The MCLOVINS Hit the World - HARD!!!!! *COMPLETED*

[MarieTheCat24]

OMG you soooo need to visit AKL, even for a little while. It's an experience all on it's own. Since the first time I visited, I haven't had a trip where we didn't go back.

WHY AM I NOT SURPRISED YOU HAVE ALSO BEEN DRUNK ON FOOD. hahahahaha omg. Imagine the two of us together? Good God. Food drunkenness is a REAL thing and we need to spread awareness.

Yes! I did have to drink it out of a paper straw but it is so good that I would have poured it out of someone's used Croc in order to get it in my mouth so I really didn't mind.

I agree that Mickey hands are always the right choice... I don't know what I was thinking! And I am up for yelling at salamanders (or newts, for that matter) with you ANY time.

Ok. Next summer, I'm DEMANDING that my family go to Boma. I'm just going to pull the THIS IS *MY* 21ST BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION card so we are going to go stuff ourselves with hummus, delicious soups, and zebra domes, thankyouverymuch. It will be the perfect end to my KARA IS ACTING INCREDIBLY OUT OF CHARACTER AND ACTUALLY BEING ADVENTUROUS DAY should I wind up signing up for the Wild Africa Trek, which I reeeeeeeeeeally want to do. Zip-lining over the crocodile pit? That is something I would normally be terrified to do, but I want to do it to prove to myself that I can be adventurous and all that.

I think we need to write a charity song a la "We Are the World" to raise awareness of Food Drunkeness. 75983786943 Americans suffer from Food Drunkeness every hour. And Food Drunkeness doesn't just affect the individual, it affects the whole family.

Little Girl: (shocked) DADDY, WHY ARE YOU ACTING SO CRAZY?
Dad: ASJGHSJANKDSJAHDNDSASJDND!!!!! FOOOOOOOD!!! SNDSASJDJHGLJHNDSNHFJG!!!!
Little Girl: *cries*

People really need to be more aware of the repercussions of their Food Drunkeness. KNOW YOUR LIMIT, PEOPLE! KNOW YOUR LIMIT!

And don't even get me started on Over-eating and Driving....

 

[__disneygirl]

Ok. Next summer, I'm DEMANDING that my family go to Boma. I'm just going to pull the THIS IS *MY* 21ST BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION card so we are going to go stuff ourselves with hummus, delicious soups, and zebra domes, thankyouverymuch. It will be the perfect end to my KARA IS ACTING INCREDIBLY OUT OF CHARACTER AND ACTUALLY BEING ADVENTUROUS DAY should I wind up signing up for the Wild Africa Trek, which I reeeeeeeeeeally want to do. Zip-lining over the crocodile pit? That is something I would normally be terrified to do, but I want to do it to prove to myself that I can be adventurous and all that.

I think we need to write a charity song a la "We Are the World" to raise awareness of Food Drunkeness. 75983786943 Americans suffer from Food Drunkeness every hour. And Food Drunkeness doesn't just affect the individual, it affects the whole family.

Little Girl: (shocked) DADDY, WHY ARE YOU ACTING SO CRAZY?
Dad: ASJGHSJANKDSJAHDNDSASJDND!!!!! FOOOOOOOD!!! SNDSASJDJHGLJHNDSNHFJG!!!!
Little Girl: *cries*

People really need to be more aware of the repercussions of their Food Drunkeness. KNOW YOUR LIMIT, PEOPLE! KNOW YOUR LIMIT!

And don't even get me started on Over-eating and Driving....

You totally have to! Didn't you say your family would never go to Sci Fi, and then I told you that you must do anything you can to get there...and you did?? Basically, my trip report is obviously inspiring you and changing your life, and that must continue. Seriously though, you don't have to be adventurous at Boma if you don't want to. You don't have to act like a complete fool the way I did. You don't have to yell at even one salamander. I really want to go back and eat a ton of the hummus and the desserts. They are so good that it's worth the price to me to just eat that LOL. It's so hard to try new places when almost no Disney restaurants really disappoint me, and I just want to keep going back and back.

