The Ups and Downs of Labor Day weekend 2010

I had seen the there was a section on the right side near the stage. I never knew how people got those seats. I guess I do now. We were so close we could probably have touched the cm's as they leaned over had we wanted to. It was amazing.


I must say though, it may not have been ideal for everyone. We were so close and could see the cms so clearly that it was a bit distracting. Kinda hard to get into the illusion that the character are floating around when you can see the faces of the actors/puppeteers. I however, really liked it because the actors would come out onto the stage around us. It felt like we were in the middle of it all.

Great pics of the safari and the parade! We have never really done a parade because both times we have gone we went in Sept-- and that is the hottest part of the day! We were ready to leave just as the parade was about to start or before.

The seats look great! I may just have to do that when we go in Feb/March! I don't know how my husband would like sitting so close. I think he likes being able to see the entire stage.

In the last couple of updates, everything has gone pretty smooth. Things are about to change very quickly for us.

I finally texted Kira (yes, I stooped to essentially passing notes in front of my mom) I explained to her that I had everything under control and that I needed her to please suck it up and calm down...for me. Kira may come across through her actions as selfish, but really I think why the "you need to have more compassion" comment set her off so badly is because she really is a helpful caring young woman. She can just be a bit abrasive at times. Once I asked her to please for me...so that I could have dinner. She changed her mood. Once she changed her mood, so did my mother. (they both are so much alike it makes me nuts)


Setting sail

My grandma and I are the same way! We are so alike that we fought all the time when I was growing up. However, our relationship has smoothed out a bit in the last couple of years, so there is hope!

I have also passed notes in front of someone-- before texting, though. My mom and dad were in the front seat of the car and my mom was having the meltdown to end all meltdowns. We were stuck in a huge traffic jam as well, which made things worse. I still have those notes, LOL!
 
The seats look great! I may just have to do that when we go in Feb/March! I don't know how my husband would like sitting so close. I think he likes being able to see the entire stage.

If it helps, we were able to see the entire stage. We did have to look back a bit when the cm's ran down the center area....but we could see the main stage..all the way left to right. We could have sat further to the right to be away from the center area (sorry, not sure what that part of the stage is called) or even a bit further back.


My grandma and I are the same way! We are so alike that we fought all the time when I was growing up. However, our relationship has smoothed out a bit in the last couple of years, so there is hope!


I hopes so, cause the two were inseparable when Kira was younger. :goodvibes
 
As we ended, 9/4 we had a just a couple more things we wanted to do.

First thing was to explore POR a bit. This is where we had stayed in Feb. and where Kira plans to stay on her honeymoon. It was nice to walk around even though the sun had set.

Next was to take the boat to DTD. Even though it was dark, it was a nice boat ride. (although we got bit by some bugs.)

As we came up on DTD, this is what we saw.
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Well, kinda... neither of our cameras were liking the dark...but Kira got this shot.

We shopped for a bit. Mom found a store with grab bags. (good grief, do we really need a bag of "That so Raven" merchandise?) Mom just loves grab bags though. So like a kid in a candy store, she bought some.

It was not long until we were just too tired to stay. We headed for the buses. (yes, a Pop Century bus...need I say more? :confused3:headache:)

Once back to Pop, we all went to bed. It was the first night that we did so without anyone being fussy. YaY!!!!

Shower, bed...sleep

Next chapter;

FINALLY a trip to the Magic Kingdom
 
Great updates! Love the way you defused things at dinner. Too funny about texting Kira while seating with her.:goodvibes

Can't wait to read more. We'll be at POP tomorrow! :goodvibes
 

Can't wait to read more. We'll be at POP tomorrow! :goodvibes

I am so excited to hear how it goes! I truly did like Pop...I hate to completely rule it out for any future visits to WDW I might have. So i want to hear positive stuff. (specifically regarding the bus situation! ;))
 
I am so excited to hear how it goes! I truly did like Pop...I hate to completely rule it out for any future visits to WDW I might have. So i want to hear positive stuff. (specifically regarding the bus situation! ;))

Unfortunately we have only used the buses once in all our trips to WDW.:confused3 DD and I used it to go from DTD to POP one day when my DM wanted to leave DQ but we didn't. It was fine, though I thought we had to wait a long time for the POP bus to come. And even though it was the middle of the day, I had to stand (no seats open).

