~The Man Report 2006~~~~~End & Summary~~~~~Lots of Pictures

[Linnie The Pooh]

Just as I'm getting ready to type this, I find Moan Boy in the bathroom "shaving" with Dad's razor. Every year.... It's like an annual thing-he has to give it a try when we're at WDW. Just an accident waiting to happen. You can tell Buzz isn't used to travelling with us. I have all my dangerous stuff put away, even my calcium tablets. Not Buzz, here's a razor sitting out on his sink.

May I say...only on page two and loving this report.....but I have to say, I am torn in showing my husband a picture of your wifes closet.

First, why I don't want to show him....this may be one of the neatest closets ever. Mine is not so neat. Husban is a neat freak.

Second....why I want to show him.....there is someone with at least the same or more shoes than I have!

OK I going back to read more!

The funny thing about my closet is that that was only a small portion of it!! The picture only shows about 1/3 of my shoes and probably only 1/4 of the actual space for my clothes! I have a lot more, much to Buzz's annoyance! And what you don't get to see is all my clothes are grouped by style: Dressy, T-shirts, long sleeves, sweatshirts etc. And arranged in rainbow order! As are my shoes. Yeah I'm a little compulsive myself.

Thanks for the hug blue! Today is going better.

I suppose it could be worse....they could have one of those gift shops ya gotta walk thru when you exit the restroom.

So true!!

i can't believe Buzz wrote that about me having to stop at every bathroom. It isn't my fault-it's the food. And the wine. And the beer. And every morning Buzz asks me if I want coffee. Uh, no....better pass on that!!

We did get sprinkled with pixie dust yesterday! How fun!

And I really do NOT like it when people spit in the pool, Buzz. It is a word called GROSS and UNSANITARY!! I guess that's 2 words...I'm a little germophobic. I have a sense of humor, very unlike a boa constrictor with constipation. But spitting at me in the pool will only get you in trouble.

 

[Montana Disney Fan]

Day 8 – MK – Me & Zurg duke it out

We are now a well oiled touring machine as we wake up without an alarm, pounce out of bed, and prepare for the day. Everyone has their duties in the morning to ensure an on time departure. The Goal is Magic Kingdom today and we plan to bring it to its knees.

As we go about our morning duties, there is no time for chit chat. We pass each other in the hall and merely “grunt”. Coffee gets made. Teeth are brushed. Pills are swallowed and breakfast bars get inhaled.

This force is in tip-top shape and ready for action. We have our “poop” together and attack parks like Hitler invading Poland. I call it, Milzkrieg. I’m proud of my “men” and would take them with me into any park for battle.

We leave at precisely the right time, arrive minutes before our bus shows up, and make it to MK with 15 minutes to spare. I’m not the first to get the stroller today but the third. We arrive at Adventure Land prior to it the “rope drop”. Everything is going as planned.

The rope finally drops and the rest is a blur of rides, shows, bathrooms, and food. We do more in 3 hours than most accomplish in a week. It feels good. The machine is fine tuned.

We finally make it to Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. I like this ride as my wife and I were doing the Space Mountain “Sprint” the morning it opened many years ago (before kids) & were among the first 20 people to ride it. It was back in the fall of 1998. We were diverted to this ride by Buzz himself and have liked it ever since.

As we walk through the stand-by line and onto the ride (5 minutes), I prepare my mind to top my previous high score. I must become one with my machine. I spin and shoot… spin and shoot… always going for the distant targets and when honed in, I grind the target into submission accumulating points in rapid fashion.

By the end of the ride, I look down. 210,600. A new Mills family record! I look around to note the other scores of fellow clan members. The 4 year old has 4200. The boy zero and mom has racked up just under 70k. I am the victor… yet again.

I raise my head high, proud of my accomplishment. My wife notes the look on my face and gives me words of encouragement… “That score ain’t so good!!”.

I know she’s right, but I also know that I am the high scorer in our family. I shall have a plaque made upon our return noting the accomplishment. It shall hang on my office wall.