And I AM SO DOING THE WILD AFRICA TREK. Omg. We reallyreally have to. It's so weird because I was just watching the Travel Channel and crying (Sadly this is my life) and every time I see someone ziplining and I'm like I NEED TO DO THAT WHERE CAN I DO THAT. Turns out, Disney World. aaaaah

I agree that we need to write a song We Are The World style about being drunk on food. We can perform it outside of Boma just so people are warned. Michael Jackson would be proud.

 

[MarieTheCat24]

You totally have to! Didn't you say your family would never go to Sci Fi, and then I told you that you must do anything you can to get there...and you did?? Basically, my trip report is obviously inspiring you and changing your life, and that must continue. Seriously though, you don't have to be adventurous at Boma if you don't want to. You don't have to act like a complete fool the way I did. You don't have to yell at even one salamander. I really want to go back and eat a ton of the hummus and the desserts. They are so good that it's worth the price to me to just eat that LOL. It's so hard to try new places when almost no Disney restaurants really disappoint me, and I just want to keep going back and back.

And I AM SO DOING THE WILD AFRICA TREK. Omg. We reallyreally have to. It's so weird because I was just watching the Travel Channel and crying (Sadly this is my life) and every time I see someone ziplining and I'm like I NEED TO DO THAT WHERE CAN I DO THAT. Turns out, Disney World. aaaaah

I agree that we need to write a song We Are The World style about being drunk on food. We can perform it outside of Boma just so people are warned. Michael Jackson would be proud.

Very true. I never realized just how persuasive I could be until I convinced the family to try Sci-Fi. And they loved it! So persuading them to go to Boma should be even easier. Plus, it's not like they don't have some regular foods too. That's the big issue. My family isn't all that food adventurous. I am, but they aren't.

OMG. I know! There are like camping places around here where you can zipline, but it's not the same as ziplining over a crocodile pit. And since I don't think I'm gonna be able to visit Africa any time soon, Disney ziplining will do.

 

[__disneygirl]

Very true. I never realized just how persuasive I could be until I convinced the family to try Sci-Fi. And they loved it! So persuading them to go to Boma should be even easier. Plus, it's not like they don't have some regular foods too. That's the big issue. My family isn't all that food adventurous. I am, but they aren't.

OMG. I know! There are like camping places around here where you can zipline, but it's not the same as ziplining over a crocodile pit. And since I don't think I'm gonna be able to visit Africa any time soon, Disney ziplining will do.

Exactly! It's not ALL out-there foods. I mean even some of the stuff that's supposed to be a bit adventurous is really just chicken or beef or pork with some weird yet DELICIOUS sauce on it, you know? It's different, but not too different.

Thank God Disney is here to give us experiences we wouldn't otherwise have!

Update coming tomorrow guys! Woooohooo!!!!!

 

[__disneygirl]

April 15, 2010
Day 5, Part 1 In Which I Am Goin' Solo And Ridin' Dirty

Minus the dirty part.

I don't even know what Ridin' Dirty means or what it's even about.

But I do know it made way for Weird Al's White and Nerdy parody which I thoroughly enjoyed!

Let's move on.

You'd think after the catastrophe that is me drunk on food and leaping across the room, I would sleep in or something.

Nah.

Phone Rings bright and early. Another call from Stitchy. "Time to get up! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SLEEPING!!!!!!!!!!"



Ah, there's nothing like it folks. Stitch in the morning.

I was lovin' it. I sprung out of bed like Dale chasing Chip and got ready quickly. I wanted to get to the MK for opening.

Mom wasn't having any of it. She didn't want to ride dirty or any other way quite frankly. It was day five and she was tired. Her dogs were barkin', big time. She had complained about her feet a lot the day before and so I knew they were killing her by now. We decided she would rest and we would meet at Epcot in the afternoon.

It was one of those beautifully perfect mornings where the sun is beaming above with absolutely no sign of rain and YOUR bus to THE MAGIC KINGDOM is approaching your stop right as you are walking up to it. In no time, I was at my Utopia right before the opening time of 9AM, excited to see the Welcome Show for a second time.

