The Great Pink Mickey Croc Tour..last pics 08/09, last words 08/15

[Buckeye Gal]

Hey, Tammie!

I've been thinking about you wondering if you made it back yet. What a scare your DIL gave all of you. I hope she continues to be well.

Very much looking forward to hearing about the trip with your sister and her kids! In the meantime, enjoy your graduation weekend.

 

[Eeyore's Tailfinder]

Great start to your trip report! Glad you had a wonderful time and that your DIL is alright - I'm sure you had a quite a scare there! Looking forward to more!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Hey, Tammie!

I've been thinking about you wondering if you made it back yet. What a scare your DIL gave all of you. I hope she continues to be well.

Very much looking forward to hearing about the trip with your sister and her kids! In the meantime, enjoy your graduation weekend.

Thanks Kimberly! our graduation party went well, and my DIL seems to be okay, although they are still not sure why she feels faint so much. She is seeing a specialist this coming week.

Great start to your trip report! Glad you had a wonderful time and that your DIL is alright - I'm sure you had a quite a scare there! Looking forward to more!

Thanks for reading Hayley! I thought I had my pics downloaded, but I couldn't bring them over to photobucket - I'll have to try again.

Have a great Sunday!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Okay, I'm back and I have my pics downloaded, so here goes!

We flew out of Oregon at 6am - had a great flight to SLC - Hi Utahmama! and then a great flight to MCO, with the exception of being 20 minutes late after taking off 40 min late from SLC. When we touched down, I phoned Alice, who said they had found the Disney welcome center, and they were waiting comfortably. I was suddenly so excited We were actually there! We quickly found our way down the first escalator, to find a CM waiting with a big Mickey hand - we ran up to her as if we were contestants on "The Amazing Race," "Hi! Here we are " Looking back, we must have looked pretty funny All that excitement, you know.

We took the elevator down and found the waiting area, along with Alice, Jedi and Princess! After hugs, Alice and I went up to check in while Grumpy stayed with the kids. Everything was good, except my ME reservations were still screwed up, and the CMs were having a discussion about cancelling my ressies for my return trip I told them to leave it and I would have MY concierge fix it And we were on the Bus!!!
A short view of PO and OKW and WELCOME HOME!!!!

Our check in went wonderfully, and we were all so jazzed We got the grandstand, with rooms close to each other - just what we wanted! The lobby was beautiful, and the service was great!

I kept getting desparate calls starting on the bus from Andrew and gardengrocer.com, wanting to deliver our order! Poor guy, he seemed really perplexed as to why I was not available at my requested delivery time - oh well, I guess I didn't plan for airline stuff, or for extra stops on the ME.

Anyway, we found our beautiful room, with a great pool view and slider - my DSIS had a nice courtyard and resort view, with French doors out to her veranda

So Andrew found our room, went through the order with us - we made sure the kids had their share of cookies and milk, cereal, etc. Now to head to SOG to get tickets - let's see, "just get to the bus stop and a bus to DD will come by and we get a ride, then hop on a bus to SOG." I read it on the Disboards! So, we wait, the MK bus comes, then AK, then Epcot, then TL, then BB - no DD after 45 minutes Now it's 7:10 and we have Ressies at RFC, so no time to go to SOG for tickets We absolutely can't miss out on the EMH in the morning - Jedi and Princess are early risers, and it's our first day! So, where was that lobby again? With the blind leading the blind, we found the lobby and bought our tickets at the front desk for $40 more per adult and 30 for the kids. My DH's response? Why did we wait for the bus for 45 minutes to save $40? But it's $40 apiece! I am a good Dis planner, and I know how to save some money for souveniers! Okay, it's really time to have fun - we're at DISNEY for crying out loud!

With our Key to the World cards primed and ready, it was a beautiful walk to DD and RFC for dinner!

We checked in for our ressies, and were told we would have a 2 hr wait "we don't have any more reservations available tonight." Okay, please hear me - "I have a reservation!" "Oh, you have a reservation? Please wait on the gorilla feet on the floor and we will seat you! " We were seated in the gorilla section! We had great gorilla action and Jedi and Princess loved the rain storms! I had them worried that they needed an umbrella at first!

