The "12 Days Of Disney" trip report

fabulous update.. uhm..i got ill after yak and yeti as well! so i'm gonna go with that's what it was!

We missed nemo this trip, but it is on must do list for next year!

Also, i wish my kids liked face paint.. i think they do such a good job there! she looked adorable!

I'm hoping to do emh pm hours thee next year!
 
Really ... what did you have at Y&Y? I just saw on Dr. Oz that it takes 6 hours for food poisoning to set in, so I was starting to assume it was Flame Tree. The hours gone by made sense for that, but I didn't really think it was.
 
Wow, wow and wow...lots of updates since I was last on.

Everything sounds like you had a great time.

I can totally relate to the pixie dust in the hair - my DD4 had in it her hair for 4 weeks before it was all gone. She actually had a Dr. appt during those 4 weeks and her doctor saw it and said ...ummm, what?" Haha!

How absolutly cool that you saw Terrance! My DD4 LOVES him! I cant wait till we can see him.

Where are the "Pro Areas" you took the photos of Talia in her Cinderella dress at? that looks like a great thing to add to my "to do list".

Cathy
 
When you walk into Tony's and the check-in is on the left, walk by it and there's an area in back where you cna have pics taken. The first area has a Photopass photog and is really cute ... white chaise and a backdrop. I *think* you can just take your own pics, but we were going to add it to the Photopass anyway so I never asked. A bit past there is where a few of the other pic area are, and then the room to the right (through the doors) there are a ton more. And a movie is playing with cinema seats, which can be used as a bribe if they don't want to cooperate. :lmao:
 

Fun day! We won a seahorse too. I ate the crispy mahi too but don't remember any sick feeling afterwords. I think it would have to take 4-6 hours.
We missed nemo. We have to see it next time.
 
I love the Lion King show. I first saw it in 2007 and needed to see it again on our last trip.

You all had a full day! Too bad about not feeling well, but glad you felt better the next morning!!!
 
Yeah, I was worried that night. Glad no parks the next day (we were originally supposed to go to DHS but I changed it a few days before we left!) I'm so glad I did.

Posting the next day in a minute ...
 
Saturday - hotel pool, Grand Floridian tea and Spirit of Aloha

We slept in this morning. And by slept in, I mean we slept until about 730am. That's average for us at home. We got ready for the pool and headed over to Cinema Hall for breakfast. Ate and then used the voucher for 30 minutes of free arcade that came with our package.
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We figured that was a good way to get Talia to digest before going into the pool. At first Talia didn't want anything to do with the water-spraying Mickey at the Fantasia pool, and avoided it. But once Russ and I got her used to it, she was going off by herself to go under the sprays. I think we stayed about an hour and a half before it was time to head back to the room to shower.
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We hadn't talked about what Russ was going to do while Talia and I were at tea. I asked if he wanted to come too, and he said he likes the idea of that being something she and I do together. He said he thought about going to have a drink somewhere, but he wasn't sure.

Russ dropped us off (reservation was for 3:20pm, but we got there closer to 2:30pm) I told him I'd text him when we were seated, because we'd probably only be there about an hour or so. They were able to seat us right away, which was a nice change to the first two places we had reservations with on the trip. We had a table for two near the window (nice!) and it was all very dainty. Very "not me"!!! (I'm more of a bar gal myself. Ha.) Our waitress took our napkins and placed them on our laps, which was very "fancy" in my opinion. She told us a bit about the menu and I ended up ordering a la carte. Talia got the Princess Tea (which was strawberry and vanilla flavored and, not being a tea fan myself, I thought it was REALLY good. I got a champagne cocktail, which was just OK. Whatever made it a "cocktail" and not just straight champagne wasn't all that good. It didn't explain on the menu, and I didn't ask, so I'll never know. We ordered a plate of tea sandwiches (watercress and cucumber, pear and gorgonzola, shrimp salad, chicken salad with almonds, and egg salad), all with the crusts cut off. There was also an onion tartlet on the plate. I also ordered the English Blue Stilton cheese plate, which had walnuts and marinated fruit and was served with crackers. VERY good. Talia snubbed ALL of the sandwiches (except for one, can't remember which) and just chowed down on bread and tea. Oh well.
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Eating sugar a cube ..
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Asking me in her best British accent "Would you like a spot of tea?"
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Our view
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Our crowded table .. good thing Russ didn't come!
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Then she asked to take some pics ...
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Dancing
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After this we went outside so I could smoke and I texted Russ and let him know we were done. While outside we saw a group of women (about 6 of them) in their 60's or so trying to take pictures at the carriage they have displayed. They all had pink roses and were posing. I offered to take it for them so all 6 could be in it, which they appreciated. They asked if Talia and I wanted a pic together too, and took one for us. Then one gave Talia her rose, which I thought was sweet (Talia wanted that rose BADLY!!) Talia and I went back inside to the bathroom and changed into our "luau clothes". (Classy, no? Changing in the bathroom? Ha ha)