Except that it had opened at 8AM so the Welcome Show was an hour ago. Crap, I got my EMH mornings mixed up!!! Sheesh, Lia, sheesh. It is unlike me to make a mistake in Disney planning, but it DOES happen. Believe it or not, this wasn't the last time that happened on this trip. I blame Boma for drugging me. Those damn Zebra Domes and that Frunch Juice! That's what it is. I'm tellin' ya.

Who cares though, really? I'm not obsessive about getting to the parks on time. I'm at Disney World. As long as I get to see sights like this:

the time doesn't much matter to me.

Despite the park having been open an hour already, there were hardly any crowds and I didn't wait on a line the entire time I was there!

See what I mean? I could have cartwheeled down Main Street and not hit a single person. I didn't, of course, but I should have. I resist the urge to cartwheel far too much.

I waved back at the CMs as they waved at me and skipped down Main Street. Literally skipped. Like I said, no crowds... lots of room! I mean, why not? I rarely skip anymore. Why is that? Why do we grow up and stop doing those fun little things? Sigh. I remember on the first day of my 2008 solo trip, it started pouring mercilessly at the MK and instead of hiding I just gave in and danced, soaking wet, down Main Street. It was a moment of complete and total freedom and liberation from an indoor girl who freaks out if she steps on a tiny drop of water in the kitchen, and it was, of course, magical.

This CM was waving with her hand in a Stitch backpack!

She deserves a raise, if you ask me.

I also saw a firefighter! I had never seen one on Main Street before. Isn't it such a great feeling when, after all these years and all these trips, you stumble upon something you've never experienced before?

Never gets old, NEVER is less breathtaking!

I was headed to Adventureland to ride Jungle Cruise. As I said on our first MK day, I hadn't been on Jungle Cruise since 2004 because the line is always so long and I always want to use fastpass on one of the mountains. So my plan was to tackle it early today before the masses got to it.

I love the Walt quotes around the buildings. He is one of my biggest inspirations to follow my dreams - NO MATTER WHAT. Because that "what" is usually filled with lots of reasons to quit... but I just won't. If I did, I wouldn't be me.

One of the tips I always give people who are visiting Disney World is this: Look UP. I was just saying it on this TR because she had taken a picture of something on the ceiling at Kidani village. There is almost always some beautiful mural or something dangling above you, some fantastic, well thought-out little detail hidden in the corner. Try it, you will see what I mean.

On this day in Adventureland, I was looking at the tops of the roofs and had a blonde moment wondering why there were balls of yarn on that post thingy, and then I saw the carpets. LOL. Magic carpets, of course.

I arrived at the dock to take my cruise through the jungle and was so happy to board a boat right away!

I sat down in the boat and saw this little guy:

I enjoyed the ride even more than I had remembered liking it before, dumb jokes and all. I know a lot of people skip it because you can see real animals at AK now, but to me Jungle Cruise has a certain charm that makes it still worthwhile. I can't wait to ride it again, and I'm hoping that I'll also get a chance to do so at night.

Obligatory "Back of water" pic:

I love this part, going through the ruins and the cave:

My next stop was Pirates of the Caribbean. I always ride this multiple times each trip because I notice something different every time, same with Haunted Mansion. This was my second time this trip and as usual it was even better than the first. Again, there was zero wait.

After my much needed alone time with Jack Sparrow, I stopped and sat down outside the dump shop so that I could make a very special phone call.

I had planned on surprising my mom with something special during the trip, I just didn't know what. This whole trip was for the both of us, but I mean... mainly me. I'm the Disney addict in the family, and it was my birthday trip. I wanted to do something extra special for my mom just to say thank you and show how much I appreciate her doing this for me. I was trying to think of things I could do for days and couldn't decide. Then, when she started saying how much her feet hurt, I was like BINGO!!

I decided I would book her a foot massage and pedicure over at the Grand Floridian Spa. I knew this would be the perfect mix of like a girly indulgence kind of thing mixed with something that would just really help her relax and enjoy the rest of the trip.