So I can't really give you anything positive about the buses at POP. We always rent a vehicle and drive ourselves to the parks, DTD, resorts, etc. It's one less thing to be stressed about. ;) It's especially good for those times when you need to get to an ADR in a park or other location. They always rec. allowing at least an hour for travel but we can get to Kona from POP, for example, in way less time. ;)
 
I'm so glad you stuck with Boatwrights! It sounds like it was some of the best food of the trip. It's funny how you texted Kira during dinner! But hey, you gotta do what you gotta do, right? So glad the situation was diffused before it got worse. Mom's prime rib looked good! What was that stuff around your tenderloin? Looks like asparagus and some sort of...corn relish? Interesting.
Mmm, I love pecan pie and bananas foster. If we stay at one of the PO resorts next time, I will have to check it out.
We love DTD but never really get a chance to spend nearly enough time there as I'd like to.
 
Whew... I've been in DIS withdrawal since Thursday because I'm housesitting, but I snuck home for a bit and am trying to catch up. It was great to read your updates!
Your AK sounded really fun!
Sorry to hear about dinner, but maybe it was good that Kira and your mom finally got to have it out a little instead of Kira just holding it all in. Though dinner probably isn't the best time for it to happen. Glad things calmed back down pretty quickly!
 
Unfortunately we have only used the buses once in all our trips to WDW.:confused3 DD and I used it to go from DTD to POP one day when my DM wanted to leave DQ but we didn't. It was fine, though I thought we had to wait a long time for the POP bus to come. And even though it was the middle of the day, I had to stand (no seats open).

So I can't really give you anything positive about the buses at POP. We always rent a vehicle and drive ourselves to the parks, DTD, resorts, etc. It's one less thing to be stressed about. ;) It's especially good for those times when you need to get to an ADR in a park or other location. They always rec. allowing at least an hour for travel but we can get to Kona from POP, for example, in way less time. ;)

Oh well, I assume that it isn't always terrible. I mean, our first night...we took the bus to MK then went from MK by boat to our Ohana ADR and it couldn't have taken us even 45 minutes. Yet, the time we went from MK, just after wishes... well..now that will be in some upcoming post so I won't spoil the fun of hearing my aggravation ;). When you drive, you have to park though..and take the tram in. Doesn't that a. add additional cost for parking and b. take a while cause the tram? I just always assume we were saving time since we got dropped off up near the gates.

I'm so glad you stuck with Boatwrights! It sounds like it was some of the best food of the trip. It's funny how you texted Kira during dinner! But hey, you gotta do what you gotta do, right? So glad the situation was diffused before it got worse. Mom's prime rib looked good! What was that stuff around your tenderloin? Looks like asparagus and some sort of...corn relish? Interesting.
Mmm, I love pecan pie and bananas foster. If we stay at one of the PO resorts next time, I will have to check it out.
We love DTD but never really get a chance to spend nearly enough time there as I'd like to.

It was definitely one of Kira's favorites. I was not fond of what was under the tenderloin. The meat itself was AMAZING. The asparagus was good. The other stuff.. I couldn't eat. This is what all ears says it is "Grilled Tenderloin Medallions - served with Crayfish, Honey-Mustard Mashed Sweet Potatoes, and Rum Demi-glace" I am not sure where the corn or the asparagus fit into all of that.. :upsidedow The meat was superb though and that is what counts. ;)
 
Whew... I've been in DIS withdrawal since Thursday because I'm housesitting, but I snuck home for a bit and am trying to catch up. It was great to read your updates!
Your AK sounded really fun!
Sorry to hear about dinner, but maybe it was good that Kira and your mom finally got to have it out a little instead of Kira just holding it all in. Though dinner probably isn't the best time for it to happen. Glad things calmed back down pretty quickly!

Glad you got to get a break and checked in!

That day in AK was one of my favorite days on the trip, even with dinner having such a rough start.
 