I was like the third title out of 7 or 8 for titles. I think I made Planetary Pilot or something for my score. The wife was Ranger First Class and the two little ones were Munchkin Recruits or something like that. Does anyone know the rankings of the chart at the end of the ride? I’d like to see it for more than 20 seconds (like on the ride).

How does anyone get to that 1 or 2 million point level? I really want to do better but around 200k is all I can manage. I work my tail off just to get that high!

Anyone have any tips for me?

It was cool today. Ok, maybe cold. No clouds, very sunny, but very chilly. We show up in the parks with t-shirts and shorts, freezing our little butts off and looking to spend $100 on sweatshirts. We ended up with Pirate T-Shirts which we tossed over our clothes and that really helped a lot.

Tomorrow is supposed to be cool also (a tad warmer) which is fine by me. It’s still sunny and that’s all the matters.

We swam in the cool weather today and had a lot of fun. Nobody else was crazy enough to swim with us so we had the run of the place. Moan Boy did the slide at the Big Pool about 25 times. Most of them alone!

I ran to Giordano’s for dinner (Pizza) and brought it back to the room. We did laundry, sat around, read the paper, did homework and relaxed. It was awesome and we needed it.

Kids get a bath then off to bed. Mom and dad are going to put in a movie we brought with us (Working Girl) sip some wine and hit the sack early. Ok, maybe midnight as It's now 11:30.

Tomorrow it’s back to Epcot. We might even rent a boat and tour the lake.

Adios from Orlando! MDF

 

[tictoc]

The back of the robot's hand as you exit that room is worth 100,000 points each hit. The Alien in the Box and the volcano are also worth a lot of points!

Glad you are still having fun!

 

[Goofster57]

Thanks for the great reports, they are really enjoyable to read and I really like seeing the photo’s that go with them.

Yeah I'm a little compulsive myself.

I knew it, I knew it, when I saw the picture of the closet I said to myself…self
I bet this one is one of those compulsive individual

I’m not the first to get the stroller today but the third.

Man what is going on with you, first no Bagel Dogs made the trip and now you are third in getting the stroller. I think you need to sit down and have a serious motivational talk with yourself. The men of the Dis Boards are looking to you for inspiration.

 

[stinkerbelle's mom]

I'm am totally loving this TR. Buzz you is da man! Providing such great entertainment for your family, scouting out the fun & knowing when to call it a day! Most important detailing such great entertainment for us. You rock dude!

LTP- I'm very sorry for your losses & I'm glad the vacation is helping you feel better. Don't worry about feeling selfish, you sound like a great mom that is devoted to her family-- you deserve some fun too! Enjoy playing with your.....errr your dd's dolls!

Can't wait for more!

 

[svalencia1]

Great TR, i found it last night and when I woke up this morning it was the first thing I went to read. I'm hooked! By the way the picture with your son and the unknown character towards the begining of the TR is Leo of the Little Einsteins. My son loves that show and we had breakfast with them at H&V for his birthday.

 

[First timer]

Day 7 – MK – The “All Disney, All the Time” Diet



Speaking of constipation, exactly what is in the food down here? We’ve been on the “All Disney, All the Time” diet. Like Atkins, it’s high protein. Unlike Atkins, it’s also high Carb, high Fat, and high French Fry.

Because of this unique vacation diet, “our” bodies are changing. When I say “our”, I mean everyone but Linnie The Pooh-A-Lot.

The kids and I haven’t seen a toilet since we got here. Fine by me! It’s so inconvenient anyway, I don’t mind. The kids don’t even notice either.

 

[Montana Disney Fan]

I'm am totally loving this TR. Buzz you is da man! Providing such great entertainment for your family, scouting out the fun & knowing when to call it a day! Most important detailing such great entertainment for us. You rock dude!

LTP- I'm very sorry for your losses & I'm glad the vacation is helping you feel better. Don't worry about feeling selfish, you sound like a great mom that is devoted to her family-- you deserve some fun too! Enjoy playing with your.....errr your dd's dolls!

Can't wait for more!

Thanks! We're having a lot of fun are totally tuned into the Disney experience right now. We are in the Disney "Zone".

Picture Time! For blue river, I've got some shots of the new room at SSR.