I called the Grand Floridian Spa and the woman was super nice and explained all the foot treatments they have there. I told her how my mom's feet had been hurting and she suggested a certain treatment that she assured me would really help. It wasn't too expensive, either! I made sure to tell the woman not to call our hotel room or anything because it was a surprise. Then, she told me she needed a credit card number to book the reservation, which would be no problem except I had left my card back at the resort. DUH. I planned on stopping at the Grand Floridian and paying for my mom's treatment in cash (Don't ask me why I was carrying a large amount of cash on me as opposed to a credit/debit card because I have no idea. Again I blame the chefs at Boma).

I knew I had to call my mom and have her give me my credit card numbers over the phone. But I knew she'd suspect something. I came up with this story that I wanted to buy something at the Magic Kingdom and they told me that I could just give them my credit card numbers. I thought I had totally blown the surprise and that she would know something was up but she TOTALLY BOUGHT IT, gave me the numbers, and that was that!

I called the GF back and booked the appointment for the early afternoon. I was SO excited to surprise her with this!!! On top of it, the lady told me that my mom would have FULL access to the entire Grand Floridian Spa, beaches, pools, sauna, gym, you name it!! It's kind of like paying to pool hop for the day. It would be amazing if, on our next trip, I could plan a day where we spend the whole day at the GF... breakfast, the gym, a massage, a pedicure, relaxing by the pool, etc. Heaven.

Up next: More MK Soloness & Surprising Mom.

 

[YukiPhnx]

Woooow, a foot massage at the GF sounds AMAZING!!!! Now I really want to book me on on my trip in 2013....

I'm so upset that I never figured out how to get that special wake-up call from Stitch. I really wanted it!!!

Your pictures are beautiful. Seriously, they're just gorgeous. I love the angles you took and just how perfect that sky is. I can't believe it was so empty!!

I've never had a problem getting onto the Jungle Cruise before. Maybe I just have incredibly good timing? I went on twice too. Night time is very cool.

Those ruins are really cool and all, but I always avert my gaze when the spiders show up....can't stand those things.

On my next trip, I'm taking your advice and am just going to look up the whole time. I'm pretty sure I missed a lot. Even Andrew looked up more than I did.

So you booked the massage for just your mom right? How much did that cost? What did it include? I can't believe she bought your story!

 

[duckylady]

LIA I HAVE NOT COMMENTED IN THIS TRIP REPORT SINCE 1956. But I'm here now! AREN'T YOU SO EXCITED.

Your pictures are GORGEOUS. They really capture what a beautiful morning it was. They're getting me suuuper excited to go.

Jungle Cruise omg! I didn't go on my last trip. BIGGEST REGRET EVER IN MY LIFE.

You're such a gigantic sweetheart for surprising your mom like that. I've always wanted to try the Grand Floridian spa. Or, you know, go to the Grand Floridian period.

 

[__disneygirl]

Woooow, a foot massage at the GF sounds AMAZING!!!! Now I really want to book me on on my trip in 2013....

I'm so upset that I never figured out how to get that special wake-up call from Stitch. I really wanted it!!!

Your pictures are beautiful. Seriously, they're just gorgeous. I love the angles you took and just how perfect that sky is. I can't believe it was so empty!!

I've never had a problem getting onto the Jungle Cruise before. Maybe I just have incredibly good timing? I went on twice too. Night time is very cool.

Those ruins are really cool and all, but I always avert my gaze when the spiders show up....can't stand those things.

On my next trip, I'm taking your advice and am just going to look up the whole time. I'm pretty sure I missed a lot. Even Andrew looked up more than I did.

So you booked the massage for just your mom right? How much did that cost? What did it include? I can't believe she bought your story!

Heyyy Yuki!!

You should book one! My mom really really enjoyed it.

Aww, I wish I would have known, I could have told you! There is a little button on your hotel phone that you call to set a wake up call. A lot of people miss the old recording with just Mickey, and I think if you ask specifically you can get that one, but love the Stitch & Mickey one. I know for awhile there was a High School Musical one but too many people complained haha.

Thank you so much! I take more pictures at Disney than anywhere else, there is just too much inspiration!

I know what you mean about the spiders! I hate the part in It's Tough To Be A Bug when they come down from the ceiling!!! When I first saw it, I was 10 and sooo not ready for that.

ALWAYS LOOK UP!