Here it is, 9/5. It is day 5. Where do we finally get to go? MK!!! I had hoped to get to go a bit on 9/1, but time just didn't allow it. I really wished we had taken just a moment to walk inside the gate (rather than shop at the Polynesian) since 5 days in, is just a bit late to be seeing the castle for the first time on this trip. Who knows, maybe that was all we needed to start the magic?

So we all got a pretty good night sleep. As always, the intent was to make it to rope drop. Zoe was really anxious to get a mickey waffle, so she and Kira went down ahead of me to get breakfast. Since mom did better the day before sleeping in, we agreed that she should do it again.

Once breakfast was over, it was time to catch the bus to go to the park. We just made it in time for rope drop and then quickly made our way to Fantasyland. Since we were going there, Zoe dressed for it.
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We managed to fit in most of the Fantasyland rides in before 9:30am.
Zoe on the Tea Cups
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Kira waiting for Snow Whites Scary Adventure.
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One thing that we do on every trip is take pictures of various creatures. I haven't been putting them in cause they are your usual..the ducks, the lizards, the birds... but this? I just thought it was pretty for a moth.
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That morning, our ridemax schedule had us bop over to Toontown to get on Goofy's Barn Stormer. We walked right on. Funny that ride doesn't move faster during the day since it such a short ride. So on and off that ride just in time for my mom to call. We still had a couple things left in Toontown that we wanted to do, but we skipped it for now so that we could meet with my mom.

I left Kira and Zoe so I could go and meet mom. While I did that, they met with the stepmother and sisters of Cinderella. I wish I had not missed this. Apparently they were quite the characters!
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I guess she HAD to give Zoe a hug and wasn't to thrilled.
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First attempt at getting a picture all together.
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Another attempt, the one that was the keeper.
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Sorry to share so many pics, but from what Kira has told me, they just were putting on a full show. Here is one where they got distracted by someone on the castle. It was during one of the attempts at getting a shot with everyone.
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In Kira's notes, she writes "They saw some maintenance guys on Cinderella's castle and they started screaming "they are storming the castle!". The stepmom said that it was probably because Cinderella left her windows open."

Next Chapter;
Lunch and a moment in the spot light.
 
Yikes! Dinner at Boatwright's sounds like it was so frustrating! It could have been a lot worse, though, and even though you had to resort to texting (which I've totally done on several occasions!), I'm glad that you and Kira were able to meet on common ground. I was never close to my dad's mom, my mom's mom and I were really close. She passed away when I was 9 :sad1: It's funny because from the very beginning of your report, I just kept saying that your mom and Kira must be a lot alike and that's why they keep bickering. One day, she will appreciate it all! :laughing:

I am glad you had a good meal when it was said and done! We had breakfast reservations for there in 2008 but we were so tired we never made it.

How many buses did you wait when leaving DTD? 3? 4? :rotfl2:

Yay for a GREAT start to your MK day! It stinks you missed another character greeting, but Kira did a great job getting pics! And Zoe is ADORABLE in those pics on the Teacups! :cutie:

And that moth is actually quite pretty! I'm actually really afraid of bugs (especially giant Silence of the Lambs moths! :laughing: ) and I'm not saying I would have gotten close to this one, but I would have used my zoom and taken a picture of it, too!
 
Well, glad I'm not the only one who's planned a trip where the MK comes a bit later on. I have to say, you are amazing at diplomacy. I'm not sure I'd be able to keep everything together as well as you seemed to. I hate to admit it, because while a big family trip would be great, I know that a trip with just my husband and son will be so much less stressful!
 
Oh, and I LOVE the pictures of Zoe with the evil Stepmother and the sisters. I saw the evil stepmother from Snow White during Spectromagic last year and told her she looked fierce. She blew a puff of dry-ice smoke in my face! It was awesome!
 
Magic Kingdom hasn't been our first park in probably 4 years! It's usually last for some reason and Epcot is normally our first park.
 
