The whole World according to Moi! - COMPLETED!

[donaldsgal]

Okay, so it's been a considerable amount of time since I last updated the report AND now we've got the added problem of memory fading thrown in there, so I'll do my best.

We awoke at 6:30-7:00, got ready, and headed out the door. We were at AK by opening. Weird thing about the way they do parking this early in the day. We were parked in the RV parking areas, and we weren't even in lines. And we drove over grass to get there??? Sort of strange. Not sure why they do it that way except that maybe in peak season they try to maximize their space. Anyways, it was just weird, but I digress. We got in and marched right into line for EE. We got in the standby line while Mom secured our FPs.

We got up to the window, where Mom met us so they could see Hannah and give us a Rider Swap. We got on and opted for the very back row per Missy's request. We escaped the Yeti and arrived safely back at base camp. When we got off, we found another monster awaiting our return - a two headed Mickey monster!

As you can see, it was pretty chilly this morning. We crossed back to Discovery Island and on to Festival of the Lion King. Hannah LOVED this last time, so it was a must-repeat attraction for us. Along the way, I used my camera to snap some pictures of the park.

We got to line and messed around while we waited for the doors to open. Hannah was playing with Mom's sunglasses.

We had a "Top Gun" moment next.

We got in and were in the lion section of FotLK. Hannah enjoyed being in that section since she's been really into telling us what sounds different animals. She already had the lion down, but now she learned to add "claws" to it. I took some pictures that sort of seem like they didn't turn out due to being blurry, but I really like the sort of neon, in-motion vibe you get.

Next up was "It's Tough to be a Bug". We put on our bug glasses and waited for the show.

We returned to EE and bravely asked for the front row. Once again, we safely returned to base camp - this time WITHOUT getting stuck on the ride. It was much better this time! We celebrated with lots of HAPPY screams when the track flipped and we were immediately on our way again (since last night this was not at all how things worked).

After this, it was time to line up for Finding Nemo: The Musical. Last year, we had a fiasco with this. We had people in line 45 minutes ahead. A couple of us (we had my cousin and her family with us) were waiting on my cousin and I to come back with food. Unfortunately, by the time we got out of line, the rest of the group was almost at the entrance. Matt and my sister got out of line to eat, but Karen was upset because her daughter was going to miss Nemo. We made a spur of the moment decision to get BACK in line after scarfing our food. This resulted in moving from what would have been the first few rows to the back right of the theater in the bleachers. Yikes!

This year, we were in the front left of the seats and had pretty decent seats. Like all the other kids, Hannah enjoyed watching for Nemo in the screens. She really into turtles, so the scene with Crush was her favorite:

After this, we rode the Safari. We enjoyed this, but it was really bumpy, and with Mom's bad shoulder, it was somewhat painful for her.

Next up was lunch at Rainforest Cafe. We got right in after our ADR time. (NOTE: Many people were there just waiting to get in. They were lined up several rows back, but we were able to sneak right through after the CM who was seating us, so make sure to make ADRs if you want to eat there).

We've eaten there before, so we knew what to expect. Our server was fun and energetic, not immune to the atmosphere which is supposed to be fun and lighthearted (you know, the type where they are so sick of acting the part that they are very monotone in voice or expression). Hannah was asleep for a while, which ended up being a good thing because it was FREEZING where we were! Oh. My. Gosh.! I ended up taking Hannah's blanket (she had a coat on) and wrapping up in it. The server came by and noticed how cold I was. At this point, it was still a joke. However, after about 30 minutes of waiting for the food in the freezing cold temps, I pulled her aside and asked if she could adjust the temps. She apologized and said that it was controlled by the same thing that set the temp for the entire place, so there was nothing to be done. Yikes!

Eventually, the manager came by to apologize for our food taking so long (I think it was my entree and they had lost the ticket or something in the kitchen). As she stood there apologizing, she said, "I am sorry for the delay in your food. We had an issue in the kitchen and your server has been working very hard to get it resolve but asked me to come over and talk to you. But as I stand here, I'm realizing how COLD it is right here!" I agreed vigorously and she said she'd find a place to move us to. (Insert angels singing the Hallelujah chorus). After a couple of minutes, we were moved to a table closer to the front of the restaurant. Whew! No longer were we in the frozen tundra pavilion of Epcot but we had been magically transported back to sunny Florida! Hooray.