It was $45. I will have to ask her exactly what it included. I remember it was specifically for like tired feet and legs after walking around the parks. When I post another update I'll ask her for more details.

LIA I HAVE NOT COMMENTED IN THIS TRIP REPORT SINCE 1956. But I'm here now! AREN'T YOU SO EXCITED.

Your pictures are GORGEOUS. They really capture what a beautiful morning it was. They're getting me suuuper excited to go.

Jungle Cruise omg! I didn't go on my last trip. BIGGEST REGRET EVER IN MY LIFE.

You're such a gigantic sweetheart for surprising your mom like that. I've always wanted to try the Grand Floridian spa. Or, you know, go to the Grand Floridian period.

Welcome back! Of course I am excited!!

Thank you so much! It's so nice to hear that because I really try to capture the mood of that moment.

You've never been to the GF?? You have to! I've never stayed there, but we've had a few meals there and explored and it's just absolutely beautiful.

Thanks for reading guys!

 

[MarieTheCat24]

Great. Now I have "White and Nerdy" stuck in my head. Thanks a lot, Lia!

They see me mowin' my front lawn...

Mom wasn't having any of it. She didn't want to ride dirty or any other way quite frankly.
In case you don't already know, I love you.

I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE all of your Main St/Cinderella Castle pictures. It looks like a gorgeous day. I WANT TO BE THERE RIGHT NOW. IT'S NOT FAIR.

I always read all of the Walt quotes on the construction walls too! I love that they put them there. It's such a nice touch.

I love the Jungle Cruise. The stupid jokes make me laugh so hard. I will never stop laughing at the backside of water no matter how many times I ride it. Everyone else is just kind of like HA while I'm rolling on the floor of the boat laughing hysterically. Why don't more people find this stuff funny? AND OMG. The Jungle Cruise at night is downright creepy. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. My little cousin was crying the whole time. I was not expecting it to be that scary.

That is so sweet that you booked the massage for your mom. I think we can all agree that you win the title of "Daughter of the Year". And just know that when I typed that in my head I sang it to the tune of THE AMAZING FLAWLESS POP PARTYING HIT "Aaron's Party"...DAUGHTER OF THE MONTH? NAH DAUGHTER OF THE YEAR!

 

[RAPstar]

FINALLY!!! An update!! lol I love your pictures, they are nothing if not completely amazing.

PS I give you a tiny shout out in my recent TR update. ;-)

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

So...I just read all your installments in one sitting. I think that speaks volumes about how much I LOVE your TR! It's especially amazing because I have three kids (I've already administered the epidural, so would you like one as well?) and had to swat them away to read it!
You crack me up. And you give me a Disney fix. So that's pretty darn close to perfection.

 

[__disneygirl]

Hi guys. I am sorry I haven't been on here but we suffered a great loss this weekend. Our 13 year old Chow Chow, Pooh Bear, passed away on Saturday. We had to make the decision to let her go and it was the most horrible moment of my life. She was more than just our dog, she was such a gigantic part of our lives and now there is just this empty hole there. I am still in shock over this. I can't believe she isn't here and I have to go a lifetime without seeing her again. You may remember me writing about how healthy she was in my PTR last year. here and here. This was all very sudden and and we are beyond devastated. I'm trying to move on and continue with normalcy, so hopefully I will have the next TR update up tomorrow (it is mostly pre-written anyway). I wrote a little thing on my tumblr blog at capriamoon.tumblr.com about Pooh Bear if you would like to go see it (there are pictures too).

I'm definitely not myself right now but my love of Disney is definitely something that is keeping me going right now so thanks for following along with my report and life, guys. I really appreciate all your awesome comments all the time. I'd do a TR even if no one read it, but I absolutely love having people along for the ride with me. you guys and hope everyone is doing well.