Let's see, what did we eat? Sorry, no food porn here. We had the big appetizer platter, some really fancy drinks and lighted cups for the kids. I had coconut shrimp platter, with some kind of unusual salad - along with a lemony sauce - delicious!
The service: pretty questionable - the waitress actually asked us to clear our plates over to one end of the table so she could get them out of our way! We told her we were celebrating princess's birthday - no cake, no singing, nothing Other people were getting the full treatment, and princess noticed. No offer for dessert, no refills - she did get us a DVC discount, however, which was a really nice discount on that bill! Of course we gave her a big tip anyway

Now, off to bed - tomorrow is the Magic Kingdom!!! We have to get up at what time? I'm sure I checked and double checked my Passporter list - we need to be out to the bus at 7am! Get a wake up call from Mickey! We have to be out there!

Okay, NEXT time, not so magic!

 

[Debbie6221]

Great TR! Love it so far. Awesome pix.

 

[ahibird]

Hi Tammie

I found my way over to your TR -- it's great so far !!! Waiting anxiously for more...

 

[zweihund]

Welcome back Tammie!
Enjoying it so far

 

[NHdisneylover]

You're off to a great start Tammie. I am ready and waiting for more

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Great TR! Love it so far. Awesome pix.

Thanks Debbie! I took about 300 - I promise I won't post that many

Hi Tammie

I found my way over to your TR -- it's great so far !!! Waiting anxiously for more...

Hi Lisa! Thanks for reading! Hope you like it!

Welcome back Tammie!
Enjoying it so far

You're off to a great start Tammie. I am ready and waiting for more

Thanks! I'm not the writer you are, Erica, but I'll try to make it fun! I can't believe how hard it is to get back to real life after vacation! I just wanna go back! Planning our cruise with you gals will make it easier

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Tues, June 5th: You know how you plan something, and you picture how it will be for so long - and then when it's not that way, some how it must be WRONG! That's how our first day at MK was for me - looking back, it really was okay - and we had a great end of the day so as my fav old movie star would say, "Ka Sera Sera" or something like that!

Remember, we needed to be at the bus at 7:00 - EMH hours at 8:00 - my plan: Head for the back of the park, Ride Dumbo (my first Dumbo ride ever, as the lines are always so long); Peter Pan, see Philharmagic, get Arial's autograph, check out Toontown - then head over to Adventureland to fast pass Splash Mountain or POC, get my very first DOLE WHIP! I mean I even had a list! So, here's how the day really went....

Let's see - we get down to the bus stop at 7:10, just in time to see the MK bus pulling away - wait for the MK bus - every other bus comes twice, still no MK bus. Finally at 7:40 Yeah!!! It's the MK bus! We are the first stop at SSR, but after 3 more stops we're on our way! Jedi and Princess are already wanting to go back and swim at the resort - "what time are we going to swim?" As we near the Magic Place, the songs on the bus change to the Mickey Mouse club and Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah! We're really here!!! I sing along, Princess smiles up at me in an adoring way - while Jedi looks a little grumpy - wants to know why we made so many stops

Here is a pic of Alice with Jedi and Princess at the bus stop with their ears purchased at DD last night!

Me, AT, with them - the chubby one in pink is me - notice that only two of us are wearing the pink crocs! I think there was only one day that we actually all three wore them

Coming through the gate, we get our first of many little magic surprises - after we get through the turnstile, the CM who is manning it says to Princess, "princess, hold out your hands." She helps her cup her hands, and then fills them with Mickey head confetti! She says, "These are your wishes! when you step inside the gate, make a wish and throw them into the air, and your wish will come true!" I am thinking, "this is going to be a special day!" It was so sweet of the CM, and there were several other minutes like this every day!

Okay, inside Magic Kingdom - 8:15 - not bad - we still have lots of time - Oh, we have to stop and see Chip N Dale!

Okay, after pics with the boys, pics of the castle, a bathroom break - we're off to Fantasyland! This is my dream! I can't wait for them to see it! My DSIS is appropriately impressed - the kids? 5 minutes after we start out - "My feet hurt." "I'm tired." "It's hot." Remember those words. So, off to Dumbo!!!!!! I almost run over to it - yeah, the line is still short - do we need a fastpass for Peter Pan? No, it will be okay! I jump in line, "come on! It's a classic!" I turn around to find I am all by myself!

My DH doesn't go in circles - I know that - Princess doesn't want to ride because she needs a snack, Jedi doesn't want to wait in line - he wants to ride the carousel - he takes off over there, so we all follow him! DH and I stand by while the ride starts, and they run from horse to horse trying to find the right one to ride Folks, we are at WDW!!!! They have carousels at the local carnival!!! Okay, I have since realized that children like what they are familiar with, and they have no concept of "we traveled all this way, we have to...." Things will get better, I promise.