Hard to see with sun beaming in the window. This is the kitchen & living room area.

Same shot, different direction.

Master Suite. That little desk in the corner is where I’m sitting right now.

Master Bath. Kids have a bathroom near their bedroom also.

Kids bedroom. Each section (kids, master, kitchen/living room) is about the size of standard hotel room. Total room size is around 1050 sq ft

Balcony has two chairs and a small table with a great view.

Chef Mickey’s.

Moan Boy gets a hug from the big “Cheese”

Our bus stop. We stood in the sun this morning since it was so cold. Had to be around 50 degrees.

”Enough with the camera for crying out loud! We’re on a bus!”

Waiting for the “rope-drop” at Adventure Land.

Off to Goofy’s Barnstormer roller coaster. One of the kids favorites.

This is ON Goofy’s Barnstormer.

Now we see why Moan Boy’s score was zero. He’s not even manning his gun!!!

On the TTA (Tomorrowland Transit Authority). For some odd reason, we like this ride.

This isn’t as pretty as it looks. She killed this duck with her bare hands and ate it raw… much to the horror of the British Newlyweds who were feeding him French Fries only moments before.

”Mom, the castle is broken!”

Unfortunately for my son, my wife is a retired school teacher. Poor kid.

While bro does homework, Loud Girl dresses up the princesses and talks to them

Even tho it was freezing, Moan Boy went on the slide over and over and over and over…

Mom wasn’t movin’ to quick as she rounded the bend. The water was backin’ up behind her like a toilet flushing a turd.

Speaking of turds, here comes dad at Mach 4!

 

[Linnie The Pooh]

LTP- I'm very sorry for your losses & I'm glad the vacation is helping you feel better. Don't worry about feeling selfish, you sound like a great mom that is devoted to her family-- you deserve some fun too! Enjoy playing with your.....errr your dd's dolls!

Can't wait for more!

Thank you. Sometimes it's just unbelievable to me that they're both gone. My dad always worried about us when we were on vacation and he'd always tell me he loved me the last time he saw me before we left and to watch the kids so no one would steal them. If I didn't call him soon enough, while on vacation, he'd be calling my cell phone to see how we were doing. I always bought my grandma a special souvenier. It's hard to imagine those days being over. I haven't even called home. I don't want to have to think about it.

And I have to say that the reason I score so low on Buzz's Space Ranger ride is that Trey's biggest thrill is controlling the car and spinning us around. I just let him spin his little heart out and try to hit some targets while he's doing that. It's what he does and he does it well! I could beat Buzz's score if he rode with Trey, but I know he wouldn't let Trey have free rein with the controls!! So I just let him think he's better than me...

 

[Montana Disney Fan]

Day 9 – Epcot – Oreos & Canadian Whiskey

Here’s the problem with buffets; you overeat to make sure you get your moneys worth. With Disney buffets, there are many other problems.

We arrived today for our last ADR (the rest have been canceled) at the Akershus Storybook Breakfast. There’s supposed to be princesses and food galore. This also means hundreds of cranky toddlers & preschoolers followed by irritated parents who are then sometimes followed by smiling grandparents.

What in the heck are those pesky grandparents always smiling about? Every grandparent in the World is smiling while everyone else is miserable. They obviously know something we do not.

Anyway, we show up early, check in and wander around Norway snapping pictures at anything trying to kill time. Our only worry is the irritable Moan Boy. We luck out as our name is called within 5 minutes of checking in.

Have you been to one of these things before? Let me tell you, it’s a sight to behold! Children and parents, waiters, waitresses, cooks, hosts and hostesses, princesses and photographers. There are more cast members than guests!

We are placed in our first line where my daughter’s eye immediately goes to “Belle” who is the “Main” princess of the day. She stands stationary in a little room and your daughter walks in, gets a picture, then you are placed in a holding line to be seated for breakfast. Moan Boy figures, what the heck, so he gets a picture also.

After 25 minutes of ballyhoo, you finally get seated and get to meet your first Norwegian. Our Norwegian (waitress) is dressed in old, Bavarian style clothing (by my untrained eye anyhow) and has blonde hair. In fact, all the Norwegians have blonde hair. No joke either.

