The Tweet Repeat: Live Twitter Trip Report Recap - Lots of Photos (Part 31 11/1/09)

[scoot241]

Welcome to the Tweet Repeat (yes, it's an incredibly cheesy name). Over the past week I was reporting live from WDW over Twitter. Many of you followed me on there and got the snippets of what was going on during the trip. In this report, I'm going to repost the Twitter entries (some call them tweets, hence the name of this report) in order and then expound on them and post lots of pictures (I took just over 1800) in order to flesh out the initial Twitter stream.

So, before we begin, let's recap the cast (taken directly from my PTR):

First, the star of the show and the birthday girl:


She loves the princesses and just about anything fun.

This is also DD's first trip to WDW.

One more:


Second, DW (and company, not visible in this picture):


DW is excited about the trip, although I don't think she's quite as excited as DD and I. She's also pregnant with our son and due in November. DW thinks she'll be fine with walking and such during the trip. Obviously she'll be missing out on some rides, but the only one I think she's bummed out about is KS.

DW's only been to WDW once for a full trip and spent a day there when her and I were both in the LSU Tiger Marching Band (more on this trip later perhaps).

Third, myself:

I think I started getting a Disney obsession in high school, when the high school band took a trip to Disney World every other year. I've been on 5 full trips to WDW and the one-day trip mentioned above at LSU. One day I want to stay in the Contemporary Tower with an MK view, but we'll see.

I bought a new camera a few months ago, and since then I've been learning how to use it. Hopefully I've been behind it enough now to be able to get some pretty good pictures at WDW. Going to try my luck on the dark rides, and hopefully I can get the fireworks figured out when I'm there. If you'd like, you can take a look through my Flickr account (in signature) to see some of the pictures I've been taking.

Next, DM (DD calls her Grammy):

DF (DD calls him Pops):

Finally, DS (DD sometimes calls her Ya-Yas)

When the three of them heard we were going to WDW, they jumped on board. When DS and I were little, we went to WDW with our parents and grandparents, so it makes sense (to me at least) that they're coming too. Besides, we have 5 adults to attempt to corral one little girl. That should be enough, right?

As a quick summary, we spent Sept. 6-12 at Pop Century with 7 day Park Hoppers. We were celebrating my daughter's birthday and were on Free Dining. The real fun begins soon, so grab your .

 

[scoot241]

(Quick format note: the Twitter entries will be in bold)

9/6/2009 6:49 AM CDT: Good morning! We're on our way!

At this point, we've been awake for 49 minutes, have gotten dressed, finished packing, eaten breakfast and are getting ready to get in the car. Our flight is for 8:20 AM and DW, DD and I are stepping out the door.

We're flying out of Hobby Airport in Houston, the Southwest hub. It's not all that far from our house, and on a Sunday morning it's easy driving to get there. However, once we arrive we notice the economy lot is completely full! Must have been full because of Labor Day weekend. The regular parking lot is about $16 per day to park, so we instead park in a parking garage across the street. The shuttle takes us from the parking garage to the terminal; we check our bags (boarding passes were printed from home 24 hours in advance in order to obtain A boarding passes) and head to security.

Now, security is bad enough with children. They don't really understand what's going on and why they need to take their shoes off and run their toys (in this case, a plush Lady) through a big metal box. DD was very cooperative though. However, there was a problem...

9/6/2009 8:00 AM CDT: Pal Mickey was causing trouble at airport security. He didn't want to take his shoes off.

You see, Pal Mickey was in my wife's backpack, which was run through the machine just like everything else. However, my wife's bag gets pulled to the side and a TSA agent starts rummaging through it. He pulls out Pal Mickey and runs him through again. Everything was fine, but Pal Mickey was up against a book in her bag which made it "look funny".

8:20 rolls around and the plane takes off on time! DD has a lot of fun watching the ground get farther and farther away as the plane goes up into the clouds. Two hours or so pass; DD plays with a magnetic princess doll set until the plane lands in Orlando.

DM, DF, and DS land at approximately the same time (11:30 AM EDT) from New Orleans just a few gates from us. We meet in a matter of moments, use the restroom and head down to the DME counter. The six of us were on a bus rather quickly. In a slight oddity (to me at least), it was a Cruise Line bus.