We got our food and ate it. It was okay - nothing spectacular. We paid our bills (didn't get a discount for the cold temps/delayed food) but did use our DDE card for our 20% so we got something taken off the bill. We left and by this time it was about 3 (our ADRs were at 1:30), and Hannah was a cranky poo! She wouldn't cooperate with sitting in the stroller OR walking, and eventually she collapsed onto the sidewalk leading to the parking lot. I dubbed her "Hannah road kill" and, of course, took a picture for when she's 18 and showing the photo collage at her high school graduation party (or better yet her wedding ):

Other families were walking by and laughing, so I didn't feel I was torturing her beyond what any other person would do.

We left AK for the last time this trip and went to Downtown Disney. Miss likes to buy cels, and Jen likes to buy clothes! We of course went to World of Disney where I hemmed and hawed about what to buy my coworker who was watching my beloved pooch at her house back home. Settled on two wine glasses with etched Mickey heads on it. As a wine drinker and not a big Disney fan, I thought these would be a good compromise (turns out she loved them ). I bought a couple of shirts, including the beloved "Por favor mantangese allejado de las puertas" shirt. I LOVE the monorail spiel, so that was a fun buy. I decided to take after timeandlesley and have a Disney shirt to wear every day of my future trips. I'm up to about 6 or 7 now, so I'm close to what I'd need. Hooray! I have a complaint, though, that Disney doesn't have a huge selection of cute shirts for plus-sized Disney fans (me being one of them). They do have shirts, but they tend to the be really loud colors with the fab 6 with the year on them - sorry, but not my cup of tea. Like it or not, I'm plus-sized AND have some style, so these don't really "go" with my personality. I settled on a white v-neck shirt with the Year of a Million Dreams' colored castle (you know, white with the pretty blue accents) in the logo. It said "Where Dreams Come True" underneath. I could wear it to work, too, so that was a plus. Also got a great picture frame that has curved edges and a little castle engraving underneath - I got the horizontal style rather than vertical style. I used my Disney Visa card reward points here, but still ended up going about $100 over budget on souvenirs. Oops!

Miss went into the Art of Disney store to look for cels while we messed around outside. Hannah enjoyed pushing her stroller around.

We left here and went to Goofy's Candy Co. Had never been here before. It was great! I got some chocolate covered strawberries, Miss got a couple of bags of candy, and we each got a caramel apple (hers with nuts on top - yuck (don't we have a grossed out smilie on here somewhere???).

Next up: a very exciting evening for Mom with an emergency phone call to us on our way to California Grill!

 

[donaldsgal]

When we got back to the room, we made time for our obligatory dip in the quiet pool. That was such a fun part of the trip - spending afternoons in the pool! Hannah was really into swimming this time, so like I said, it was great fun.

Afterwards, it was time for a nap. I slept for a while before our dinner at California Grill. It was a sisters' night only; Mom was going to watch Hannah while we ate and splurged! We woke up and ended up running late because I wasn't thinking clearly about the timing of getting there early enough to request a seat by the window. Our ADR was for 9:10, so we had planned to leave around 8 and get there PLENTY early to ask for a window seat. As it turned out, we ended up leaving at 8:30 because I was thinking our ADRs were still at 9:55 (what they were for originally).

As we headed out, we took the time to explain to Mom that we only had MY cell phone with us (This will be an important detail later). Missy's phone was staying there, so if she needed us, she was to call MY phone. Okay, so we headed out. We were already a bit cranky with each other due to my poor timing. We pulled in to the parking lot, parked, and had walked maybe 20 feet when my cell phone rang. I got my phone out and saw that it was my dad calling.

Okay, my dad NEVER uses the phone. He's a typical farmer and home-body; likes to be at home on his farm and doesn't have a lot of need for talking on the phone. He'll be mentioned twice in this TR: now and when I post a picture of Hannah talking to him on the phone.

So it's weird he's calling us, especially at 8:45 at night. Sometimes he calls us when my mom doesn't answer (my mom and his mom are the exceptions to his no phone rule - he's a good son and still an in-love hubby ) And my mom is notorious for having her phone JUUUUUUUUUUST out of reach or on vibrate so that as you're leaving a message, she calls you back. Sort of frustrating, but she's my momma, so ya gotta love her.

I'm thinking that he's calling us because she doesn't answer. I answer, and my dad says,
"Your mom needs you to call her."
Huh?
"Why?"
"I don't know - she just said she needed you to call right away."

Okay, you mommies out there (and aunts with only one niece ) understand that this sort of heightens anxiety. The first question being, Why didn't Mom just call directly? What's happening? So I called my mom and guess what - she didn't answer!!! AAAGGGHHHHHHHHHHH! She REALLY needs to keep her phone near her (first thought). Why didn't she answer - is everything okay? (second thought). We tried the room - no answer in the room.