So, now it's 9am, EMH is over - my plan isn't working! I think I really let the control freak inside get the better of me for a little while.

Okay, it's off to Peter Pan! "Oh no, there's a line!" This took about two days to over come with Jedi! Mind you, it took us 10 minutes to get to the front! coming from a small town in OK, the fact that a 10 minute line was short was just not making sense on the first day! Once we got flying, they all loved it! We had boys in one ship, and girls in the other - lots of oohs and aahs and pointing! Just what I hoped for! It WAS a good day!

Okay, snack time, bathroom time, shopping at a kiosk, let's go to Snow White - no there's a line - let's go to Philharmagic! Yeah! We loved it! Lots of laughter and screaming - Yeah!!!! Okay, more bathroom breaks, lots of complaining about tired feet - Small World! Now, my DH just loves that one - but we have to do it - it's a classic! Jedi and Princess laughed and pointed at the different little people - they loved it!

Okay - are you ready for a real ride??? We headed for BTM while DH ran for a FP for SM. Some how, we didn't make it over there - I don't remember why - bathroom, or shopping, maybe someone actually wanted to look around at their first visit to MK - how could they? Someone PLEASE remind me to leave my combat boots at home next time! Anyway, DH is calling looking for us - "here we are - right behind you!" This would be a recurring theme throughout the week After waiting for 20 minutes and lots of "why do we have to wait, why can't we just ride?" BTM RR is a big hit! My DSIS says this is her first roller coaster ride! Lots of screams and laughter - Princess, jumped up and down, "can we do it again? can we do it again?" I wish I could say yes, but we had to get over to SM for our FP! This, too, would be a recurring theme - really came back to bite at AK - but that's another day.

So, on the way to SM - coming right down the street toward us was Woody, Jessie and the gang! We jumped up on the nearest porch and learned about being a "Rootin' Tootin' cowboy" "Hey Howdy Hey!"

Okay - time to SPLASH! It was really fun to see the reaction to the characters, and to watch as they kept expecting the "big drop"! Yeah!! could we do it again? Sorry, 60 minute wait, we can't - but I bought the picture! I don't have it scanned in, but the look on Princess's face is priceless! Kind of like this guy: only with lots of teeth!

Okay, lunch at Pecos Bill! Great BBQ sandwiches and burgers! Grumpy saved a table outside, while we ordered. We managed somehow to get our trays and kids outside - we had 4 chairs for the 5 of us, but felt lucky to get that! we were near a fence post, so Jedi sat on that - we were fine - Oh no, Princess wanted Ranch for her chicken strips - Not so Grumpy goes back looking for ranch, gone until we are almost done eating - Oh No! Princess doesn't like this chicken - it's not strips, it's nuggets The only thing she can eat is Grumpy's dessert Another recurring theme - we just barely start picking up our trash, and a lady in a scooter pulls up to our table while we are still sitting there - were we finished, could she have this table - could you hurry up and get out of the way, her family is hungry!

Now, Jedi and Princess are out of gas - they are not enjoying one another's company their feet are tired and it's way too hot here! My plan was for naps and then back to see wishes after dinner, but the kids need an early night if we are to have a good day tomorrow. So, after a stop to play in the water for about 20 minutes at Ariel's grotto, we are heading for the bus back to the resort for a swim. I offered to wait in line for Princess, and then have her join me to meet Ariel, one of her favs, but she didn't want to. So, not too long a wait for the bus, first ones off - Yeah! It's time to swim in the pool and play in the water!

We changed into our suits, got refillable mugs, I ordered a Mai Tai, and Heaven! Sitting by the pool with a drink in Florida! How can you complain about that? I forgot, almost, that I still didn't ride Dumbo - and sorry, dear Disers, I didn't even give the Dole Whip a thought!

World's Biggest Squirguns!

Now we have ADRs for Cinderella's Grand Feast at the GF! So, how do we get there? Let's see? Ride the Bus to MK - take the boat over, right
ADRs for 6:10 - let's just get a bus to DD then GF. We need to be at the bus stop by 5pm, right? So, what exactly does a DD bus look like? Once again, no DD bus for 30 minutes. We finally get on a bus, then on another bus to GF - we had to stop somewhere else first, I don't remember. We did get to GF just in time. We had some sleepy kids:

I had the rest of the day all typed and the pics here, but I have "too many images." so I have to start over on the rest of the day 2 1/2 hours down the drain. I will post our dinner with cindy next time!

Have a great weekend!

 

[Buckeye Gal]

Hey, Tammie!