We had some time to kill before Russ would be there (who, by the way, went to WASH THE CAR. While on vacation. Shows how much he loves his car. Oh, and he went shopping in downtown Orlando, too) so I called my mother and then my MIL and let Talia talk to both of them. While talking to my MIL I saw a bride and groom in "Cinderella's carriage" riding in front of the hotel so I snapped a few pics of them.
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Russ got there and we went right to the Polynesian. We checked in, got "lei'd" and went to the outdoor waiting area.
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They had a bar set up but we just got two waters. We finally were led in and I HATED our seats. I'm talking despised. I am not one to make a big deal out of things like that, but judging by the seating chart that I had printed out, we got screwed. We paid for category 2 and might as well have just paid for 3, because that's what surrounded us. We were up on the second level, with two poles in our view AND the waiters' station between them. Waiters kept stopping there and we couldn't see the stage. I went to a manager (DAMN I wish I remembered her name ... ) and asked "If I'm in category 2, where is cat 3?" She pointed to the two corners of the room. I'm sorry, so you're saying that only TWO tables in this entire place are cat 3? No, what *I* think happened is that they designate it however they want - if there are tons of people willing to pay for cat 2, they take them and wean out cat 3. There is NO way that our table was worth paying extra for. I could have saved that money. Anyway, I'm digressing. I say to the manager "I guess I was led to believe that if you pay for a higher category, you'd get a better seat?" and she looked at me like I was stupid and said "Who told you THAT?" I said "Told me what?" She said "That paying for category 2 meant a better seat?" I said something like "One would assume if you're paying more, you're getting SOMETHING more, no? I've got two poles in my view and my 4 year old can't even see over the people in front of her." and I stormed off and went back to the table. While gone, Russ switched our seats around. I was able to see a bit better, but I was still pissed. The manager came over a few minutes later with a booster pad for Talia, but it still sucked. My pina colada was the only thing I was happy about at that point.
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Apps - coconut bread, pineapple, salad with a fruity dressing that was good
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Main course - bbq chicken, ribs, veggies and rice
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The show was ridiculous too. Not only could I barely see, but I couldn't hear ANYTHING. Literally, all I could hear that night was mumbling through the speakers that I assume was from the microphones on the actors, the clanking of the metal plates when waiters DROPPED them onto trays (and kids whacking their silverware off it), and the music when it was played. I couldn't hear what the actors were saying, but the acting was horrendous, from what I could tell. Way too cheesy. They overdid it. I was moping for most of the show, and wished I had listened to those on the Dis boards who said it sucked. Because it did. Russ and I had booked this on our honeymoon and it was rained out, so we were looking forward to this for over 6 years. What a letdown.

My pics are all zoomed in
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I was aggravated and then Talia got on my nerves about something, so this is her pouting.
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Trying to get over it .. this is when the show started getting better.
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And then it was over.

The only part of this show that was good was the dancing at the end, and the fire-guy (that's what I called him :) ) They should cut ALL of that other stuff out from the beginning and add a free mixed drink to your ticket price. I would have been much happier.

Continued ..
 