Okay, now we're REALLY concerned. Missy's eyes are even bigger than they were when we got stuck on Everest. I called mom back AGAIN. This time, she answered. She's all out of breath and sort of crying. She tells me what happened and I make sure everyone is okay. This is my side of the conversation, the part my sister can hear:
"Next time that happens, would you please just call 911 instead of Dad or us? We can't help you if we aren't there and couldn't get to you as quick as 911 could. Okay?
(pause)
Well, that's because we left hers in the room! Remember when we specifically told you that?
(pause)
Well, okay then. So you just need to calm down and THINK in these situations, Mom. We'll check back in a little while. I love you. Okay, bye."

Of course not hearing Mom's side of the conversation, Missy's face goes completely white and she is freaked out. I tell her what happened. Hannah had been choking and was okay now. Mom was able to extract the thing she was choking on. Hannah didn't pass out or anything - just scared Mom who sort of reacted without thinking.

We went in to CG and had a good meal. My sister's (legitimate) concerns sort of dampened the evening, but we had a pretty good time. Mom assured us we could go ahead and eat. The food was not as good as last year, but still good. We checked in by phone a couple of times, and afterwards we went back to the room where we got the whole story.

Ready for it? Get out your popcorn. It's a doozy.

Now before I go into this, you have to understand my mother. She is an awesome person and I love her to death. However, when she's upset or scared, she makes weird choices. A perfect example of this is characterized by a time when I was in college and she was shopping at American Eagle for me for Christmas. She paid with check and was asked by the girl behind the counter to show her license as ID (back in the days when we paid with check and needed a license to serve as ID - remember those?). Anyways, as she's looking for her wallet, which holds her license, she couldn't find it and started freaking out. The girl behind the desk just sort of stared at her while my mom is saying over and over as she frantically looks for the wallet, "I can't find my wallet. Someone stole my wallet!" Another lady in line starts helping her look and mom just keeps exclaiming, "Someone stole my wallet!!!!" The girl finally looks at her and says, "Um, ma'am? It's under your chin." Here this whole time Mom had tucked the wallet under her chin!!! You know how people sometimes hold something under their chin when their hands are full? Well, Mom dug out her checkbook and put her waller under her chin since it was on top. She did this, she says, because she didn't want to leave her wallet on the counter and end up walking away without it. The problem is, in the 10 seconds between putting it under her chin and the girl asking for her license, Mom had forgotten where she put the wallet. Hooo boy. Funniest part is that she had to have been saying it in that weird voice you make when your chin is pressed down against your neck WHILE keeping her chin firmly clamped on the wallet. That story has gone down in the annals of classic Mom behavior.

Okay, so back to the story at hand. I'm not making fun of my mom - I get why she did this and didn't yell at her. We don't always think clearly when someone we love is in danger. I just have to point out how her judgment was very impaired by being scared and the silly (and subsequent hilarious/embarrassing choices she made). I just don't want anyone thinking I judge my mom or am making fun, so no flames please because I do love my mother.

Hannah started choking on a piece of candy. Mom couldn't get it out. Hannah sometimes makes a choking sound because she thinks it's funny (and we've cracked down on it because it so ISN'T), so we weren't sure if that's what happened. No, it was genuine choking according to Mom. In her panic, what did Mom do? She called MY SISTER'S CELL PHONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Remember how I specifically said we told her we didn't have it with us? So when we didn't answer, and Hannah's choking, Mom freaks out and calls us again. In reality, though, she ended up calling my DAD'S phone in a panicked state. And in her freak-out mode, she tells him, "Call the girls! I need them right now" and hangs up. She didn't tell HIM what was happening. So no one knows what the crap is going on, except her, and she's too impaired to tell us. Not quite sure what didn't compute for her when my sister's phone is ringing as it sits on the table right in front of her, but whatever. As she waits for us to call, she's wandering around the room in a frenzied state, sort of "throwing" Hannah up against various pieces of furniture to try to perform the Heimlich. Nothing's working (by the way, at this point, Hannah wasn't even choking anymore but was crying and just sort of gasping because she was scared). In the apex of her desperation, Mom runs out into the hallways, yells, "Help! Help!" - - - and then runs BACK in the room. So even if anyone HAD heard her, they wouldn't know who was yelling for help since she didn't wait out in the hall for help. And the kicker to this whole story?

Mom was only wearing underwear.





