The DDA Trouble Free Zone Part 18

[Brendita]

Evening all.
Busy busy as always.
I have a Christmas party tomorrow.
So popping in & out.
While coloring my hair.
Now if I can get Boo off my lap so I can type.
She is a great lap & hand warmer.

 

[lovespoohbear]

here are my ornaments i got in the exchange. sorry took so long to post. thanks steffy and becky.

 

[triplefigs]

Hi, everyone. Please check your PM boxes. Tinkaroo yours is full. Thanks!

 

[triplefigs]

Thanks for the postcard, Vicki! Love it!

 

[Tammi67]

here are my ornaments i got in the exchange. sorry took so long to post. thanks steffy and becky.

They are all great, but I love the Donald one!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Tuesday, Dec. 5 -
AK day! Somehow we got off to a late start. Perhaps because of that 1 AM bedtime? Anyway, we learned the hard way about getting to the parks when they open. We got out to the bus queue at Pop shortly after 9 AM and the line was all the way through the bars! In fact, ALL of the queues were like that, not just the one for AK! I was blown away! I asked a CM if the lines always get like that and he said yes. We NEVER leave for the parks that late, and we'll never do it again!

We got to AK about 9:45, and we had to really debate about going to the Nemo musical at 10 AM. It was Passholder preview, but they had shows later in the day, too. We grabbed Fast Passes for Everest (which wasn't even running at the time) then headed for Dinosaur. Well, we saw that people were still being admitted to Nemo even though it was like 9:58 so we asked if we could go in. The CM didn't even want our preview passes. I'm so glad I printed those out and brought them along! Anyway, the show was delayed about 15 minutes so we had plenty of time to get settled. We thought the show was spectacular! Really, really cool. The story follows the movie exactly, but the puppetry and the vocals are top notch. Very clever effects.

From there we did Primeval Whirl, Dinosaur (in the front of the car because the back is too bouncy for me), back to Everest to use our Fast Passes (I love that ride!), and then over to Camp Minnie & Mickey. The character greeting trail lines were DAYS long so we skipped those. We did finally manage a pic with Lilo and Stitch! We have several pics of Stitch but we always miss Lilo. Also got a pic with Princess Atta.

Lunch at Tusker House, which is one of my favorites. Kind of icky - DS had grapes in one of those little paper cups, but he dumped them out on his plate. There were spots that looked like mud in the cup. I took the cup to a Manager, but he said it was just from the grape skin. Not sure I believed him, but he made it pretty clear that I wasn't going to get any other answer. We got Fast Passes for the safari, walked the trail with the gorillas (where we saw dozens of folks with Dream ears - not sure where they got them), rode the train over to Rafiki's where we got a pic with Jiminy Cricket! Did the safari, watched the parade while eating a Toll House ice cream sandwich. I love those. DH had one too, but DS ate half of it. DS, the boy who said he didn't WANT an ice cream. After the parade we did another ride on Everest and saw ITTBAB. On the way out I saw a man with a Dream lanyard & pins. We saw people at all 4 parks with Dream fast passes & ears but very few lanyards. We were early for our ressie at Kona so we looked in the shops. Brother requested a Wiggles toy for his present but WDW doesn't have Wiggles merchandise anymore! I found him a Buzz Lightyear set at the shop across from Kona, so that was good. Sister wanted a Snow White present so that was easy.

Dinner was great. We love Kona. I had the shrimp and scallops, DH had the prime rib, DS had the grilled mahi mahi from the kids menu. It came with veggies (green beans & carrots) and a fruit cup. Well, we switched the yogurt parfait for a fruit cup. He didn't like the rice that came with it, but the rest of the food was fine. I got a cheesecake to go. From there we went over to the GF to see the gingerbread house, then back to Pop to get all sorted out to come home. We originally thought about going back to Epcot but we decided to get everything packed up Tuesday night and try to hit a park on Wednesday morning. DH & DS went to the arcade for a bit while I packed. We were in bed by 10 PM.

 

[Tammi67]

Denise - have you ordered the AG clothes yet? I got mine today. Pretty good for ordering them on Tuesday.

 

[triplefigs]

Did anyone ever post a picture of June's tile? I really wanted to see how it turned out.

 

[UP Disney]

I PMed Marci today to see how she was doing. Unfortunately, things are not good. Please keep Marci and her family in your thoughts and prayers. She needs a lot of these

Prayers & for Marci, her mother & family!

 

[triplefigs]

Denise - have you ordered the AG clothes yet? I got mine today. Pretty good for ordering them on Tuesday.

The matching ones? Do you like them? I was going to order tonight and got a little side tracked. How do the sizes run? BK is really thin and all leg so I have problems with pants.

 

[UP Disney]

On with my recap:

MVMCP was fun! We started out by going to get our pins. That line wasn't terribly long but it WAS terribly slow! After we got the AP pin and the MVMCP pin we decided to see the show at the castle. We sat on the ground right in front of the castle and we had a great view. I spoke to Vicki while we were waiting - they were headed to Mickey's Night Before Christmas so we decided to try to find each other for fireworks.

After the show we were trying to head to Frontierland to get a spot for fireworks, but it was really crowded back there! We ended up standing kind of on a little wall near the Diamond Horseshoe where we could see OK but not terrific. We got a photo with Scrooge McDuck, then we decided we better try to find a spot for fireworks. We snagged a bench on one of the bridges between the castle and Tomorrowland, right near Belle's garden and Cosmic Ray's. We should have learned in August that the trees block the view from there, but we thought we were back far enough that the trees wouldn't matter. WRONG! So our view wasn't great. And my phone died so Vicki & I were having a hard time connecting. I went to Cosmic Ray's for snacks while DH held our bench. DS fell asleep on the bench. He's not much of a night owl. The line was atrocious! I made it back with our cookies and cocoa just in time. After the fireworks Vicki and Chuck found us and we had a nice chat. From there we did a few rides because DH & DS were grousing. DS had his photo with Belle and Beast and the Queen of Hearts. Belle was in her Christmas gown and she was absolutely beautiful - she looked just like the animated Belle.