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So after that we went to the Poly beach and grabbed a couple of chairs to watch Wishes. I ran back to buy two beers from the outdoor bar (which was setting up for the 815pm show .. poor suckers.) Grabbed two Konas and watched Wishes for the last time. It was one of the best tips I got from the Dis boards. We could even see Tinkerbell flying (couldn't see details of her, but knew it was her). Talia had fun wearing herself out on the sand, running back and forth, burying Russ glow cube and trying to find it, etc.
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When we got back to the room, the mousekeeping had once again set up Talia's doll and stuffed animals. This time they even hung her towels up.
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Went to bed late this night but it didn't matter because it was another pool day the next day!
 
so do u think Mike and I will like the Tea my goal is to try as many new things as posible on the next trip

It's hard to say without knowing you both. It was very girly :goodvibes I think my husband might have liked it but mostly because he knows Talia loves tea parties and he would have gotten a kick out of seeing her there.

I'm hoping to have the next day posted by tomorrow! Possibly before, but I've got to get my chicky off to school and go find our nephew a bday gift today.
 
Monday - Hollywood Studios, extra magic evening hours.

This was a last minute switch .. we were supposed to come here on Sunday and I'm glad we changed it. I think going on a weekend day where they were showing Fantasmic might have been a mistake for our last park. It was crowded enough for us, I can't imagine what it was the day before.

We got another wakeup call this morning .. don't remember who it was, but I know I heard Mickey's voice. We managed to get there the earliest of any park during the trip .. went through bag check, through gates and into the main strip. Got the stroller and waited for the opening ceremony.

Damn them for trying to ruin my Florida trip with visions of Xmas ...
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Note the Tshirt :)
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When they opened up the "streets" at 9am, we made a beeline for Toy Story Mania over in Pixar Place, where we ran into some Green Army Men.
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The wait time was already up to 40 minutes. We got fast passes and the time on it was like 955am, I think. I could be wrong but it was around that time. We went right into the Voyage of the Little Mermaid because a show was starting in 5 minutes. The theater was dead so we were able to sit wherever we wanted. The show is cute, and fairly short. Talia loves the Little Mermaid and was singing along with Ariel.
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After that we went back to the "hat" to see if Daisy was still over there (we passed her on our sprint to Toy Story) but she was gone. But we DID catch the High School Musical show, which was cute. Alright, it was just OK. But Talia wanted to see it (and seeing that I decked her out in her HSM stuff that day ... )
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We went back over the where Toy Story is and it was almost time for our FPs, but we saw a small line gathering and found out that Buzz Lightyear and Woody had a character meet there at 10am, so we hopped in line.
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Did that, then we did Toy Story Mania. We decided against getting FPs for that again right then, because we wouldn't be able to get FPs for anything else until that time came (which was at like 11am by then) and I REALLY needed Rock & Roller Coaster FPs. :) I decided I'd run back later to get more.

Went to get FPs for R&RC and stopped at Starring Rolls for a snack. Oh, I'm still thinking about this snack to this day. I'll get back to that. I got back to where I left them and saw they were in line to see Annie and Leo from Little Einsteins outside of Playhouse Disney.
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Then we did something I've been attempting to do since my first Disney trip ... The Magic of Disney Animation. I've always been talked out of doing it by the people I was with, because no one wanted to sit through a lecture, however short it may be, about animation. No one except me :) So yay, I can cross something off my "bucket list"!
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While in line waiting for it to start we had our snack. Russ was HUGELY disappointed that I got a DE-lish cupcake for Talia and I to share (and I said to her "Only in Disney World are we allowed to EVER have a cupcake at 11am!") and I got him an apple turnover.
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I'd kill for this studio
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Saw the show and then we led to a big area with different things to do, one being meet the characters of Up! We met Carl, Russell and Dug and then played some of the little computer things they had going on in there.
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Dug tried to eat my child whole.
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During that time, I ran over to get more FPs for Toy Story Mania again, with a time to come back at 4pm. Pretty long wait, seeing that it wasn't even noon yet. But the standby time at this point was 45 minutes, I think. Anyway, got back and while I was gone, Talia got to meet "Sorcerer Mickey" and play some more computer stuff.
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After that we went into the animation studio and got a lesson from an animator. Our subject was Stitch.
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I get a kick out of comparing these ...
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Left there finally and went into Playhouse Disney .. this show is OK, IMO. It was very puppet-y. And although Talia watches Little Einsteins and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse fairly often, I think it was kinda babyish. I don't know, Talia did like it. I think I was just achy from sitting on the floor the whole time (Russ was smart and left us to sit on the bench in the back with some elderly folk)
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From there we walked down to where R&RC was. Our plan was to do that once each, but then Russ saw that Beauty & the Beast show was starting and said we should go right now. Oh HELL no. You go right along and take her to that, I've seen the movie.