Being someone who got horribly teased by older family members as a child, I've chosen to exact my revenge by returning the favor to them in my adulthod. I can be rather relentless at times. So I pointed out to my mom that despite her best efforts, we were NOT going to let her kill Hannah at Disney World (remember the incident of needing the lifeguard to jump in and do a rescue while at StormALong Bay? ). By this time, Mom says thinks like, "You guys!!!" But she laughs and fully recognizes how well-intentioned but poorly-thought out some of her behavior was tonight.

She ends the night with this: "Well, at least I gave the security guys watching our hallway a show."

As I said, I LOVE my mother.

 

[donaldsgal]

Today we were back at the MK. Due to it being Spring Break week, the MK opens early every day for resort guests. This was one of the few times we used Disney transportation this week since we had our own car. Because it's not easy to get to the MK, we rode the busses.

We ended up getting to the park around 7ish. Our first order of business was to head to Tomorrowland, but we had to stop for Jen to get pictures of the castle (my favorite Disney muse):

I think we were again foiled in our efforts to ride Space, so we headed to Buzz.

After this, we headed over to Crystal Palace for breakfast. On our way, since the sun was out, we got a few more good pics of the castle (I assume that, like me, you all can't get enough of it either :

We were seated pretty promptly but were sort of scrunched in to a corner in the room to the right of the entrance. We got some good pictures here (won't bore you with too many):

Mom's favorite character:

We enjoyed the character interaction, but we prefer CP for dinner. Just liked the food better then. Afterwards we headed to Toontown to try to see the princesses, but it was like a 70 minute wait - no thank you! We did run into a teacher from one of the buildings that I serve as a mental health counselor. Small world again!

I think I got mad about something at this point; I think it had to do with not wanting to waste time for something. Not sure. We visited some FantasyLand rides before heading over to Frontierland. Hannah fell asleep along the way:

On Big Thunder, we ran into a girl that was two years behind me in high school. She was a college program CM who quit school to just work at Disney. She was loading passengers on Big Thunder, so we were able to chat for a bit. Hi Mindy! She was executing her job well and had her Disney smile on!

We enjoyed many rides on our favorites and had lunch... somewhere. I think we had lunch in the room - can't remember! Miss thinks we had poolside food. We then headed to swim, nap, and rest before we returned to the park.

Tonight was dinner at Coral Reef. We walked to Epcot and then into Future World. Took some pictures of flowers en route:

We were fortunate to get a table next to the glass - Hannah loved that. She enjoyed the divers and big fish.

We ate and afterwards, I got one of my favorite pictures of Hannah from the entire trip:

The reflection off the table glass was accidental, but isn't it neat? Can I say again how much I LOVE my Canon S5 IS? It rocks!!!

Miss took a picture of Mom and I (since I'm usually the photographer, these are few and far between):

and I took some pictures of Hannah loving on her Mommy:

We left and I got a good Epcot shot:

Later, we took some time for Miss to visit the art store in Epcot. We played around outside for a bit:

We hopped on the monorail to MK and got to ride up front. The CM was nice - a young gentleman who wasn't terribly conversational but did his job well by keeping us from crashing. Hannah got her pilot's license.

We paused for a picture in front of the train station as the place we've designated to chronicle Hannah's growth (or lack thereof as we like to kid, since she's only just now 22 pounds and she's almost 2 and 1/2) as we visit Disney over the years:

We headed in and did some rides: Splash, Big Thunder (where we again saw Mindy as we exited and yelled "goodbye!" to her from the exit side of the platform. She looked up, smiled and waved, and got back to work. Good job, Mindy! ), Jungle Cruise (one of our favorites for the corny jokes and the clueless guests who aren't sure if they are supposed to be laughing or not), and maybe Aladdin again.

At this point, we wandered back around front to watch Wishes. I have to tell you that I was SO EXCITED for this. Finally had a super duper camera to use, and I was trembling with anticipation of getting some amazing shots. I'm going to post pictures of Wishes and Spectro in my next post so I can overwhelm you with them! Stay tuned!

 

[donaldsgal]

I lined up in front of the castle with a gagillion other people. This was by far the most people I've ever watched Wishes with, but as long as people kept their heads out of my way, I was good to go!

Now, forgive me if I overload you with pictures, but I'm REALLY proud of these. As an amateur photographer (and that's putting it nicely), I was THRILLED with how they turned out. Actually, as I walked away I literally jumped up and down as I reviewed what I was able to capture.

Okay, enough talk - on with the show!

I.
Was.
ECSTATIC!!!!

Afterwards, Miss and I headed to Space where we were finally able to ride! We then walked back to the hub to wait for Spectro.

