These Kids Make Me Wish You Could Curse on the DISBoards (May '11 Trip) - DONE 9/14

[nilla]

Amy, I don't know if this worked or not, but I tried to copy the link of the thread that I used to make the books. I got everything right here on the DIS under: Just for Fun, The creative community, Scrapbooking, and the thread was titled 'Disney Autograph books - DIY'. They were a lot of fun to make!!


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The link didn't post. This is what happens when you use Apple handheld products

 

[cmaee]

I have completely enjoyed reading your trip report so far. I typically just lurk on these threads, but you have made me laugh and I look forward to reading your updates.

 

[mommato2boyz]

Amy, I don't know if this worked or not, but I tried to copy the link of the thread that I used to make the books. I got everything right here on the DIS under: Just for Fun, The creative community, Scrapbooking, and the thread was titled 'Disney Autograph books - DIY'. They were a lot of fun to make!!


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thanks Kristin I found the thread. Did you print them out and have them bound through snapfish? Also I looked through and didn't see the Japan page on any of the links of pages on that thread. did you make that one up yourself?

thanks

sorry Nilla for highjacking your trip report

 

[kristin t]

thanks Kristin I found the thread. Did you print them out and have them bound through snapfish? Also I looked through and didn't see the Japan page on any of the links of pages on that thread. did you make that one up yourself?

I printed them out on heavy cardstock - I ended up going through close to 2 color cartridges to print everything! I got the top and bottom pages laminated, then had them bound at FedEx Kinkos.
I definitely got the country pages off one of the sites on that thread. I'll look for it, and let you know exactly where it was.

 

[nilla]

I so remember the sword and Emily getting it out twice last year and poor Dylan being distraught over it.

I don't think I'll ever forget that. Also funny was Kristin asking a nearby CM if there was any way Dylan could get it out, too, and that CM playing dumb to the whole thing.

***And the autograph books are great!

I accused Kristin of not being as "into it" leading up to our trip this year. Fortunately, there's always some project she can use to prove me wrong.

I fancy myself crafty and would love to make these for our 1st trip to disney with our boys in november.

We got several comments from other guests and CMs alike, but the best were when the books were acknowledged by the characters. Some were very happy to see their pictures, while one was a bit "annoyed" that she did not have her own page.

What a great idea to incorporate the World Showcase passport so it's all in one place.

We got the passports the last two years, and since they haven't changed since, Kristin thought that it would be better to just put them in here. I really liked how each CM in World Showcase added his/her own personal touch.

I have completely enjoyed reading your trip report so far. I typically just lurk on these threads, but you have made me laugh and I look forward to reading your updates.

Thanks! Always good to have readers, whether they comment or not. There's a lot more incentive to keep the updates coming when you know someone is actually reading them

sorry Nilla for highjacking your trip report

No problem; we're here to help

Besides, if anyone doesn't want to read the extranneous posts, they can simply use the Table of Contents and (skip to next update) links in this TR, new for '11!

More updates to come tonight. Who knows - maybe we'll actually get to ride something in the next one?

Thanks to all for following!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Yay on making it to MK!!

No caffeine in the morning - how do you manage to survive?!

Great castle shots! 2 hours for Rapunzel - wow!

I can't wait to meet Cinderella's sisters - every interaction I've read about with them ends up being great.

On looking at your sword pics I was just thinking that does anyone ever succeed? And then you go and mention it happened on your last trip. I will try and catch up on it at some point.

Love the autograph books

 

[nilla]

On looking at your sword pics I was just thinking that does anyone ever succeed? And then you go and mention it happened on your last trip. I will try and catch up on it at some point.

The sword does not ever come fully out (as far as I know), but it will rise up from the stone for the "rightful ruler of England". I think there is also another, undocumented, provision, which states that this must happen in the presence of a cast member with a specific black hip pack Let's just say that I was not surprised when Emily got the sword out the second time.

Not that this replaces reading the entire TR, but here are links to the first and second time Emily got the sword out.

 

[TanzUnited99]

The sword does not ever come fully out (as far as I know), but it will rise up from the stone for the "rightful ruler of England". I think there is also another, undocumented, provision, which states that this must happen in the presence of a cast member with a specific black hip pack Let's just say that I was not surprised when Emily got the sword out the second time.

Not that this replaces reading the entire TR, but here are links to the first and second time Emily got the sword out.

Thanks for letting me know.

I've just had a look at the photos and Dylan sure looks bummed!

 

[TeresaG]

OK, joining in! So far this is hilarious!

We're also from Lehigh Valley (Easton), and we fly out of Allentown. It's funny to find other people who do too, seeing as it's such a tiny speck of an airport.

And we go to BBW all the time too.

 

[nilla]

We're also from Lehigh Valley (Easton), and we fly out of Allentown. It's funny to find other people who do too, seeing as it's such a tiny speck of an airport.

And we go to BBW all the time too.

Awesome! What's that they say when you find another Disney fan who is from your area? "Everybody has a laughing place?" No, that's not it. "Don't move a muscle?" Um...that doesn't sound right. "Attention, Space Rangers?" Not exactly.

Oh well, I'll think of it eventually...

At the risk of offending everyone whose TR/PTR I'm not following, I may just have to follow yours I love the countdown mechanism you're using!

 

[KatMark]

...

At the risk of offending everyone whose TR/PTR I'm not following, I may just have to follow yours I love the countdown mechanism you're using!

