute!

 

[Nermel9]

Wow that's awesome your sister will be at DHS! I would LOVE to work there! I could totally be one of those creepy ToT CM's!

I don't get Vinylmation trading! I thought you asked for a number of a box or something? I want to do try it on my trip, but I'm afraid I won't know what I'm doing! I'm sure I can find out how on the DIS somewhere!

OKW is so pretty! I'd love to stay there sometime!

Yum, I LOVE EoS!

 

[jwwi]

You really got some great pictures of OKW, I really like to stay here too. I think the rooms are so spacious and comfortable.

Love EOS, can't wait to eat there during our next trip!

 

[Cat0727]

Love the OKW pictures. Looking at them makes me miss it, too. I loved it there. It might be a while until we stay there again because I want to try out other resorts. I really want to stay at AKL next.

 

[OhMari]

We stayed at PORS a few times and saw way to many sea racers broke down. Our boat driver who was from FDL, WI said, many people leave the choke open and end up flooding the engine. Our driver retired from Mercury Marine in FDL and he told us how he made engines for Disney, and he took retirement at 55 and he is now a boat captain for various boats at WDW. He said he couldn't wait to retire.

 

[TanzUnited99]

Hey Sarah! I spent some time yesterday catching up with your TR - thanks to your links. Did not read any of the chat but wow you guys sure got a lot of rain to deal with!

I loved all your pictures - they are great esp the safari ones. I can't wait to experience all these things on our trip!

You got through a lot on your MK day and I love your drawing of Pooh as well as your Rapunzel and Fynn M&G!

The disney project is great and I look forward to reading your next TR from the start instead of when it's near the end!