We left MK just before midnight, which was pretty amazing since we had been there since 9 AM!

Oh, forgot to mention the pirate tutorial. We did that in the afternoon. Very fun, and Captain Jack is very much like Johnny Depp in his mannerisms and voice. DS got a neat little scroll saying he is a junior pirate or something along those lines. Worth stopping to see!

I have to say that Elizabeth told us where they were sitting and we walked right past them the first time. Her DS was laying on the seat next to his dad in a little ball and I only saw two people. A woman standing and a man sitting. Since I was looking for three, I didn't realize it was her. She noticed me and said my name. Then her son unrolled himself from the bench so that I could see him.

I also have to admit that Elizabeth didn't match the picture I had of her in my head. In my head she looked like Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire or the Super Nanny. Don't ask me why! Elizabeth doesn't look anything like that. She is very petite and very pretty! Of course, that is what I could see of her since she was all wrapped up in her warm coat, hat & gloves!

 

[UP Disney]

Did anyone ever post a picture of June's tile? I really wanted to see how it turned out.

My picture of it didn't turn out well at all. Stephanie had a great one but she hasn't returned yet. She showed it to me when we went to dinner on Saturday night. I'm sure she will post it when she returns. She doesn't get back until tomorrow.

I have to say it was very nice! Terry did post the location. It was VERY easy to find. I can't describe it as well as she did but from their description she gave me on Saturday, we walked right to it on Sunday.

 

[Tammi67]

The matching ones? Do you like them? I was going to order tonight and got a little side tracked. How do the sizes run? BK is really thin and all leg so I have problems with pants.

Yes, the matching ones. The top looks really big, but the pants look like they should be good. I got her a 5/6. I held them against a pair of her old stretch pants and they were about an inch longer. They look just like the picture. I emailed the lady and asked her if it was in stock before I ordered, so I would know if I would have them by Christmas. She responded within a few hours. The material isn't as soft as I would want it to be though.

 

[Tammi67]

In my head she looked like Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire or the Super Nanny.

And I didn't detect a Texas drawl from her voicemail she left me!

 

[Tammi67]

I'm sure she will post it when she returns.

I don't know.....there sure hasn't been much picture posting going on here.....

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Wednesday, Dec. 6 - Departure Day
I got up at about 5:30 AM, showered, got dressed, and was rattling around before DH & DS woke up. They got up and got ready, put the last odds & ends in the luggage, and we headed down to get our boarding passes. We were all done before 7 AM! I had requested late check out so we wouldn't have to put our carry ons with bell services. We looked around the shop at Pop and I found the sweatshirt I wanted. DS bought yet another yo-yo. We grabbed some breakfast, went back to the room for a bit, then headed to MK!

We got there just as the opening show was starting. We got through the turnstiles with little wait and headed to Buzz. We rode Buzz, the People Mover (that was DS's idea, and it wasted 10 minutes but it made him happy), Tea Cups, Pooh, Snow White, Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates all by 10:30. Then it was back to the bus to Pop to grab our carry ons and get on Magical Express back to MCO. I am pleased to report that even though I had a bottle of baby oil that was 4 oz. instead of 3 oz. it was not confiscated. I forgot my eye make-up remover, and a $3 bottle of baby oil was the best I could do at Pop. At least I got to keep it!

Strange thing about Peter Pan: On Monday we saw people getting Dream fast passes as they exited Peter Pan. Tuesday night I had a dream about Peter Pan and getting a prize there. Wednesday there was a Dream Team lady at Peter Pan holding one of those clickers they use to count people as we were getting on. But there was no prize at the end. The lady was still there when we got off, and the line was substantially longer by then so we just went on our way. There was a big crowd coming out of Frontierland with Dream Fast Passes right after that. We also saw a Dream Team lady at Swiss Family Treehouse during MVMCP but I never saw her give anything away. We walked through the treehouse because the CM and the Dream Team lady were encouraging it, but we didn't see anyone win anything. We had a good time. The trip was too short, but they are ALL too short!

We booked 9 nights at WL on the bounce back program, so now we cross our fingers and wait to see of DH can get the week off. He got his bid schedule today. It isn't as bad as it could have been, but it may very easily turn out that he can't get a week off that DS is off. I have figured out a few alternatives, so we'll see how it pans out. I might keep the WL ressie and have DH just come for 3 days at the end. If you call to book the bounce back from your hotel room you will be charged $.75 because it counts as a local call. That aggravated me, but it wasn't worth quibbling over. It was a 4 digit extension like all the other hotel stuff! I could have called from my cell phone for free! But anyway...

The trip was good. DH will go through bidding on Monday and I will see what we have to work with. And we leave for AKL in 56 days!

 

[Tammi67]

Elizabeth - great trip report! It sounds like you had a wonderful time. the DHs gets the days off that you need!

 

[Tammi67]

Good night everyone. See you tomorrow.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

And I didn't detect a Texas drawl from her voicemail she left me!

You girls crack me up! No, I don't look like Mrs. Doubtfire OR Jo Frost! And I don't have a Texas drawl because I didn't move to TX until I was almost 19. Before that I lived all over so my accent is very strange.

I am very wimpy about cold, though! When I met Vicki I was in a polar fleece jacket, a hat and gloves.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Good night, Tammi!