Yikes! Dinner at Boatwright's sounds like it was so frustrating! It could have been a lot worse, though, and even though you had to resort to texting (which I've totally done on several occasions!), I'm glad that you and Kira were able to meet on common ground. I was never close to my dad's mom, my mom's mom and I were really close. She passed away when I was 9 :sad1: It's funny because from the very beginning of your report, I just kept saying that your mom and Kira must be a lot alike and that's why they keep bickering. One day, she will appreciate it all! :laughing:

I am sure that at some point, you will be right, Kira will appreciate her dear grandmother again. They are a lot alike, painfully so in most areas...except one. Now, I know this is going to sound horrid...but even my mom would agree. Kira is incredibly intelligent. She graduated in the top 10% of our state...in the top 10 students of her class. My mom has a reading level that is below high school. For right now, I think this is what causes the rift. The emotional, irrational side of Kira really struggles to understand how or why someone could be so oblivious..and that is what leads to her frustration and sometimes anger.

I am glad you had a good meal when it was said and done! We had breakfast reservations for there in 2008 but we were so tired we never made it.

It was a good meal. The cms were amazing! I was not expecting the service to be so good.

How many buses did you wait when leaving DTD? 3? 4? :rotfl2:

:lmao: I know, right??? I think you read another thread that I posted on... I think that the other person didn't believe me when I said the buses were horrid. They really were. I wonder if all of the hotels had trouble that week with their buses. I really would like to think that since Pop is actually quite nice and affordable.

Yay for a GREAT start to your MK day! It stinks you missed another character greeting, but Kira did a great job getting pics! And Zoe is ADORABLE in those pics on the Teacups! :cutie:

Thank you! It was a nice start. Kira did a great job with Zoe that morning. I think she really shines when it comes to stuff like this. She really likes to spend time with her little sister having fun.

And that moth is actually quite pretty! I'm actually really afraid of bugs (especially giant Silence of the Lambs moths! :laughing: ) and I'm not saying I would have gotten close to this one, but I would have used my zoom and taken a picture of it, too!

I didn't actually see this one, Kira took the picture. She and her df are such critter people... I don't doubt she got pretty close to this. I would have been using the zoom to take the pic.. :thumbsup2



Well, glad I'm not the only one who's planned a trip where the MK comes a bit later on. I have to say, you are amazing at diplomacy. I'm not sure I'd be able to keep everything together as well as you seemed to. I hate to admit it, because while a big family trip would be great, I know that a trip with just my husband and son will be so much less stressful!

That is kind of you to say. I managed to hold it together pretty well the entire trip. Just a hint of what is to come though...I did have one night that I was particularly fussy...and I did spend a moment in the bathroom by myself to try and get it together. All in all though, that is my job in the family...make sure everyone is happy.

Oh, and I LOVE the pictures of Zoe with the evil Stepmother and the sisters. I saw the evil stepmother from Snow White during Spectromagic last year and told her she looked fierce. She blew a puff of dry-ice smoke in my face! It was awesome!

Thank you, I think Kira did a great job in capturing the moment when I was not with them. That is awesome that the evil stepmother did that! Things like that just leave us with such special memories!

Magic Kingdom hasn't been our first park in probably 4 years! It's usually last for some reason and Epcot is normally our first park.

Ya know, I think we go to other parks first normally too. Epcot is always one of the first for us. We love Epcot!
 
Zoe looks so happy to have her princess dress on! I got to see the stepmother and stepsisters too! I didn't dare hug them, but they were not too thrilled with my "gentleman caller".:laughing:
 
Last we left off, I was on my way to meet my mom. I told her to meet me in front of the castle. She was so funny when I showed up. She was laughing at herself. Apparently, she rode the bus went through the gates and all the while was concerned because she had no idea where the castle was. :rotfl: She said, then she hit main street and had to laugh because how could she miss THAT. (as she pointed up at the castle.)

It wasn't long until Kira and Zoe joined us. We decided it was time for some lunch. I was not excited about it, but we were not far from Cosmic Rays and we wanted to be able to catch the next Story time with Belle show. So on our way we went to Cosmic Rays.

On our way there, Kira and I noticed something that made it so that I had to lag behind a bit. I know some people don't like to hear some things, so this is a warning if you are someone who doesn't like to hear "gross, or scary or unpleasant things" to skip to the next paragraph. So, those of you still reading... it was very very hot that day. (most days that week were, but this was REALLY hot) In the bushes, a poor little duck did not seem to tolerate the heat or maybe it was something else. Either way, in the heat, something had to be done quick or the Magical Kingdom would not seem so magical. I notified a maintenance cm so that they could remove the poor duck. :sad2: The cm seemed so nervous. He frantically got some more help. Apparently, something like this is a big deal.