 

[duckylady]

Hi guys. I am sorry I haven't been on here but we suffered a great loss this weekend. Our 13 year old Chow Chow, Pooh Bear, passed away on Saturday. We had to make the decision to let her go and it was the most horrible moment of my life. She was more than just our dog, she was such a gigantic part of our lives and now there is just this empty hole there. I am still in shock over this. I can't believe she isn't here and I have to go a lifetime without seeing her again. You may remember me writing about how healthy she was in my PTR last year. here and here. This was all very sudden and and we are beyond devastated. I'm trying to move on and continue with normalcy, so hopefully I will have the next TR update up tomorrow (it is mostly pre-written anyway). I wrote a little thing on my tumblr blog at capriamoon.tumblr.com about Pooh Bear if you would like to go see it (there are pictures too).

I'm definitely not myself right now but my love of Disney is definitely something that is keeping me going right now so thanks for following along with my report and life, guys. I really appreciate all your awesome comments all the time. I'd do a TR even if no one read it, but I absolutely love having people along for the ride with me. you guys and hope everyone is doing well.

Oh, honey. I'm so, so sorry this happened. She was such a beautiful dog. We don't really know each other (obviously), but. I'm retro pickles on AIM if you want to talk, okay?

Internet hugs never seem to convey just as much as real life ones do, but *hugs* regardless. ♥ ♥ ♥

 

[YukiPhnx]

OH Lia.... It must be really hard for you right now. Pooh Bear was adorable! We'll be waiting here for you as long as you like.

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

I am so sorry.

 

[RAPstar]

Sorry to hear about your puppy. Its always sad to loose and unconditional bundle of love in a fur coat. *hugs*

 

[__disneygirl]

Great. Now I have "White and Nerdy" stuck in my head. Thanks a lot, Lia!

They see me mowin' my front lawn...

Mom wasn't having any of it. She didn't want to ride dirty or any other way quite frankly.
In case you don't already know, I love you.

I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE all of your Main St/Cinderella Castle pictures. It looks like a gorgeous day. I WANT TO BE THERE RIGHT NOW. IT'S NOT FAIR.

I always read all of the Walt quotes on the construction walls too! I love that they put them there. It's such a nice touch.

I love the Jungle Cruise. The stupid jokes make me laugh so hard. I will never stop laughing at the backside of water no matter how many times I ride it. Everyone else is just kind of like HA while I'm rolling on the floor of the boat laughing hysterically. Why don't more people find this stuff funny? AND OMG. The Jungle Cruise at night is downright creepy. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. My little cousin was crying the whole time. I was not expecting it to be that scary.

That is so sweet that you booked the massage for your mom. I think we can all agree that you win the title of "Daughter of the Year". And just know that when I typed that in my head I sang it to the tune of THE AMAZING FLAWLESS POP PARTYING HIT "Aaron's Party"...DAUGHTER OF THE MONTH? NAH DAUGHTER OF THE YEAR!

Weird Al is just awesome. "I'm fat, I'm fat, I'M REALLY REALLY FAT!" hahahaha

And I love you too. OBV.

OK, now I am really excited for Jungle Cruise at night! I like creepy things, especially when I know I'm at Disney World so nothing will actually happen.

YOU DID NOT JUST BRING UP AARON CARTER. I...can not. COME GET IT! EVERYONE TOGETHER SING IT LOUD~~~~~~~~~~!!!!!! I wonder if he wonders like, what the eff happened to his career. I mean how can you go from THAT'S HOW I BEAT SHAQ to... nothing? The mysteries of life.

FINALLY!!! An update!! lol I love your pictures, they are nothing if not completely amazing.

PS I give you a tiny shout out in my recent TR update. ;-)

Thank you!! Yay, I will go see it now!

So...I just read all your installments in one sitting. I think that speaks volumes about how much I LOVE your TR! It's especially amazing because I have three kids (I've already administered the epidural, so would you like one as well?) and had to swat them away to read it!

You crack me up. And you give me a Disney fix. So that's pretty darn close to perfection.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! I fully endorse swatting away children of any age, including infants, in order to read my TR. It is the most important thing, after all.

Oh, honey. I'm so, so sorry this happened. She was such a beautiful dog. We don't really know each other (obviously), but. I'm retro pickles on AIM if you want to talk, okay?

Internet hugs never seem to convey just as much as real life ones do, but *hugs* regardless. ♥ ♥ ♥

Thank you so much, that is really nice of you to offer I appreciate it. And I also enjoy the screen name!