Here are some good shots of that:

We got back to the room and saw some ducks following our lead of enjoying the pool:

We enjoyed the pool ourselves for a bit, then called it a night.

Again, sorry if I overwhelmed you!

 

[donaldsgal]

Today's title comes to you from Missy, who, when I was writing my PTR with in the style of High School Musical 2, suggested that this line of the song works best with DHS since they changed got a new name! Good thinkin', sis!

Today's opening was 9 AM. We were taking advantage of BCV's close proximity to the park by using the Friendship Boats. From the dock we got a quiet morning shot of our lovely pool area:

and some deserted beach chairs

Hannah decided to call Papa (my dad) and tell him of our adventures so far:

We got in and waited about 20 minutes for rope drop. Our first order of business was to secure some FPs and rider swaps for ToT and RnRC. We LOVE those rides. To my recollection, Miss and Mom rode ToT while I waited with Hannah. Then Miss and I did RnRC - always the front row for us!

Next up was Playhouse Disney. This was a hit last year, so no reason to think it wouldn't be this year, right? Especially with the change to Playhouse Disney TV characters.

Yeah, not sure what Hannah's major malfunction was, but she got really irritable and not-listening-atory during the Pooh segment. Here are some pictures anyways, cause I took 'em and might as well show 'em:

Next, Mom and I did ToT again. I got a neat shot while in line:

We rode and never DID get to our room. Funny how that never quite works out at the Hollywood Tower Hotel.

Next, we planned to ride RnRC again but it was broken down. We heard someone got hurt on the ride, so Miss and Mom went to do ToT again while I waited with Hannah. Turns out the ride wasn't broken and no one got hurt - apparently a group got in trouble and the ride was closed for a bit to deal with them. Not sure if that's true, but that's the story we got on the ground.

We had hoped to Beauty and the Beast, but our timing was off and we didn't want to lose our afternoon break just to see the show. And, yet again, we didn't get to see Lights! Motors! Action! They have made that difficult to see as it's got like 3 show times. For those of us who treasure our PM breaks, it's not easy to fit in. This is our third trip since it's been there and we haven't seen it. That's not like us - we usually bend over backwards to see it, which just goes to show how hard it is to fit in. Maybe next time.

We had lunch at Toy Story (our traditional DHS lunch stop) and it was out of the park for our break, where, as you may have guessed, we swam and took a nap. Ahhhh! Relaxation!

Tonight we were having dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse. We ate here last June (Mom and I), so I was excited to have Miss join us. As we waited for our table, I took some shots of Hannah being beautiful in her fancy dress:

I was afraid to take Hannah since it's a 2 TS place, but she did superbly. Good job baby girl!

The food was great. I had a shrimp appetizer that I didn't care for. The bread was as good as ever, however, and the entree was delicious!!! Yum yum yum!

We went to the dock to wait for the Friendship boat to take us back to DHS. We had some fun while we waited:

That was fun for this Tia.

Tonight, our primary objective was to see Fantasmic! This is my sister's second favorite evening show (after Wishes) and my third (after Wishes and IllumiNations), but we hadn't seen it since 2004. My family is full of sacrificing people who give up what they want to keep this supreme-o planner (and spoiled youngest child) happy. They are so great and I don't thank God enough for them.

We rode RnRC again and tried to do Star Tours (another of my sister's favorites). The wait was 30 minutes, so we skipped it. Next time, we WILL do this one at least once since she didn't get to do it all this trip. Remind of that, would you? Thanks!

We went to see Voyage of the Little Mermaid. Hannah had never really seen this movie until the car ride down since we don't have it on DVD. We got it through Netflix and showed it to her on the way. By the time we got to Florida, she was hooked!

She enjoyed the fairly empty queue (I'd ride this in the evening, folks - no line to speak of and pretty empty while we waited inside for the next show) as she ran circles around us and loved on her mommy again.

Hannah loved the show - no fear at all and had a blast with the bubbles. Good times.

Now it was time to ride ToT one more time - this time over a dark park. Miss and I did and it was great! We love riding it at night.

We met Mom and Hannah at the entrance of the path to Fantasmic! We got in and sat in the Sorcerer Mickey section, I think. We were about 10 rows from the top, and usually I opt for closer seats but was told farther back is better. Okay, we'll give it a shot! It was loud but Hannah enjoyed it and Miss was happy! Given that we were so far away, my camera's zoom was great at getting close-ups.