After this little diversion we continued on to Cosmic Rays. My mom was excited to order a philly cheese steak. It did not live up to her expectations. I am not sure if she added the cheese sauce or not, but last I checked... cheese steak has real cheese on it...not nacho cheese sauce. :rotfl: I split a burger with Zoe. Kira had a hot dog. I knew this was not going to be the best meal of our trip, but it really was our worst. Next time I will have to stick with the plan and have Columbia Harbor House. It just seemed to hot for fish and chips.

Aside from the heat, we chose Cosmic Rays because we knew we could go directly to Story Time with Belle. We have never done this and since they are getting rid of it and Zoe is prime age for enjoying it we figured we best do it this trip.

As I have mentioned before, Zoe loves to participate. She is often first with her hand up and can get disappointed if not chosen. I knew that there was participation in this so after we got in and sat down, I quickly began to prepare her for the fact there were many other kids and she may not get picked. I really actually didn't want to encourage her to get excited. I was hot and tired and..didn't want the upset if she was not chosen.

I am not sure how or why, but before the show even started a cm came behind us and quietly asked if she could take Zoe. :yay: All my "lets not get our hopes up" speech was for nothing! She played the role of Lumiere.
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Notice she isn't wearing the princess gown anymore...it was HOT and she took it off.
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Somehow, she doesn't look as thrilled as I thought she would.
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Actively in character :goodvibes

After the show, she was about to meet with Belle. It was so thrilling. One thing though...when I look at the pic of the two of them.... how brave Belle is for having her cheek right up against the cheek of sweaty little girl. I mean, I love Zoe...I can deal with her sweat...but to Belle, Zoe is just one of how many kids in the park. Ewe... :rotfl:

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Next we went to get fps for Pooh. When we did that, we got a "surprise" fp for Mickey's Philharmagic along with it. The fp was for right then, so of course, we took advantage of it. I LOVE Mickey's Philharmagic!

After this we were going to go to the Hall of Presidents. A good choice considering the heat. Along the way we found Bert and Mary Poppins. Now, I am not sure this guy was aware of how sweet his character was suppose to be. He kinda came across a bit...snotty. These are the pics I got.
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Now, it wasn't until I saw the pics that my mom took that I felt a tad bit more as though I was right in picking up on Bert's snotty attitude. My mom was being kinda ditsy when attempting to get the shot. She was fumbling a bit. She also tends to stick her tongue out when taking pictures. Remember also her eye problem. She also has her eye go off in another direction at times.
So here is the pic she took.
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I think he may have been mocking my mom. :confused: Maybe he was just trying to be funny...but...at the time he seemed irritated that she was being so slow in getting the pic. To completely imitate her facial expression when taking the pic...I just think he may have been mocking. I hate to think that though since it is so undisney like. Maybe the heat was just getting to all of us.

Continuing on to the Hall of President we were anxious to get there and out of the heat.

Will we get there? Will we watch the show? Will a dole whip save the day?

next chapter;
Slowly melting our brains and everything else it must be time to go!
 
Zoe looks so happy to have her princess dress on! I got to see the stepmother and stepsisters too! I didn't dare hug them, but they were not too thrilled with my "gentleman caller".:laughing:

She was and yet she wasn't. She didn't like the long sleeve material on it, so she had to push up the sleeves. It was the princess dress I bought at the consignment store. I really will be on the look out for a better dress for any future trips. They are not easy to find and this one, did not fit her well.

Too funny about the "gentlemen caller" :rotfl:
 
OMG! I can't believe Bert! He was totally being snotty... they aren't allowed to do things like that. It is against the rules to be out of character. He is totally out of character in the other picture too! He has a "thug" face or something!

Your mom's story about the Castle is hilarious! I am sorry you had a bad lunch at Cosmic Ray's, but its awesome that Zoe got picked! Just think, if you had gone to CHH the line or service may have been longer and shorter-- meaning she may not have gotten picked!
 












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