The Trip That Almost Wasn't - December '09 (We are BACK!!!! TR to start soon)

[Leger13]

Woohoo! You started your mini-TR! And I agree...PH is fun once...you can say you've been there...but I wouldn't probably go again. So many other places to try....

Yeah you are SO right there! Chris and I have done LTT and PH so many times on trips I'm sick of them. I already picked out our restaurants for December and they are all ones that we have never been to so I can't wait!

 

[cherbear]

haha yeah that will be weird not running into you accidentally/on purpose. I still remember standing in the middle of MGM looking like a bunch of dummies looking for Cheri

you mean when I tricked you?

Yeah I totally see what you mean now. Normally we don't have that problem so I dunno how we've gotten so lucky until now. It was nuts!

That's what I was wondering but I saw that dumb thing going up and down multiple times while we were at DTD! I said, "why pay for a ride when you can get on EVERY ride at the parks with the included price of your park ticket!?" It's moronic and I hope that it doesn't stay around soon. It's not even a real hot air balloon.

what was the excitement? I hope everything is okay!

I think it's helium, right?

I do think 16 is too high for less than a 10 minute ride in an attached balloon...especially when if you end up with the maximum amount of people in the balloon, you can't really move around. ( I read about it a couple weeks ago)

One of the kids' friends got hit by a car. Strangely reminiscent of exactly a year ago today when Kyleigh got hit. I almost started crying when they put him on the backboard and put him in the ambulance. I hate seeing that even more now. He's okay, thank goodness.

oh man....Thank God he's okay

I'll do my best to get more up today

Yeah you are SO right there! Chris and I have done LTT and PH so many times on trips I'm sick of them. I already picked out our restaurants for December and they are all ones that we have never been to so I can't wait!

ooh I can't wait to hear the restaurants. Will you list them for us after your mini TR is done? will ya, will ya?

 

[Leger13]

We managed to wake up bright and early. Before the sun even. The plan was to get to MGM 2 hours before park opening so we could get in line for the fast passes for the Ray Park autograph session. Oh yeah and I forgot to mention from Day 1....while we were unpacking my car Chris noticed that my right rear tire had a chuck of rubber missing from it on the side wall and was showing cord. Not good! So we decided to take two cars so Chris and James could take my car to Discount Tire to get it replaced. Luckily I bought the warranty on the tires and I'm so glad I did! Anyways, so we took two cars. Me and Becca in hers and Chris and James in the other. That way since they have AP's both cars got free parking.

Here's Chris and James ready to go

And here's me and Becca ready to go

We managed to hit the road by 5:30am

And here's where we parked (we were pretty close as you can imagine since we got there so early)

We made it through baggage check and saw the line that was already started for the Ray Park fast pass

We had to stand in the line since we made it there before the boys. A CM came by and counted us we were 164th and 165th in line (tentatively) and they were going to give out 200 FP's and then give out standby FP's...meaning if we got one of those we wouldn't be guaranteed the autograph. Did they not realize how detrimental that would be to my trip!? I was worried! There were SO many ppl that you just couldn't figure out if they were in line or not :

Here is a pic of Becca waiting on the boys to show up

Finally the boys showed up. They had stopped off to get a Silver Sharpie for Ray to sign Chris' book with

Here's a pic of the SWW sign

Around 8:15am they started giving out the FP's. JUST before we got up to the front of the line they shouted that actual FP's were run out so we had to get Stand by passes. Now i was REALLY nervous that Chris wasn't going to get his autograph but Chris was trying to stay optimistic. After we got our stand by passes me and Becca split from the boys. They went and tried to get into the stand by line right away but they said they weren't going to do that right away so to try back around 9:30am. So they went and got a couple rides on Star Tours. Becca and I ran over to Customer Service to get me and Chris' Anniversary buttons (first weird look of the day....they thought we were lesbians ). Then we ran over to Toy Story Mania to get FP's before they ran out. (oh and I forgot to mention....it started pouring once we finally made it into the park. And I know I promised a video of the Storm Trooper opening but we were under where they were standing waiting to get into the park so I couldn't see them)

here's some pictures I took on the way over there

It stopped raining by the time we made it over to TSM

And the FP line after we got our FP's (1:05 - 2:05 return time)

After we got that the boys were in line waiting to meet Ray Park (tentatively...nothing guaranteed they would go next and Chris was trying to find someone to sell my stand by ticket to LOL) so me and Becca decided to ride TGMR

After we got off that the boys were still waiting........
So here's what we decided to do

YUM YUM!!!! I didn't eat all of mine so i took the rest over to Chris and Becca gave the rest of hers to James (aren't we sweet!? ) while they waited in line. On the way over there we passed this

And saw that the next show was at 11:00am. It was very near that time so we decided to go check it out!