We returned to the room by the boats again and saw some ducklings having fun in the pool with Momma:

Oh, and I took a picture of the survey booklet we were asked to complete the first day when Miss was sort of randomly chosen to do so. Here it is:

Tonight was our last night at Disney! I hate it when that happens! Tomorrow was our last day before heading to SC to stay with my aunt for a couple of nights. We packed up and hit the hay since Miss and I were still heading to MK to enjoy one last hurrah there!

 

[donaldsgal]

Okay friends, wipe away your tears. It's the last day of this TR. It was a sad feeling knowing we were waking up for the last time at Disney this trip. Yes, there more trips down the road, but you all know and can relate to that sad feeling for the last day!

Miss and I woke and finished packing. We got our stuff to the car the night before, so now we just had last minute things. We told mom to get a bellman to take the rest down, which they did.

We took the bus to the TTC and then monorailed to MK.

First order of business was for Miss to finally buy a cel. Problem is, Disney isn't doing much with cels these days, so they are hard to come by. We ended up at one of the shops next to the confectionary where you can scroll through options on a computer. Miss settled on two - a Crush one for Hannah's room and a Peter Pan one for the upstairs living room. They are nice. The Peter Pan one is a poster but will look like a cel (and it did) and the Crush was one is a canvas one. They both turned out AMAZING - we got them a week later by mail. So cool! (I decided to just go take a picture of them now so you could see - they haven't gotten hung yet - so much for best laid plans!)

Aren't they great?

We had plans of riding the mountains before heading to Epcot to meet Mom and Hannah for our 2:00 PM ADR for Teppan Edo. However, we got in, purchased those pictures, and grabbed some breakfast at the Main Street Bakery, which I hadn't gotten to enjoy yet this trip. We went down the little alley with my pastry and juice and sat at one of the little tables there. It was so quiet and peaceful. At the end of that alley, you could see all people streaming in (it was about 9:30 or so by now) to go enjoy rides or see shows. Many of them were probably on their first full park day. Part of me envied them since we were heading home, but at the same time, I felt happy that I was enjoying some unsung Disney magic of my own.

Have you ever been down that little alley? There are names of some of the Imagineers on the windows on the second story and there are sound effects from that floor as well. It's sort of like listening to a radio "show" where you hear all the sound effects and the story playing out and have to use your imagination to fill in the rest. Well, there are piano lessons and tap lessons going on in one of those rooms. We got a big kick out of that. The tap lessons were fun - the student kept trying to pick up the pace and had to be brought back to the lesson at hand. But the piano lesson was the best - the tutor was a French woman, and she was teaching a classic piece. The student played dutifully - not too energetically, but did well without mistakes. The teacher was loving this. Then you could hear her heels click click clicking away toward the door, and as soon as the door shut, the student spiced things up with an old rag time piano number. Very catchy! And then you hear the heels again, and when the door opens, the student is back to the classic piece. So funny - and so often probably goes unnoticed by the thousands of people stampeding to the rides. I'm not innocent of that myself, but I did want to stop and smell the roses more this trip, and what a more fitting way/place/day to do it than today, our last day in our last time at MK!

Took some pictures (shocker) to commemorate the time:

We decided to go to Epcot instead. We monorailed over and got a big kick out of something the other two people in our car were saying. Can't recall what it was, but boy was it hilarious to us! We got some pictures of the park as the monorail sailed over it:

and a picture of us squinting in the sunlight in front of the main topiaries for this year's Flower and Garden Festival:

We opted to do Spaceship Earth, since we hadn't done it yet this trip. I took some more pictures before we got in line and once we were in it:

The ride stopped for a bit just before we entered the building so we had a slightly longer wait than advertised, but it was all good. The ride wasn't as terrible as I had feared. Don't care for the eSurance-esque quality of the return to earth part, but the new AA figures/scenes were great. Wish they could either have added those and skipped the end or would just fix the end.

Next we did Soarin'. We still had a Rider Swap from early in the week, so we got to bypass the line. However, the ride broke down. Boo....hisssssss! So we entertained ourselves with taking silly pictures.

Miss decided to fly herself to California:

And we had fun imitating Hannah's reaction on some of the kids' rides earlier in the week (she would get scared and put her head down, making you think she was asleep, only to promptly raise it up and reach to be held when we announced the ride was done):

Finally they moved us over to the other terminal and we got in - first row (as always) middle section. We were able to help out a family who had no idea of how the ride would be (i.e. scary or not) so that was fun.