OH Lia.... It must be really hard for you right now. Pooh Bear was adorable! We'll be waiting here for you as long as you like.

Yeah, it is. It is still really hard and it happened 8 days ago, I don't know when this is going to subside but I hope it's soon because I almost started crying while petting my friend's cats last night. Thanks Yuki

I am so sorry.

Thank you

Sorry to hear about your puppy. Its always sad to loose and unconditional bundle of love in a fur coat. *hugs*

Thanks. "an unconditional bundle of love in a fur coat".... that made me smile!

 

[__disneygirl]

April 15, 2010
Day 5, Part 2 In Which I Experience Tiny Fluffy Yellow Heaven

After I got off the phone with the Grand Floridian Spa, I knew I had some time before I had to go pick up my mom for her surprise spa treatment. I walked around Frontierland for awhile, headed for Splash Mountain and hoping the wait would be just as short as all the other rides were this early in the day.

I decided that I didn't feel like getting wet right then so instead I went next door to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, who's wait said 10 minutes, but it was a complete walkthrough. Listen, if you are the kind of traveler who likes to sleep in on vacation, reconsider it!

Usually, when I'm at the parks alone no one really says anything about it to me, but this time I had kind of a weird experience. You know how when you're boarding a ride at Disney you have to give the number of people in your party? I said "1", and the CM stopped and said, "You're all by yourself? " and I said "Yep, I'm the only one who wanted to get up early!" He replied, "So you came ALONE?"

..........

Uh, yeah, dude. I'm not wasting precious Disney time. Some people like to sleep in after they get drunk, be it on alcohol or in my case: food, but not me! It seemed like such an odd thing to him that I'd come alone. Sure, Disney is better when you have the experience to share with someone (I learned that all too well on my solo trip aka The Solo Mess), but it is nice to have a few hours in the park alone here and there.

The CM said he felt bad for me and was going to ride with me. OH. Well, okay. I couldn't tell if he was flirting with me, because most CMs are so friendly in general that you never know. I really wasn't too keen on him riding with me, but hey this is Disney, and I was in a Disneyish, happy, everyone is a friend kind of mood, so why not? He was nice, and from New York, so we talked about that while he got in the train with me before saying, "Actually I would probably get fired if I rode with you. But enjoy the ride!"

So that was weird.

I enjoyed BTMRR more than I usually do, I think. It was just a good, happy morning. That's another ride where I notice something new every time. When you are speeding by, it's hard to catch everything and so something different pops out at me with each visit.

After that, I was walking around all smiley, just enjoying WDW.

Have any of you been on the Liberty Belle Riverboat lately? I have a vague recollection of going on during our first trip (we came for my 5th birthday), but haven't done it since. It's one of those things you kind of forget about while you're running to one of the mountains, but I think everyone knows how much I like to take it slow and just chill at the parks, so this is definitely something I have to do again soon.

Seeing the Mansion in the distance, I decided to go visit my dead friends next. That's just the kind of foolish mortal I am!

People who know about all the little WDW details will recognize the chess pieces and bat weathervane here Like I've said before, always look UP!

The rose bushes here are so beautiful and perfect for the atmosphere.

I remember during my 2008 trip, there was a HUGE real spiderweb intertwined in this fence and I tried so hard to get a picture of it, but it just didn't show up. It was like the spider knew this was the Haunted Mansion and was personally trying to add one of those Disney details!

Something I've never noticed before - the arms of the benches outside the Mansion are snakes! Great little touch.

I wish my balcony looked like this! I actually don't have a balcony, but if I did, I would require it to be ominous.

Another view of one of the chess pieces.

OK OK, remember like years ago when I wrote about our first MK day and how there was a red rose on Master Gracey's grave, and I had never seen that before and thought it was so cool? This time, it was laying there dead like this. I can't decide which is cooler, having a live rose on the grave or a dead rose. You could come up with lots of hidden meanings and stuff depending on how you look at it! Eerie.

When I posted about the rose originally, someone replied and said that they put a new rose out every day, but they definitely don't, because I know the rose wasn't there during my 2008 trip. I have pictures from the graveyard, and no rose at all. Hmmm.