So Russ took Talia (and the camera) to see B&TB and I went on the Aerocoaster. LOVE.IT. It's tied with Everest as my favorite. No, wait, seeing that it's Aerosmith music constantly, it's still my favorite. Met up with them and Russ said he finally cried on the trip (did I mention the bet? I won at 7 times crying. He only teared up once) He said when they were all chanting "Kill the Beast! Kill the Beast!" Talia was yelling "Nooo! Don't kill him!" and he got all emotional. :)
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One ride we never went on this trip :( But it was a decision we had made beforehand so we were OK with it.
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Russ went on the coaster and I took Talia to get a tattoo. (Don't worry, a fake one.)
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Russ came out and I got in line to go again when I realized it was 1:45pm and we had 2pm reservations at Hollywood & Vine, which was probably about a 15 minute walk. Oops. I left the line and got them, they were in the gift shop getting Talia a souvenier.

Got to H&V on time and checked in. While waiting, I ran over to 50's Prime Time to see if we could get a table for dinner later that night. They said we might get lucky with a walk-in, but were taking no reservations. We had a rez for the Sci-Fi Dine In but it wasn't until 925pm. (YIKES with a 4 year old but it was all we could get ... )
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Got back to H&V and Talia and Russ had just been seated.
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Talia's souvenier .. it has her name andd ate engraved in the back
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During the meal (buffet ... and it wasn't that good, I actually ate from the kids' area because it looked better!) June and Leo from Little Einsteins come around, and Jojo and Goliath from (I'm blanking ... Talia doesn't watch it, so I don't know.) She was happy to see June and Leo, but called the other two "The lion" and "That clown". And we didn't know that Jojo was a girl. Oops.
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"Who's the lion?"
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"And that clown?"
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Doesn't she look thrilled to pose with them?

Left there and went to grab a spot for the parade. We were all a little miserable at this parade. Russ wasn't feeling it, I was feeling dehydrated and Talia's sneakers were hurting her feet (no socks on that day .. another oops.)
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We made it thorugh 3/4ths of it and then left to do Star Tours. Spent almost an HOUR in the gift shop looking for a Xmas gift but ended up getting nothing. What a waste.
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From there we went to do the Muppet Show 3D, which I'm glad I had Talia watch before we went. She knew most of the characters and liked it. Came out and saw Lightening McQueen and Mater from Cars, so waited to see them.
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Walked over to the "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" playground, which I remember Russ's nephews loving. It was closed at 5pm. Another oops.
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Went back to use our FPs at Toy Story and then walked back to the hat. One of the American Idol shows was starting at 6pm so we went into that. It was VERY cute, something I'd definitely do again. I sort of wished we had waited to do to finale show at 7pm, but it was MUCH more crowded for that one.
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This girl was awesome, and won the round. We don't know who won the whole thing for the day, though.
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After that Russ wanted to do the Great Movie Ride. I didn't really want Talia riding that before we left (his nephews had hated it when we went with them) but Talia wanted to, so I went to ride the coaster again. When I got off, I rode AGAIN. My head was killing me. If you remember back to when we were leaving and Russ had given me that card with the cash in it? Yeah, that gift shop got most of it. :) I got a blue zip-up hoodie ($50), a black and gray winter hat that has "Rock N Roller Coaster" stitched into one side and a leather-like Aerosmith patch on the other ($15), an antenna topper and a pair of black fuzzy dice with Mickey ears as the dots for my car.