Next up was Test Track, where, you guessed it! THe ride was broken down. It was here that a CM told us that the electricity has gone out and therefore taken all the rides with it. Thus the CMs had to reboot it all, run test rides, and then reload everyone. We ended up waiting about 45 minutes which we never do, but it was our last day and we had time to kill. Nice thing was a) we had another RIder Swap from earlier in the week, so we got to board first since they board FP people first when rides break down and b) they let us skip the pre-show just to get things moving again. We had a good time and it was time to head to Teppan Edo for lunch.

Guess what?

I took some pictures along the way.

We met Mom and Hannah and had lunch. I liked the bigger lobby, and the tables were much more roomy. Good job, Disney!

After lunch, we headed back to BCV to get in the car and say adios to Disney. En route, I wanted some chocolate mousse from France, so I got in line at the Boulangerie Pattisserie. The wait was like 15 minutes to order, but I got the go-ahead from the famil. Meanwhile, Miss texted us that Belle and Beast were going to be coming out in France, so she wanted to wait so Hannah could get her picture with them as they are her favorites right now (or were at the time of the trip). I got my food and came back to find that Hannah was next. Our trip came full circle as I once again posed with Hannah with characters:

She loved it! She wasn't intimidated at all by Beast's size. Belle was lovely and gracious, they were both so gentle with Hannah. Gotta LOVE LOVE LOVE Disney for teaching CMs how to interact with the little ones who may be scared at first.

We walked back to the hotel and got a couple last shots of the resort on the way:

We said goodbye to the pool, our room, and we got in the car. Lost shot of the trip was this one as we pulled away:

Next up: closing thoughts.

 

[donaldsgal]

So, I need to start this section off by sending a big
THANK YOU to timandlesley because I had not just pretty much given up on completing this TR - I had COMPLETELY given up. It'd been so long since I updated, and then life got busy, and I just figured no one would care to read it or finish it at this point. And regardless of whether or not that's true, it's very encouraging to me that I finished a TR for once! This was my third attempt and first completion, so seriously Lesley, thank you so much for encouraging me. A big DIS hug to you!


We loved this trip. It was relaxing being so close to two parks. We missed having the 2 BR that we had last June, but we'd rather go more often, so opted to do a 1 BR to allow us to go back this October in a 2 BR with my cousins (who traveled with us last June). The weather was phenomenal - highs of 80s with only minor humidity. Never rained. And the crowds were completely bearable - thank you TourGuideMike. We would DEFINITELY go again this time of year without hesitating. Spring break crowds didn't affect us being able to do what we wanted at all!

What would I change? Well, I'd have some "off days" later in the week. We loved our lower key days but agreed they'd probably have paid off more had we had them later in the week. I'd have also made sure Miss got to see the belly dancer at Marrakesh since she's the one who wanted to go there, and I'd have made sure we did Star Tours.

The worst part about this trip was the driving! We didn't have this problem last time, but it was a real issue this time. The trip should have taken 8 to get to SC on the way home - took 12. Again, should have taken 8 to get back to Ohio from SC - took 12 more! GRRRR! Road construction was a nightmare. We had about a two hour delay on the way down, but the way home was worse. Now I know we could solve this by flying, but I hate to fly and frankly, driving is ultimately cheaper these days. Sad but true. And having the DVD player in the car helps immensely with keeping me.... uh, I mean Hannah.... entertained.

So what's next for this Disney loving family? Well, as I mentioned above, we are returning to the House of Mouse October 1-7, 2008, for the Food and Wine Festival and Mickey's Not-So-Scary-Halloween-Party with our beloved cousin Karen, her husband Matt, their daughter Grace, and son Jack (who didn't get to go last time because they thought he was too young). We booked a 2 BR at BWV (our first time there) in a boardwalk view. Gotta love BWV for being one of the only Disney hotels that guarantee a certain view for you. Unfortunately, we had to wait list for that view for the last two nights. We got it for the last night, so as things stand, we're in the Boardwalk view nights 1-4, garden view night 5 and back to Boardwalk view night 6. REALLY don't want to move twice, so we need prayers that this comes through! I check every day, and we still have plenty of time for it to come through, so here's hoping.

And we're flying. Yuck but necessary. I have limited time off during the school year given my job as a mental health counselor serving students labeled with an emotional disturbance in schools, so my bosses don't like me to miss during the year. But my direct boss is okaying this trip since I'll only be missing two days due a fall break. Thanks, Lisa! The biggest deal about this trip is that my Mom agreed to go back! We wanted her to but she was saying no more Disney for about 2 years. She mentioned our desire for her to go to my aunt Deb, her sister and who went with us to Disney in 2004 for her and my mom's first ever trip to WDW. Deb said just tell her when and how much and she'll go, too! We made sure our cousins would be okay with this (yes they are our points, but Matt likes his privacy and we didn't want to lessen his excitement for the trip by inviting more people to stay with us) and they were all for it! So now it will be me, Miss, Hannah, Mom, Deb, Matt, Karen, Grace, and Jack! We are so excited!!!

