The Tale of the Grow Walk .Hunh?

[TheMaxRebo]

I know IASW is not everyone's favorite but I think there is so much great stuff to photograph in it - like the B&W one of Clair as well.

So excited to ride 7DMT our next trip!

 

[jenseib]

We have FP+ for Seven Dwarves Mine Train and I am so excited to try it!

Love that black and white pic of Claire too. It's like you captured her really "in" the moment.

I wish I had time to go to MK this upcoming trip, but I just don't and I didn't want to spend that extra money for a 1 day ticket either. So it may be another year or so before I get to the Mine Train.

Wow! I cannot believe the man on the scooter. Does he think just because he has wheels he is entitled to go faster? I don't understand some people. I am still stunned by your crowds! The line for Small World is insane! I went during spring break one year, which I think is congruent to the week you were there, and vowed to never go back.

Isn't the new Fantasyland great? They really did a great job building it up! Bummer the mine train wasn't open. Watching the progress of it has been pretty neat though.

I think some people think because they are on wheels they have the right away. Not sure where that entitlement comes from. We all are trying to get somewhere and though some probably are more important that others...who is he to say his is more important.
It was really crowded there. Definitely the most crowded it has ever been for us. It really seems this year in general has been more crowded all over.
I love the New Fantasyland. They did such a fantastic job. I took a ton of pictures.

I love It's A Small World, too. I just got the Dooney and Bourke It's A Small World purse this week. I am with you on the blue and white room. I have always liked this best, too. That is such a beautiful photo of Claire.

What a shame that the Mine Train was not in soft opening when you were there. It does look good though.

Corinna

I can't even go look that purse up online or I will be tempted to buy it! LOL
I have no clue when we'll be back, so I was pretty bummed about not getting on the train....but some day I will.

I did take a picture of a dispenser on my phone, but I can't remember where, but I deleted it. It showed the prices at MK though.

Loving the Small World shots. I've shot that ride a million times. And I'm sure I'll shoot it again when we go back. I just can't help myself!

That is a lovely shot of Claire. Good choice to convert to B/W!

I know. I keep taking a ton of them every time I ride.
I liked that one too and black and white took out some of the graininess it had.

Luvin the small world pics. Every time I'm on that i'm like dolls, dolls, dolls, IRELAND!

LOL!

So, as usual I am completely behind due to my lack of DIS time! Let's see, what can I remember?

Holy crowds in Epcot!

That squirrel picture is awesome.

Yay for B&C!

Love all the fab night time pictures around the Boardwalk. So pretty!

Your room at the Marriott is lovely! And the pool looks really nice too! It is annoying that so many resorts have the same name. We got lost that way once as well!

Fun pictures at Ohana.

Boo to super long lines for Pirates.

Your daughters pictures are lovely. You did an awesome job. I can't take people pictures to save my life. She must be thrilled. Bring on the baby pictures. She can use you as her photography.

It's really easy for me to get lost in the area for some reason. Those Disney roads just wind around and I could never do it without some sort of directions or guidance.

I can't wait to get some pictures of the new baby. Paige is smart and knows I will take a lot and uses it to her advantage. My son is still wishy washy on me taking photos of anything. He refused to let me do his senior pictures. Paige had me do hers and she had so many different poses and locations.
Paige is really good about posing too. She will be laughing hysterically one minute and then strikes a pose like nothing was funny the next. She also looks online for ideas so she has in her head ahead of time some of the things she wants to do.

 

[jenseib]

I know IASW is not everyone's favorite but I think there is so much great stuff to photograph in it - like the B&W one of Clair as well.

So excited to ride 7DMT our next trip!

Yes, it is a great place to go nuts with pictures.
It looks like we will just miss each other. I believe I go down in 8 days. Next Friday and just for the weekend. I will only be going to the Villains party though, so won't get to do the mine train. It's such a short trip and a lot of work related things going on while there, but it will give me a little fix at least!

 

[jenseib]

We were now on our way to our first FP+ of the day.



Warning…I took a lot of pictures of the Mermaid area over the week.





I was just so excited to see this in daylight. So different looking in daylight compared to the night shots I got 1 1/2 years ago.



We got in the queue and it moved fairly fast, though if I remember right, we did pause for a bit.





The FP+ line does miss all the neat things in the queue though….and for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out where the standbye line merged with the FP+ line.

Soon we were in our clam-mobile and I took a few pictures on the ride, but since I had just rode the Disneyland version about a month ago and they are pretty much the same ride, I didn’t take a ton.















Ok…maybe I took more than I thought I did. LOL.

 

[jenseib]

And a few more Little Mermaid shots.





Claire was a happy camper…she just loves Ariel and loves this new ride.
We headed out and I once again made her get her picture taken.