9/6/2009 12:12 PM EDT: On the DME bus. Driver is making wisecracks about Jersey and that people in Florida don't know how to vote.

I honestly don't even remember the Jersey jokes, so they must not have been that good. The entire trip, the bus driver was egging the guests on about which hotel he would stop at first (Caribbean Beach or Pop). He would try to take votes or get the guests for each hotel to scream louder, but would never decide. It was obvious he already knew where he was going first but wasn't telling anyone.

9/6/2009 12:38 PM EDT: First DME stop: Carribbean Beach. Boooo. Next stop: Pop!

After dropping off the Caribbean Beach bums off, the bus finally pulls into Pop and we made it!



Coming up: Checking in (exciting! ) and the first steps into the Magic Kingdom!

 

[disneygirlinnj]

(Quick format note: the Twitter entries will be in bold)

The regular parking lot is about $16 per day to park, so we instead park in a parking garage across the street.

9/6/2009 8:00 AM CDT: Pal Mickey was causing trouble at airport security. He didn't want to take his shoes off.

Great start so far Scott!! I LOVE how you're tying the Twitter updates to the trip report. I might have to steal that. I mean..it's fair...you stole my idea for a Disney Twitter account

Ugh...is it sad that our ECONOMY parking is $16 or $18 a day and our normal parking lots in the airports are like $25 or $27?! I'm jealous!

And um...didn't you know? Pal Mickey is a terrorist mouse. He's on all the watch lists.

 

[scoot241]

Great start so far Scott!! I LOVE how you're tying the Twitter updates to the trip report. I might have to steal that. I mean..it's fair...you stole my idea for a Disney Twitter account

Ugh...is it sad that our ECONOMY parking is $16 or $18 a day and our normal parking lots in the airports are like $25 or $27?! I'm jealous!

And um...didn't you know? Pal Mickey is a terrorist mouse. He's on all the watch lists.

We paid $8 a day to park. I think I would flip out if the economy lot was $16 a day.

Haha yes, you can steal the format. I thought about (and still am thinking) trying to work the replies in, but I think it would ultimately lead to confusion, especially when Twitter names don't necessarily line up with names here (or may be from people not on here).

 

[PAcpl]

It was a pleasure following your Tweets Scott. Glad you made it home safe!

 

[annnewjerz]

Welcome back! Looking forward to hearing about (and hopefully seeing pictures from) your trip.

 

[scoot241]

Welcome back! Looking forward to hearing about (and hopefully seeing pictures from) your trip.

The pictures are coming. If you're really impatient you can see more on my Flickr.

 

[scoot241]

Checking into Pop Century was simple; we checked in online. The cast member taking care of us pulled our files, gave DD her birthday button and took our cell phone numbers for a text message with a room number. She told us approximately where our room would be, and confirmed that the rooms would be connecting on the 1st floor. We were in the 50s building with Tramp right across from the bowling pin pool.

After getting our KTTW cards, we got some lunch and our mugs in the Pop food court. Pizza was primarily on the menu; nothing too big as we had 5:00 reservations at Ohana. While we ate, a text came to my phone with one room number. The other room's text hadn't arrived yet.

Once everyone had eaten, we went to the room. Since we knew we had connecting rooms, my parents tried the room that connected and their KTTW cards worked. We unloaded our carry-ons, got packed for the parks and headed out to the bus stop.




The bus to the Magic Kingdom came rather quickly, and we were on our way!



For a while before the trip, Hailey told us that Pirates would be the first ride we rode at WDW. As soon as we walked under the train station, however, we saw:



The Celebrate! A Dream Come True Parade was passing right by the train station! Naturally, we had to stop and watch the parade. I was able to take many nice pictures from where we were standing.




















Coming up: Will we make it to Pirates? Will we be subjected to 8 million pictures?

P.S. No, there were no Twitter posts in this time range. I apparently was slacking.

 

[m2j]

Love your trip report & pics!