Going to MK and hitting the carousel is so classic. I kept picturing myself in your controlling shoes, and of course they fit! I hope at some point we learn you were able to go back and ride Dumbo! My "must-do" ride is the teacups, so I can completely relate!

Looking forward to hearing more!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Thanks, Kimberly! I will finish day 1 very soon. I learned from this trip that I don't want to overplan the next time. We still had a great time - the week gets better!

 

[nenner1]

Hi Tammie,

Hopping on board your trippie!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

I am looking over my last post - I apologize - it is too negative - I was relaying our reaction to the first Not So Magic day, but I promise to be fun and positive from here on out! Thanks for bearing with me!

So, we arrived at the Grand Floridian just in time for our ressies! I had read that the dinner was moved to a new location for renovations, but it was still open at 1900 Park Fare, and it was still a buffet

So, back to our check in. Cindy's Fairygodmother was there in the lobby, so we lined up for autographs. Well, in typical 8 yr old boy fashion, Jedi decided he didn't want to get a Lady's autograph Later on, he didn't mind getting the pretty girls' autographs
So, Grumpy says HE will get the autograph! Fairygodmother got a kick out of this one!

Princess is excited to meet the Fairygodmother - and has finally awakened from her sleepy nap on the bus state to be excited about our "surprise" dinner with Cinderella!
DH and I were dressed alike - he in the Mickey Tiki shirt, and I had a matching dress. As we were walking away, we met another couple dressed just like us! We congratulated each other on our excellent taste!

We were called in for dinner and given excellent service! The buffet was delicious - roast beef, roasted chicken, lots of interesting salads and desserts, peel n eat shrimp and soups. The kids buffet had mac and cheese, jello, chicken nuggets, corn, fries and ???

On the DDP, they tell you that if kids choices are available, the kids have to choose from those items. While Jedi and Princess mostly chose those items, no one cared if they sampled a little of the regular buffet, either, which was nice.

Cinderella's mice friends, of which I can only remember Perla, came to visit several times:

We took our time eating, and saw Cindy and her prince make the rounds clockwise around the room - the excitement was building, the autograph books were ready, and then - "Poof" the Fairy Godmother made them disappear! We finished enjoying our meal - but we were not going to leave without meeting HRH! So I very politely asked one of the waiters when Cinderella might be coming... They had a little discussion amongst CMs, and then Tah DAh!!!! Prince Charming came right over to see us! He was very charming and very handsome! While signing Jedi's book, he asked if everyone was staying out of trouble here. Jedi promptly replied that Grumpy was causing trouble when asked what he had done, Jedi said, "He keeps telling me that he is going to leave me on Small World for 4 hours!" Prince Charming looked sternly at Grumpy with one eyebrow raised, and said, "That IS mean!"

Now Cinderella herself! She was so beautiful and so gracious, asked if we were enjoying our visit, and thanked us for joining her for dinner!

We left dinner to check out the fabulous lobby at the GF, and the gift shop, then out to the boat dock. I took this pic as we drove away.

Now, Alice decided that she wanted to go back to MK for a very short while - keeping in mind that we needed to get Jedi and Princess to bed early
to shop. She went to the big Emporium with Princess, while Grumpy and I took Jedi with us and went to the crystal shop to look for a grad gift for our DIL. As we were there, we heard music starting up, and "oh, oh - we're trapped " So, we collected everyone made it to a perfect viewing spot around the main street circle right at the gate so that we could make a quick getaway, and watched Spectromagic!!!! Now I love a Disney parade, and Grumpy hates them because of the crowds. So, I thoroughly enjoyed taking the time to really watch and enjoy, and
Alice, Jedi and Princess loved it! At about this time, I see that they are really catching the Magic! I took pics, but they didn't turn out great, so I will spare the space here.

We headed out for the bus, which came quickly - there was standing room only, but it was fine - we had had a wonderful night!

Next: Mission Space and Jedi meets Jedi!

 

[Debbie6221]

Great TR Tammie! I especially love it because I feel like I already know you!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Thanks, Debbie! You are such a good Dis friend! I hope we really do meet some day!

 

[tttessa]

Hiya, its Tessa - another Worry Warter....

I love the trippie so far - must take heed and not plan too much - (that was my DH response ) but I reckon I will also be guilty of the overplan....
Love the pics, must learn how to post them too.. I want to be there NOW - just 10 months to go aaarrrggghhhhh... hope there's more to come... love reading trippies..
Tessa

 

[ahibird]

Hi Tammie -- Great job so far on the TR!!! Looking forward to reading more... Love the pink crocs !!!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Hi Tammie,

Hopping on board your trippie!