While I was gone, they rode the Movie ride and got gigantic freakin popsicles.
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Russ wanted to ride the coaster then, so we all walked back over and he went on. I took Talia to this little kiosk that let younger kids get paper "records" and stickers to make their own album.
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Then I got a root beer float and Russ came out, saying he was using his last FP. Talia and I went into the gift shop (where the ride lets out) and she wanted to buy a Stitch pin. Got her that and had fun playing around with the hats.
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This next part is long-winded, so I apologize in advance ...

We walked over to the Sci Fi Dine In and attempted to get a table earlier (this was at about 8pm, maybe a tad earlier). The guy there said they didn't have anything available and were turning away walk-ins for the rest of the night. I could check in at 9pm and maybe get in a few minutes earlier. I said "Are you sure? I have a 4 year old with me and I don't know if she'll make it until that late." He said he was sure. We decided to walk back over to 50's Prime Time and they said it was a 90 minute wait. We had a rez at the other place at 925pm so we just kept it. Strolled around a bit, bought Talia a light-up necklace, let her run around a bit near the "hat" area (I just typed "run around the 'bar' area", what does that mean?? :) ) and then went back to check in at 9pm. While waiting, I heard a couple in front of me ask if they had any tables. The hostess said yes, that it was a 10 minute wait. What? Then the next guy asked if they could accomodate a group of 6. Sure, 15 minute wait. What the eff?? So I check in with my reservation and say "If you have a table available sooner than that, I'd appreciate it." She says "It probably won't be until 930pm." Now I'm PISSED and I see the guy who I had spoke to earlier that said they were turning away all walk-ins for the night. I gestured to him and he comes over. I reminded him who I was (he remembered me) and I said "I'm a little upset about the fact that you said you were turning away all walk-ins, but I just had TWO walk-ins given a 10-15 minute wait, and I'm still being told I have to wait another half hour. How is that happening? Am I supposed to go right up and NOT say I have a reservation to get a table earlier?" He seemed flustered and said that reservations get "certain" tables and walk-ins get other tables. I reminded him that I had a 4 year old with me and that I didn't care WHAT kind of table I got, I just wanted to feed her and leave. I said "If anything else opens up, PLEASE come get me." I go back outsdie and Talia had tripped and skinned her knee a bit. UGH. I run back in and ask for ice, and a girl runs to grab some for me. We're sitting outside for literally 8 seconds when the guy comes out and says he can seat us.

For the record, Russ and I had the BEST meal there. Antoher good Dis boards tip - burgers are not on the dinner menu, but they'll make it for you if you ask. I asked and we got. And they were excellent. I wish I had had room for a milkshake, because I heard those were good too. Our waiter was a bit quirky, really rushed in telling us the menu. We already knew what we wanted, he could have saved himself those breaths! But he was one of the better waiters we had on the trip and got himself a $15 tip on a $40 check. (It's nice having free dining, you can tip better and not feel it as much!)
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After that we left we strolled down towards the exit. Talia passed out. We wanted to look at our Photopass pics but they were closed (it was about 1030pm) Left the stroller and Russ gave a half-sleeping Talia a ride on his shoulders. The video of this is hysterical, because she is GONE!
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Back at the hotel, the bunny was back again.
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And Mousekeeping left a friend for Bolt.
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Next up .. our last "half day" at Disney and the trip home ...
 
It's hard to say without knowing you both. It was very girly :goodvibes I think my husband might have liked it but mostly because he knows Talia loves tea parties and he would have gotten a kick out of seeing her there.

I'm hoping to have the next day posted by tomorrow! Possibly before, but I've got to get my chicky off to school and go find our nephew a bday gift today.

I will NOT subject him to that I will keep looking for new things to do
 
Thanks for a fun, and funny, trip report. Looks like you all had a wonderful time together.
 















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