 

[disneygirlinnj]

Loving the photos and LOVE the photo of Hailey and...your sister (?) on the bus! She looks so excited! And I know the answer to your questions! (Obviously I stalked your flickr lol)

Sounds like online checkin went perfect. I guess I'll try it in 3 days for my trip!

 

[annnewjerz]

And I know the answer to your questions! (Obviously I stalked your flickr lol)

Same here, how sad. Maybe it's something in the NJ water that saps us of our patience.

 

[scoot241]

Loving the photos and LOVE the photo of Hailey and...your sister (?) on the bus! She looks so excited! And I know the answer to your questions! (Obviously I stalked your flickr lol)

Same here, how sad. Maybe it's something in the NJ water that saps us of our patience.

Ah, but my photostream may not be in the correct order. The last couple of pictures I put up last night certainly aren't (but they are from the same day).

J, yes that's my sister on the bus.

ETA: So I've noticed that almost everyone who's commented so far has been from Jersey. Apparently I'm popular up there and don't even know it.

 

[disneygirlinnj]

Haha..that could be because of one of a few reasons:

1. Jersey people are awesome and know a good TR and photographer when we come across one.
2. We're all slightly disney crazy...I mean everyone on here knows about Jersey Week at Disney in November, right?
3. Did I mention we're awesome?
4. We're all fabulously (ha!) technologically advanced and got sucked into your Tweets?

 

[scoot241]

My cousin just moved to Jersey... I don't think she's Disney crazy though (just regular crazy). I've never been, so I may have to visit her someday and see all my adoring fans too.

 

[PAcpl]

Philly gets no love?

 

[scoot241]

Philly gets no love?

I saild almost everyone.

Never been to Philly either. This may turn into a NE US tour.

 

[scoot241]

After the parade, we made our way up Main Street and veered off to the left in front of Casey's. The street was still packed heading into the hub, but the alternate route in front of Crystal Palace turned out not to be much better.

We finally made the left to head into Adventureland. We passed Aladdin's carpets, the Tiki Room, and the Jungle Cruise and made our way to:



Hailey's excited; this is the ride she wanted to do first!











Afterward, Hailey tells us "I liked it except for the waterfall". At first we thought she meant the drop, but when we kept asking, she meant the mist that Davy Jones shows up in. Overall, success on the first ride!

I need to post more photos before I move on, so part 3 will have to end here.

Coming up: Will we see another Twitter post anytime in the near future?

 

[PAcpl]

Wow, great shots on Pirates.. What settings did you use on what SLR?

 

[scoot241]

I have the Canon XSi, and I used the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 lens. I set it to ISO 1600 and put it in Tv mode and set the shutter speed to 1/50 of a second. I did some sharpening and noise reduction in Lightroom before posting.

The Sigma 30mm is my favorite of the two lenses I own, so it was on the camera for all but two days of the trip. The 18-55 IS is nice but it's not quite as sharp as the 30mm and doesn't do nearly as well when shooting in low light. Next big camera purchase is a nice telephoto.

 

[scoot241]

9/6/2009 4:02 PM EDT: In MK. Saw the parade, went on pirates and now waiting for aladdin's carpets.

Finally, another Twitter post! They do get more frequent.

As you can read, we're waiting in line now for:



Hailey's ready to fly on Dum... I mean Aladdin's carpets. (Dumbo comes later, duh.)



After Aladdin, it's time to start heading out for dinner. On the way out I get a nice shot of the castle.



We also take our first PhotoPass pictures. Apparently I forgot to take my glasses off when she was shooting with my camera.



And now for a rant about the PhotoPass photographers. Do not hand them a DSLR with a prime lens on it. They do not understand the concept. Every time I handed them my camera, they immediately reached for the focus ring, tried to zoom, and then exclaimed "Where's the zoom?". I eventually stopped giving them my camera and just hoped the pictures they took would be good. Most of them are, so overall I'm pleased with the service, but for people who sit behind a camera all day, you think they would at least have heard of a prime lens.

Anyway, after the PhotoPass pictures, we headed for the exit.



Yes, the Magic Kingdom would see us again real soon.

Coming up: interesting times on the monorail, and where did we eat for dinner?