We can’t really understand her English but gather that she is indicating we need to go to the buffet. We fight our way to the front of the buffet line like seniors at the “early bird” meal and are horrified to not recognize much of the fare being served here. My daughter keeps yelling “eggs, eggs, eggs”. Problem is I see no eggs. I see some fruit, cheese, cold meat, and raw salmon. Yes, raw salmon. No sausage, bacon, eggs, or donuts.

I load up on cheese, salami, and crackers. I can eat this any time and it don’t matter if it’s for breakfast. All I need now is a cold frosty beer and a football game and I’m all set.

Since I’m not familiar with the routine here, I take enough for an entire meal. People are now looking at me and pointing as I walk back to our table with a mountain of processed meat and goat cheese where I go to work on what turns out to be a very delicious feast.

Minutes later, our waitress, the blond Norwegian, brings out a huge plate of eggs, bacon, sausage and a potato casserole. I’m already happy but now I’m ecstatic. Loud Girl loads up on eggs while Moan Boy grabs ALL the bacon (plus most of the second helping we receive from our waitress, the blond Norwegian ). Mom takes a giant sliver of the potato casserole while I grab a sausage and some eggs. Next comes coffee, OJ, and apple juice. My eyes are slowly rolling into the back of my head when the first princess comes sauntering out.

I think 5 came out total and the only one I knew was Snow White. Hard to miss her with that crazy dress she’s always sportin’. We snapped 20 pictures, purchased the $30 photo of daughter and Belle at the beginning of breakfast and hit the road. Only 45 minutes had passed. Disney knows what they are doing!

It was Epcot day and we did all the usual stuff. The difference was we were all stuffed and bloated from breakfast so no nibbling or sipping wine. At 1pm, we called it a day and went swimming.

After swimming, we took a break in the room before heading to Downtown Disney for food and margaritas. We hit the Earl of Sandwich again but I’m still full from breakfast. Does that stop me? Nope! I order a sandwich, eat a bag of potato chips, and gulp down a margarita. I need help!

I’m having problems even breathing. My body is so full of grease and carbs I can barely walk. Toss in some cheap tequila and I’m a wreck. Tonight I’m going to stuff myself with Oreos and Canadian Whiskey in the room while watching a movie. I’m sure to wake up around midnight underneath the kitchen table with crumbled up cookies stuck to my face and body.

I may be a candidate for the Betty Ford Clinic upon our return home. I will need to detox my body off the Disney food first and foremost. It’s really starting to get to me. I need to eat a leaf or something. Maybe a carrot. Something not fried, breaded or formally mooing. I find I now sweat in the shower. That can’t be good. Also, my “stretchy” shorts are starting to look strained. I won’t even go near the portion of the closet where shorts with buttons & zippers are located!

Could two weeks on vacation ruin a years worth of dieting? Probably since that diet started after our return home from the LAST vacation.

The only thing that keeps me going is the pedometer reading (17.4 miles as of two minutes ago). We’re on pace to hit 24 miles or 2 miles per day average. That’s not bad but I run 4 ½ miles per day back home so I’m really going in the wrong direction. That might explain my fear of the non-stretchy shorts section of my Disney closet.

Well, that’s about all for the day. We are slowing down, unable to keep up with our earlier frantic pace. Tomorrow is MGM for the first time since the debacle last week. It’s the only park we have yet to master so the game plan is set, and the troops know their duties. Starting tomorrow at 8:45 am, we begin our own little D-Day invasion of MGM.

Talk to you tomorrow! MDF

 

[MARY-IN-OH]

Just YAY! that's all I gotta say. I am loving this report! Thank you for sharing with us! Hi LTP! How ya holdin' up?

 

[kaitlin-n-mom]

Montana Family

I don't know who is going to be sadder when your vacation ends, me or all of you?? I look forward everyday to reading your trip report. We have 89 days until our trip to SSR. Thanks for all the pics. Have a wonderful time!!

 

[mommic32]

I have been meaning to write,, but for some reason,, my fingers arent moving fast as my brain is these days!
However,,, I do love reading this trip report!
I'm glad that you are all enjoying yourselfs!