Hi! Sorry I missed your post the other day - Thanks for coming over here!

Hi Tammie -- Great job so far on the TR!!! Looking forward to reading more... Love the pink crocs !!!

Thanks, Ahi! I'm glad you're here, too!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

June 6th

Today, we WILL catch the Epcot bus - we Will be early Well, almost.
With Epcot opening at 9am, we decided to be on the bus at 8, so we had better be out there by 7:45. So promptly at 8:05, we came out of the building, just in time to see the Epcot bus driving away It was okay, we still got there about 9:20 - the "bag check" line fed into the entrance line - really a slow process - don't know why

Okay, we're here! After getting a stroller and a bathroom break - we are ready! By this time it's 10am. So, a ride in the Golf Ball is in order, Yeah! no line! Then Grumpy runs for a FP for Mission Space while we head over toward Nemo. By the time the Stroller is parked and a pic taken, Grumpy is back and we have an appointment with a Fish!

I got a kick out of the seagulls piping up with "mine!" "mine!" or "hi!" "hi!" every couple of minutes!

We loved the theme while waiting - looking up at the Jellyfish was awesome! We jumped in a clam shell, and enjoyed Nemo - coming out in the actual acquarium was so cool!

When we came out, we played around in the "shark tank" - Bruce swallowed me, but he didn't bite - I guess "people are friends" !

Excuse the blurry shot, I got this one on photopass, I am working on my photobook and CD to order, but I didn't want to wait for the mail to finish my TR, so I took a pic of the sceen

As we were leaving the "fish" area gift shop, a CM noticed that Princess was wearing a Birthday button, (which I forgot to mention from MK - Jedi got a First Visit one - they were also given some stickers at MK after riding the carousel!) So anyway, the CM asks Princess if she got a call from Goofy yet! "No, I only talked to Mickey and Stitch this morning when I woke up!"
"Oh! Goofy has been waiting to tell you Happy Birthday! Let's get him on the phone!"

We wanted to have a talk with Crush, but it is full and there is a wait for the next show, so we agree to come back...DIDN'T HAPPEN!

Alright, it's off to Mission Space! Now Grumpy doesn't want to spin - he did that once before He takes Jedi and Princess in the Green Line, and Alice and I bravely head off to the Orange line. We are promptly lined up in the briefing area, and are joined by two young men who don't speak much English! They are enjoying the Pre-launch ceremonies! 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, we are go for launch! 2, 1 I am lovin' it again! I love the seat rumbling, I love the weightless feeling - my hands are too heavy to move - Will I be able to push the buttons when it's my turn? I AM the Navigator!

We land safely in a snowbank on Mars and I am giggling - Alice? She is really quiet - we stumble out of our capsule, and she promptly sits on a bench. We are quickly joined by a CM, who points out a convenient restroom, which Alice runs for! She comes out feeling a little better, no she did'nt. The nice CM stays with us and makes sure Alice is OK. We go to find the rest of our crew - who were playing with the computers in the post launch area. I was afraid Alice would have a bad day, but she quickly recovered!
We get a FP for Test Track, ride Ellen's energy ride - the kids enjoyed the surprise of the seats becoming a car - and the dinosaurs!
By this time, we are ready for lunch - Sunshine Tree Terrace! Alice and I ordered while Grumpy found a table with Jedi and Princess. The food was really fresh and delicious! I had a half broiled chicken with veggies and yummy garlic mashed potatoes and chocolate cake for dessert. Grumpy got grilled salmon, veggies and rice with sugar free brownie. The kids enjoyed their Kid's choice Mickey plates with chicken nuggets, carrot sticks, french fries and "dirt cake" with gummy worms for dessert!

With our full tummies, it was time to be test dummies! We waited about 20 minutes to use our FP! We loved this ride! Grumpy says it is okay, but the rest of us were laughing and screaming the whole time. We had a "single rider" in our car who got a kick out of the kids!

Alice wants to play the piano with her feet - like in the movie, "Big". We go to both Innoventions buildings, but everything has changed - no big piano. The kids enjoyed the games and Princess liked crawling through the bug tunnel. We stopped by the Coke station, give everything a good taste - I tried to trick everyone with the Beverly - Jedi liked it! We built some sports bottles - filled with frozen coke. I stepped out and bought a coffee, which, by the way was not a snack credit

Time to head over to MGM to check out the rides we can for today.