And Miss and I had invited a few of our friends and their kids with us to Disney in October 2009 in a Grand Villa, so that's on the books as well. We're hoping for OKW for that one since they have the biggest rooms and we loved it there). After this October 2008 trip, we need to save save save on points.

But then Miss and I were planning to go back AGAIN (on cash) to Disney in April of 2009 over Spring Break/her birthday (April 15) since the school's Spring Break fell over it. We were going to do the Wilderness Lodge (I want to stay here so badly - not in the villas but the main lodge because the main lodge looks fantastic!). We were all ready to do it and knew it'd be a pretty penny for us but we would manage. It'd be a celebration of her birthday as well as "Gotcha Day" (the day we met Hannah for the first time), which are the same day (cool, huh).

Then about a week ago, I was reading Deb Wills' blog of her WB repo cruise to LA and wishing we could do another cruise before 2010 (when we were planning on it). Miss went upstairs to put Hannah to bed, and by the time she came back down about 30 minutes later, I had quoted a price on DCL and figured out which cruise to take (7 night Eastern Caribbean with a stop at Tortola). Miss was all for it! She was thinking I was the one who didn't want to cruise before 2010 since that limits us for shore excursions (again, thinking of me first ), but no way jose! So instead of a week at Disney in Wilderness Lodge (we will get there someday!!!), we are cruising!

THAT SO TOTALLY ROCKS!!!!!!!

We were supposed to get to do a 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise in 2005 but Hurricane Rita interfered and we had to do a Western. Not my cup of tea - don't ever need to return to Mexico. This time, we'll be cruising in non-hurricane season (read: higher costs), Hannah will be 3 and can do the kids clubs which will allow us some adult time for things like Palo or the adult pool, and we get all that great cruise food. The trick will be convincing my boss to let me take the time off, but I can't justify spending $2100 more to go two weeks earlier over spring break, so hopefully I either have a new job by then or they just let me do it. I literally go over the hours I need to put in in terms of face-to-face time with clients and getting my paperwork done, so I'm hoping that helps. And the best part is that this is the cruise that Jennifer and Dave Marx (the PassPorter authors) are on this cruise to celebrate their 10th anniversary of the PassPorter, so we booked with their agent and get to do all kinds of exclusive events with them. And it was $300 cheaper than booking with DCL, as well as getting a $50 shipboard credit due to using my Disney VIsa to book (which will in turn give me reward dollars). Miss will take the $50 credit and I'll get the rewards dollars. We plan to fly in April 24 (the night before), take a limo (yes a limo!!!!!!!!) to the Port, stay at a hotel there, and board that day. The trick will be not giving in to the urge to add a night or to at DIsney before or after. Not quite sure how I'll pay for this yet (I'm thinking tax return, extra shifts at work, and my bonus if I get it this year and am still at this agency), but I'm so pumped! So yes it will be sad not to be at the parks, but going to the parks would have been the 4th trip in 2 years, so we'll probably appreciate the break. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, as they say!

So that's it, folks. Thanks again Lesley for encouraging me to finish. Guess I made my deadline of "by July!" Hope you all enjoyed it!

See Ya Real Soon!

 

[timandlesley]

You did a great job, you should be proud of yourself! I loved all the pictures, you have some of the best pictures of Spectromagic and Fantasmic that I have ever seen.

Keep up the great work and remember don't ever give up!

Tim

 

[donaldsgal]

You did a great job, you should be proud of yourself! I loved all the pictures, you have some of the best pictures of Spectromagic and Fantasmic that I have ever seen.

Keep up the great work and remember don't ever give up!

Tim

Thank you Tim! I appreciate you stopping in to read and encourage me! very appreciated!

 

[Backstage_Gal]

Thanks, Donald'sGal I just found your trip report tonight and greatly enjoyed it.

Thanks for sharing. Hannah is precious1 Hope you enjoy your future trips

 

[jwwi]

Great ending to your TR. Thank you for finishing it. Can't wait to read another one after your October trip.

 

[PISCESANGEL]

FANTASTIC pictures!!

And you did a great job on your trip report as well. Can't wait to hear more from you about your further adventures, hopefully in the near future...

 

[donaldsgal]

Thanks for reading my TR everyone. I will try to do a TR after our October trip, but no promises.

Thanks again!