 

[Linnie The Pooh]

Just YAY! that's all I gotta say. I am loving this report! Thank you for sharing with us! Hi LTP! How ya holdin' up?

I'm hanging in there! Thank you for asking. I have pains shooting up through my calves from all the walking. I, too, am quite bloated from this Disney Diet thing we have going on. I packed/hid all my buttony shorts-can't even bring myself to try them on to see if they still fit-I'm sure they don't. The sad thing is they did last week. My head was pounding today by mid-afternoon for some unknown reason and I'm starting to emit an odor that is not exactly feminine. Most of the time, I'm too tired to bathe and Buz's schedule doesn't allow me a shower in the morning so I'm kind of getting used to it.

I'm starting to look forward to getting back to Montana, getting on my treadmill, going on a "Wine Deprivation Plan" and eating some home cooked healthy food again!!! And a good long bath!!

The Princess Breakfast was awesome. I didn't think about it, but mental note to self for next year: Get my picture taken with the princesses too!! I loved them!!

Buzz's description of him under the table with cookies on his face?? That would not be the first time I found Buzz under the table, passed out with something on his face! I've seen that more times than I care to admit. It ain't pretty!!

 

[Montana Disney Fan]

Buzz's description of him under the table with cookies on his face?? That would not be the first time I found Buzz under the table, passed out with something on his face! I've seen that more times than I care to admit. It ain't pretty!!

She's obviously joking! I would never over-imbibe to the point of "falling asleep" in an inappropriate place & contrary to popular opinion, I do NOT "...have the mannerisms of an alley-cat".

Back in the day, as I came out of the armed forces, I was known to act inappropriate upon occasion & was even labeled as a bit of a "rounder". However, those days are long behind me. I'm just an innocent, loving father and champion to the downtrodden and woe-be-gotten.

Linnie The Pooh-A-Lot is just getting even for the picture of her and the mutilated duck she is inhaling. Don't listen to a word she says.

 

[PartyFromSaturn]

Thank you so much for such a great trip report. So much of it reminds me of my family: the commando approach, the annual picture ops, and the bathroom humor, especially.

I should be packing b/c our annual trip starts tomorrow, but I had to read one last trip report. So glad I found this!

Have a great time on the rest of your stay!

 

[makinorlando]

Sounds like another wonderful day! Are you all loving this not too hot weather? Morning's a bit chilly but the rest of the day...... to die for after a long hot summer!

Nighty night!

 

[Montana Disney Fan]

Sounds like another wonderful day! Are you all loving this not too hot weather? Morning's a bit chilly but the rest of the day...... to die for after a long hot summer!

Nighty night!

It HAS been cool in the morning but not so bad for us. Tuesday WAS a little TOO cold but this morning was perfect since there was no wind.

 

[Cass]

My eyes are slowly rolling into the back of my head when the first princess comes sauntering out.

I think 5 came out total and the only one I knew was Snow White.

What? you only recognized one out of 5?

Linnie the Pooh, please fill in the missing princesses for me?

 

[stinkerbelle's mom]

Thank you. Sometimes it's just unbelievable to me that they're both gone. My dad always worried about us when we were on vacation and he'd always tell me he loved me the last time he saw me before we left and to watch the kids so no one would steal them. If I didn't call him soon enough, while on vacation, he'd be calling my cell phone to see how we were doing. I always bought my grandma a special souvenier. It's hard to imagine those days being over. I haven't even called home. I don't want to have to think about it.

It does get easier with time. You just got a double whammy. Maybe you could get yourself a nice holiday ornament to represent your dad & your grandma.

And I have to say that the reason I score so low on Buzz's Space Ranger ride is that Trey's biggest thrill is controlling the car and spinning us around. I just let him spin his little heart out and try to hit some targets while he's doing that. It's what he does and he does it well! I could beat Buzz's score if he rode with Trey, but I know he wouldn't let Trey have free rein with the controls!! So I just let him think he's better than me...

I hear ya, every once in a while ya gotta throw them a bone, ya know make them think they're big & powerful!