I think I'm close to my image limit so I'm gonna stop here for now.

next up.....what did we think of AIE and did the boys make it to meet Ray Park!? Stay tuned to find out!!!

 

[Leger13]

I think it's helium, right?

I do think 16 is too high for less than a 10 minute ride in an attached balloon...especially when if you end up with the maximum amount of people in the balloon, you can't really move around. ( I read about it a couple weeks ago)






ooh I can't wait to hear the restaurants. Will you list them for us after your mini TR is done? will ya, will ya?

Yeah that's what it looks like to me.

yes it is! Such a rip off!

The latest installment is up

Yes that is the plan!! I just emailed the list to Becca today for approval

 

[Trentmom]

Yay.....another update....we are so spoiled over here


WOW....5:30 am...but after seeing the FP line, I can see why



Bummer you got the standby one....I really hope Chris gets to meet him



Pretzel looks soooooooooooo good


Glad the rain stopped so quickly that morning


Will be waiting to hear about AI and about Ray Parks

 

[lovebuzzandwoody]

YAY more mini-trippie!

This made me ~

(first weird look of the day....they thought we were lesbians )

You are too funny!

Love Chris's Star Wars weekend t-shirt! I know 3 boys who would just love to go for SWW! (Married to one, mom to the other 2.)

Love Becca's hat! I would so wear that.

Mmmmmmmmm... pretzels and coke = breakfast of champions.

 

[Leger13]

yeah I spoil y'all

yeah it was a good thing becca and james were there to scope things out for us the day before.

Yeeah.....I was really worried at that point

and it was sooooo good. the stand was right outside of TGMR so i just couldn't pass it up

 

[Leger13]

YAY more mini-trippie!

This made me ~



You are too funny!

Love Chris's Star Wars weekend t-shirt! I know 3 boys who would just love to go for SWW! (Married to one, mom to the other 2.)

Love Becca's hat! I would so wear that.

Mmmmmmmmm... pretzels and coke = breakfast of champions.

hehe I was wondering who would catch that! We had some fun with that almost all day

Thanks! Yeah they would LOVE it and really the crowd isn't all that bad if you know how to navigate the park efficiently.

Yeah it is a really cute hat!! She has an Eeyore one just like it that is even cuter!

Oh you know it!!

 

[Marshay]

wow, 5:30am and you still didn't get a regular fastpass!! That is nuts.

I'm guessing that you had some good singers for AIE so you liked it and that the boys did get a signature.

I can't believe the line just to get a FP at TSM for several hours later in the day...

 

[Tat2ddisneymom]

Hey, Carla!! Great start to your TR. I like the lego dinosaur -- I hadn't seen him before.

I will definitely skip PH.

So sad to see PI now...but one can hope that the new restaurants will be good and they'll figure out some kind of entertainment.

Re: the hot air balloon that really isn't ... before I knew the price, I was definitely one of those "morons" (thanks Tat! ) who wanted to do it. I know it would be a great thrill for DD3. However, like everything Disney, the cost is so high. I would NOT pay $16/pp to go on that.

Hey, my husband thinks I am a moron because I go to concerts where there is crowd surfing, there are mosh pits, sometimes more than one, there are walls of death, and people start fires on the lawn. So what's wrong with a few moronic tendencies?

 

[Tat2ddisneymom]

Carla, isn't Ray Parks the guy who sang the song Ghostbusters?

What did you end up doing about your tire?

 

[Marshay]

crowd surfing
mosh pits
walls of death

Ok, I understand the first two...what is "walls of death"

 

[topdog]

Whew!!! I finally made it here.

So sorry to hear how crummy your last year's trip was. Hopefully this year will be awesome.

I can tell there is a major difference on the pictures you posted on the last update. The new camera did make a huge improvement. If you really want to add another lens for the next trip, I would suggest either a 24mm f/2.8 or a 35mm f/2. 35mm would be a great walk around lens, yet fast enough for some interior low light shot. For about $250, it worth every penny. 24mm would be a little more pricey, $330, but that's perfect for those outdoor landscape shot.

I wish I was able to go to that Star Wars thing. That would've been fun. I even have an actual film clip from Phantom Menace.

BTW, the Lego dinosaur was there for a long time. I have a picture of him from my 2005 trip.

 

[Tat2ddisneymom]

Ok, I understand the first two...what is "walls of death"

How can I explain this???

Imagine a big crowd of people standing in front of a stage. Now imagine that those people split apart, half standing on one side and half on the other. Insane band singer gives the cue, and all those people run toward each other, eventually smashing into each other.

I'd link you to a You Tube video to it, but it probably wouldn't be a good idea to watch.