And then went on to take several more pictures of Eric’s castle.















I was now needing a little snack…after all at Disney World it is important to try and snack as much as possible and keep your energy flow up, so we headed towards Gaston’s.







For some reason I can never pick the right line in here. Last time we came, which was the preview time during the Halloween party we came in for a quick bite to eat and I picked the longest line ever with a CM that didn’t know what she was doing. I picked the same type of line today and it took forever to get up to order. Claire wasn’t too hungry and said she didn’t need anything. I decided to order the hummus and chips.







We also got something to drink, probably diet coke, and we found a table to sit at.





Claire ate a few of the pretzels but she is not a fan of hummus. Actually she would’ve eaten ALL the pretzels if I had let her, but I reminded her she wasn’t hungry (once again she was a little liar) and that I needed the chips for the hummus as I wasn’t about to eat it by the spoonful.

It was good, but a little pricey for what you got. I could have used about double the amount of pretzel chips. It didn’t fill us up, but it was enough to keep me from turning into a crazy monster…and that is always a good thing.

We headed back out then.



I think we may have checked out the shop right there since we had not seen it when we did the preview in 2012.

And off we went again.







I know some of you are smokers, though these days you don’t want to admit it for fear of attack…LOL….but yes there are a lot of smokers that go to Disney World and the smoking area used to be to the left of the castle, but guess what? It’s gone due to construction. Of course they moved it, but where? And I was really shocked when I saw where it ended up at.

 

[mom2rtk]

I don't blame you for taking tons of photos in New Fanatasyland. It really is such a pretty area. And we all certainly waited a long time for it!

Cute photo of Claire with King Triton. That must not have been there when we were last there. I don't remember it at all.

 

[KatMark]

Great pictures of IASW, Jen (yes, I looked at each and every one even though it is my least favorite attraction ).

I'm so glad you got to see the New FL in the daylight, and you got great shots.

I'm with Claire...I don't like hummus either.

I am a smoker and they have removed a lot of the smoking sections or moved them entirely. I know exactly where they put the one now by the castle and I thought it was a pretty dumb spot!

 

[dolphingirl47]

I love all the photos from the Ariel ride. Now I think I should do the standby line next time round. You are such a tease. I don't even smoke, but now I want to know where the smoking area has gone.

Corinna

 

[jenseib]

I don't blame you for taking tons of photos in New Fanatasyland. It really is such a pretty area. And we all certainly waited a long time for it!

Cute photo of Claire with King Triton. That must not have been there when we were last there. I don't remember it at all.

I loved it! It was pretty in the daytime!
I don't think he was there last time either...and I want to say he was across the way by the Mine Train more if I remember right.

Great pictures of IASW, Jen (yes, I looked at each and every one even though it is my least favorite attraction ).

I'm so glad you got to see the New FL in the daylight, and you got great shots.

I'm with Claire...I don't like hummus either.

I am a smoker and they have removed a lot of the smoking sections or moved them entirely. I know exactly where they put the one now by the castle and I thought it was a pretty dumb spot!

I had no idea you were a smoker. I am too, but I try to do it less if I can over these years. Though at stressful times I definitely smoke more. And yes the spot is really dumb and people complained as they walked by.
Claire is really picky with food, so sometimes it's hard to find a quick snack...at least anything semi healthy for her. She would eat icecream all day though.

I love all the photos from the Ariel ride. Now I think I should do the standby line next time round. You are such a tease. I don't even smoke, but now I want to know where the smoking area has gone.

Corinna

I will tell you.....tomorrow! It really is in a super dumb spot!

 

[DWGal210]

You get such great ride pictures! I really need to play with my camera this trip. I got a "grown up" camera but I still can't really use it!!

I ordered the cinnamon roll from Gaston's and whoa - it is HUGE! I buy those pretzels and hummus at home for quick lunches sometimes but you're right, if you're hungry it's really more of an appetizer size.

Glad you got to see Fantasyland in the light!

 

[jenseib]

You get such great ride pictures! I really need to play with my camera this trip. I got a "grown up" camera but I still can't really use it!!

I ordered the cinnamon roll from Gaston's and whoa - it is HUGE! I buy those pretzels and hummus at home for quick lunches sometimes but you're right, if you're hungry it's really more of an appetizer size.

Glad you got to see Fantasyland in the light!

If you have a chance to watch any tutorials online it will probably help. I actually started with a book several years ago and got the main idea and then I took some local classes too. Lots of fun!

I bet that roll was like the one I got in DL...super huge and good!

 

[jenseib]

We kept walking and went down the right side of the castle on that little path and then I found it…and was shocked. The smoking section has been moved to the two little sitting areas along this narrow path. Now I don’t mind this at all, but I know many people have allergies and irritations with smoke and this is a very busy path, especially with all the construction going on and now all these people have to walk right through the cloud of smoke.