I tried to get some good pictures on the ride this time, without using flash, of course. I thought I could lighten them later in photoshop, but nothing showed up.

During the ride, we got stuck for a long time. Well, it may have not been that long but when you're sitting in the dark, it seems long. I started taking some flash pictures. Sorry. The ride was already tainted from us sitting there doing nothing forever so I figured a few blinding flashes wouldn't hurt! (Actually, one time I was getting into one of the ride cars with a camera in hand and the CM standing there said "There are no cameras allowed in the Haunted Mansion!" but then followed it up with "That means there are also no hidden cameras that will catch you taking pictures" I was like LOL okay, like I was really expecting Disney Cops to come running out of a secret room where they spend their days watching for people taking pictures inside the Haunted Mansion and drag me off to Disney Jail.)

Of course, I couldn't get stuck in a cool area with tons to see, we were trapped in this boring transitiony area. I so badly want to get stuck in the graveyard, so much to look at! Or the ballroom dance scene...ooo, that would be amazing.

Yet another thing I've never noticed before - the face in the grate at the top of that door. I love the teeth! We were stuck for so long that at one point the music stopped, and so all we could hear was the knock - knock - knocking of that door knocker, and it was quite spooky! I totally wasn't scared and totally didn't wish my mom was there.

Finally we got going again, and I somehow managed to make it out without becoming the 1,00th happy haunt! That was a close one.

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST

 

[__disneygirl]

I stopped to take a picture of Mr. Toad in the graveyard, which I hadn't found until this trip.

I still have yet to see the picture of Mr. Toad handing the deed over at Winnie The Pooh - I will make that a MUST do next trip!

At this point it was getting pretty late and so I decided I would head out.

I walked through Liberty Square and took a picture of the River of Filth... during the time period in which Liberty Square is based on, people used to dump their dirty water out on the streets and so a dirty river would just be draining down the street all the time. Being that you're on the DIS, reading a story about someone else's vacation, you probably already know this, just like the chess pieces thing, but I still like to include these little things just in case!

Someday my prince will come.

Dontcha just love Minnie? I've been on kind of a Minnie kick lately... especially with clothing and accessories!

I needed Main Street Popcorn before my journey over to the GF. Popcorn is one of my favorite foods, in fact, I have mastered how to make movie theatre popcorn at home, and many people say mine is in fact better, especially because it is made from natural ingredients. The popcorn you get at the movies has "Butter Flavored Topping", not butter... not even margarine. WHO KNOWS WHAT IT IS REALLY. But anyway, I digress. Main Street Popcorn is even better than my popcorn and way better than movie theatre popcorn with butter flavored topping. And I hadn't had any yet on this trip and it was day 5! The humanity!!!!!!!!

What's great about Disney is that even mistakes turn into magical moments. I stopped at the kiosk right before you exit the park. The CM handed me the popcorn and as I was reaching for our awesome, amazing free $500 gift card to pay for it, I put it down on the counter. A gust of wind suddenly came and knocked it RIGHT over!! I just stood there aghast, it was so sudden! I apologized and the CM said it was no problem and filled it right back up for me. At that moment the most adorable thing of my life happened. The CM looked down and said, "Oh my God! Do you see this?" I leaned over the counter to see behind the kiosk and there were A TON OF BABY DUCKLINGS THAT HAD RUN OVER TO EAT THE POPCORN OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What cracked me up was the mama duck outside just chillin. It reminded me of a mom waiting for her kids to finish playing at the playground or something.

I just wanted to scoop all the ducklings up and give them hugs and kisses forever, but alas, I left them to their picturesque life at the Magic Kingdom and headed to the monorail.

Up next: SURPRISE MOM!!!!!! and my love affair with France.

 

[RAPstar]

When I die, I'm gonna be reincarnated as a Disney World duck. Well, I hope lol. Great pictures as usual. Makes me wish I could go back sooner, but alas it will have to wait till 2013/2014.....unless I decide to go to Hawaii instead......but there is a Hawaii building at the Poly! Mwahahahaha! Sorry, I'm tired.