 

[Tat2ddisneymom]

Mmmmmmmmm... pretzels and coke = breakfast of champions.

I was thinking that would totally be something my kids would want for breakfast.

 

[Marshay]

How can I explain this???

Imagine a big crowd of people standing in front of a stage. Now imagine that those people split apart, half standing on one side and half on the other. Insane band singer gives the cue, and all those people run toward each other, eventually smashing into each other.

I'd link you to a You Tube video to it, but it probably wouldn't be a good idea to watch.

Really? They "allow" this?? Sounds like it would be too tempting for people to start a huge fight over it, get hurt, etc.

Ok, I'm showing my age now

I'm just picturing some battle scenes in the movies (Mummy, Braveheart, etc)

 

[Tat2ddisneymom]

Really? They "allow" this?? Sounds like it would be too tempting for people to start a huge fight over it, get hurt, etc.

Ok, I'm showing my age now

I'm just picturing some battle scenes in the movies (Mummy, Braveheart, etc)

They don't just allow it, they encourage it. People usually stick to the rules of etiquette and pick people up if they fall. I've never seen it start a fight.

And that's exactly what it's like.

 

[Trentmom]

I was thinking that would totally be something my kids would want for breakfast.

Hey, that be something I would want for breakfast

 

[Leger13]

wow, 5:30am and you still didn't get a regular fastpass!! That is nuts.

I'm guessing that you had some good singers for AIE so you liked it and that the boys did get a signature.

I can't believe the line just to get a FP at TSM for several hours later in the day...

Yeah.....we were kind of ticked off too about that.

And yeah on the TSM but it actually worked out quite well for us So now you know in November that if you want to ride that you have to head straight there in the morning to get a FP for the afternoon. The other reason the FP times were probably already in the afternoon that day is because it was EMH's.

Carla, isn't Ray Parks the guy who sang the song Ghostbusters?

What did you end up doing about your tire?

That was Ray Parker Jr. Close though

I'll write about it in the next update. I need to get my trip pictures off of my broken laptop and onto my external hard drive so I can upload the rest to photobucket from Chris' laptop. I'll have my new one on Friday.

Ok, I understand the first two...what is "walls of death"

That's what I was wondering

Whew!!! I finally made it here.

So sorry to hear how crummy your last year's trip was. Hopefully this year will be awesome.

I can tell there is a major difference on the pictures you posted on the last update. The new camera did make a huge improvement. If you really want to add another lens for the next trip, I would suggest either a 24mm f/2.8 or a 35mm f/2. 35mm would be a great walk around lens, yet fast enough for some interior low light shot. For about $250, it worth every penny. 24mm would be a little more pricey, $330, but that's perfect for those outdoor landscape shot.

I wish I was able to go to that Star Wars thing. That would've been fun. I even have an actual film clip from Phantom Menace.

BTW, the Lego dinosaur was there for a long time. I have a picture of him from my 2005 trip.

you made it!! Welcome, Topdog!!

Thanks for the compliment on my pictures! Most of the pictures from the first day of the trip are with the old 8mgp camera from last year but the pictures from day 2 are with the new camera. I was really enjoying using it And thanks for the tips on a lens to use for December. I just had to buy myself a new netbook because me piece of crap Gateway took a nose dive (literally.....I dropped it) and broke last night so a lens will have to wait a few months. Hopefully I"ll be able to afford one before December.

That is awesome that you have a film clip from phantom menace!! You should totally plan a trip sometime in May/June for Star Wars Weekends. It's a lot of fun!

Ahhhhh okay...thanks for clearing that up Shows how much I pay attention!

How can I explain this???

Imagine a big crowd of people standing in front of a stage. Now imagine that those people split apart, half standing on one side and half on the other. Insane band singer gives the cue, and all those people run toward each other, eventually smashing into each other.

I'd link you to a You Tube video to it, but it probably wouldn't be a good idea to watch.

I was thinking that would totally be something my kids would want for breakfast.

it's the breakfast of champions when you're at WDW!

Really? They "allow" this?? Sounds like it would be too tempting for people to start a huge fight over it, get hurt, etc.

Ok, I'm showing my age now

I'm just picturing some battle scenes in the movies (Mummy, Braveheart, etc)

that's what I'm picturing too. That's just nuts!

Hey, that be something I would want for breakfast

 

[cherbear]

How can I explain this???

Imagine a big crowd of people standing in front of a stage. Now imagine that those people split apart, half standing on one side and half on the other. Insane band singer gives the cue, and all those people run toward each other, eventually smashing into each other.

I'd link you to a You Tube video to it, but it probably wouldn't be a good idea to watch.

I never would have thought that's what it was. Thanks for explaining.