Oh and the view from the smoking section….



A drained moat. Really weird to see that.





We then realized the time and decided we should go find a spot for the brand new Festival of Fantasy Parade. This had just debuted about 2 weeks before we had arrived and I was super excited to see it.
We went to our favorite parade viewing area in Liberty Square and it was already pretty packed. Luckily we found enough space for our 2 rears to sit down along the rope. I think it was the last 2 spots in the whole area. The reason it was open????
Bird poop was right on the ground there. Yep, I didn’t care either. I got out a tissue and covered the bird poop and we sat right down. Bird poop washes off anyways, right?

We still had quite a wait till the parade actually started, so we sat and talked and I played on my phone a bit and Claire played on my phone a bit.

Finally a little bit of action.





Well that was nice, but now more waiting.





Let’s take a selfie….



This looks promising!







Ok, that was nice too…..but more waiting.



I was also texting back and forth with my friend Janet, who I think was almost as excited as I was about the new parade. She told me to be sure to try and get a picture of the dragon breathing fire….OMG!!! I had totally forgotten that it did this. I will definitely try!



And now for the Grand Marshall!!! We are getting closer!









We were now getting excited….the Music had started!!!!

 

[scottny]

Oh you should eat at 50’s PTC. So fun and so good.
I have heard Harry Potter on the bus before.
Nice room at the Marriott.
The pool is very pretty.
Nice waterfall pics.
LOL about your dad saying he wasn’t with her. If I was getting a free meal my mouth would be shut. LOL
Beautiful pics of Splash Mountain.
Nice pics on Little Mermaid.
That is weird to see a drained moat.
DOH! What a place to stop.

 

[jenseib]

Oh you should eat at 50’s PTC. So fun and so good.
I have heard Harry Potter on the bus before.
Nice room at the Marriott.
The pool is very pretty.
Nice waterfall pics.
LOL about your dad saying he wasn’t with her. If I was getting a free meal my mouth would be shut. LOL
Beautiful pics of Splash Mountain.
Nice pics on Little Mermaid.
That is weird to see a drained moat.
DOH! What a place to stop.

I have made several ADR's for 50's over the years and each time I have canceled for one reason or another. One being that Claire is afraid they will harass her. I am just going to have to do it in the future and not tell her.
The Marriott is lovely and in any other city I would love it, but it's flaw in Orlando is that it is not onsite. It is right around the corner from Sea World though.

Coming up...TONS of parade pictures!!!

 

[jenseib]

I am going to post a mega update with all the parade photos. I am not sure how much more I will post this week after that one though, but I will try. I head off to Florida on Friday and I have to wrap up some work before I take the weekend off. I also have to pack yet, but I have some things already set aside to go in the suitcase. I also need to make sure I have all my paperwork in order...because I just haven't been gathering it all together like I should....oh and check my flight times so I get to the airport on time.

I'll be back home late Monday afternoon/early evening. And I am sure it will take me a day to get caught back up with the real world again, but I will try to get as many updates as I can when I can. I still have such a long ways to go on this TR and lately time has not been on my side.

 

[jenseib]

Our first glimpse of the parade…we were so excited!!!





I noticed the lady next to me was taping the parade and her battery light was flashing, so I let her know. She was very upset as she didn’t have a spare battery…..note…Always bring at LEAST one spare battery for you camera each day….so she had to switch to taking pictures on her phone.







Being that this was brand new….I took a zillion pictures.













Of course a highlight for us and many around us was a chance to see Anna and Elsa. At this point in time they were meeting in Epcot and the waits were averaging 6 hours each day, so there was no chance in heck we would be ever meeting them this trip.



This float has turning platforms so I had to act fast to get as many photos as I could of them before they were out of site to the other side.









Tiana and Naveen were on the other side of the turning platform….oh and also on this float was Cinderella and her Prince and I totally bypassed taking pictures of them to get Anna and Elsa.











The costumes are just FABULOUS!!!!

 

[jenseib]

Rapunzel’s float is great!











She had great expressions!









Her braid wraps all around the float.



Cone on Flynn!!! Look at me!









Now we venture to the sea!







I just think these costumes are so amazing.

 

[jenseib]

Here comes Ariel!







Again, the characters had fabulous expressions in this parade too.













And the Lost Boys!




















I was a little obsessed with Hook as you can tell.

 

[DWGal210]

AWESOME parade pics! I agree 100%, those costumes are incredible. So much detail, so colorful - they did a great job.

 

[jenseib]

Tinker Bell brought up the rear of the float.







She was fabulous!









Tick Tock!



Merida’s clan was next to arrive.















She was a ton of fun!









I see a dragon!!!!!