Okay...count me as offended.

 

[nilla]

Okay...count me as offended.

I didn't want to name any names

 

[cadek]

You trip report is very entertaining and funny! I had to go back and read your TR from last year too, and love that as well!

 

[nilla]

Ok, now where were we? Oh yeah, Magic Kingdom. It's probably around 10:00 AM, and we've done...well, basically nothing. Alright, that's not entirely true - we did meet Cinderella's awful stepfamily, and we are now armed with Fast Passes for Peter Pan's Flight.

So what's next?

Well, our usual course of action is to head up to Splash Mountain right away, get FPs for it, and ride it if the stand-by line isn't too offensive, so why not do that? Ok, sounds good. So we're off to Frontierland...but wait! 5 minute standby for It's a Small World! What the hey; why not? This is Emily's all-time favorite ride, though she will now tell you that her favorite is Test Track. They flipped the queue around, so we're going in what used
to be the exit. Not sure why, but it is a bit less of an incline, which would've been a plus had I worn my now-treadless Vikings Crocs. However, I'm rockin' my brand new Keens this year, and so far, so good. Let's see if that holds up.

We ride IASW, and now it's off to Frontierland. But wait - there's the Haunted Mansion, which coincidentally is MY favorite ride of all time! Had to grab some snaps before entering:

Man, I love this ride. Remember the part about me loving the darkness AND the sickening sweet? Well, this ride (sort of) embodies both, though it does tend to lean one way more than the other. Anyway, the laminated touring plans go completely out the window, and we get in line.

And what a line it is...

Wow, Disney is really going all-in on this whole "interactive stuff in the stand-by lines to keep you occupied" initiative, and I love it. All of this also further develops the story of the HM, though I'll admit that I still don't exactly get it in its entirety. Kristin (and then the kids) spots the ring...

...Kristin and I pay respects to some of our favorite Imagineers...

...and then it's inside. Emily, who fell asleep on this as a baby, is scared of the opening sequence with the hanging corpse, but is ok with the rest of it. We tell her to just not look up, though she still wants me to hold her. Alright, whatever. She's fine after that, so much that she's riding with Dylan, as Kristin and I get to share a Doom Buggy.

I love this ride. Really love it. I don't know how much better I can say it than by saying it that simply. I could ride it a million times and never get bored. I would love to get stuck in it by myself. I want to the next Happy Haunt. I want to-

Ok, ok, you get the point. I'll stop gushing. The updates with the hitchiking ghosts are fun, though I do miss pretending to pick the ghost's nose, if only a little bit. After that, we finally make our way up to Splash Mountain, which is Dylan's favorite ride, and was mine until I finally gave HM that honor last year. This was the ride that made me realize how much I loved WDW on our first trip as a family, back in '06. It has just about everything you could want in a ride - thrills, theming, catchy music. A hit all around.

New sign this year:

Oh yeah, lap bars. I read about that. And how it's the end of Disney as we know it, will cause horrible line backups, and would basically make Walt sick if he were around to see it. As we get up near the loading area, we get to see what a hassle it really is...

Um, not a hassle at all. Ok, now there are lap bars - who cares? If nothing else, Emily feels more secure, and is not as worried about the big hill as she was last year. Her and Dyl take the front seat:

The great thing about having young kids is that they can ride in the front, and it's basically the same as me riding in the front, since they're not tall enough to block the wall of water anyway. We ride and we get wet, which is a good thing, because it's hotter than usual at this time of year. Nothing keeps you cool like walking around Magic Kingdom soaking wet!

So now that we're all wet, Kristin, what should we do? Well, first, let's get FPs so we can come back later, then let's hit Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. But hold on - it's down.

Ok, plan B. So what's plan B? We could look at our touring plans, but we dropped that schedule before we even started it. Lunch sound good? Sure, why not! Nothing keeps you cool like sitting in an air-conditioned restaurant soaking wet!

So it's off to Columbia Harbor House, which is Kristin's favorite counter service restaurant in this park. I waffle between this an Cosmic Ray's. We used to go to Peco's Bills Fall Off Your Chair Cafe, but ever since the "Jon's Pukeful Spot" incident of 2009, we've avoided it. Well, for that reason, and the fact that every time we went there were kids falling off the chairs like snowflakes. You would think they would install backs by now.

This sure is a long update, isn't it? Almost too long. But heck, when you're on a roll, don't stop! And we haven't even eaten yet!

Anyway, we go upstairs to the super-secret overpass room, which is so secret that only 3 other tables (out of about 5) are taken in it. Actually, it's around 11:00, so the restaurant as a whole is mostly empty. We've never eaten up here before, but it's a great place to people watch:

I meant other people. We see enough of those two. Kristin gets the Chicken Nuggets, while I go for the Fried Fish Basket. Both were very good, as far as counter service goes. I got the chocolate cake (that's nutrition!) for dessert, and Kristin got the apple crisp. Both delicious, though the cake is almost painfully sweet. One thing I've decided to do in this TR that I did not do in the last one is take pictures of all our meals, so here it is:

Ok, ok - if I'm going to do that, I could at least take a picture BEFORE we eat, right?

Well, sue me - I forgot. It won't be the last time, either...

 

[nilla]

After lunch, Kristin suggests heading over to Tomorrowland. Tomorrowland? This early? We usually wait until a little later in the day, but I can't really think of a good reason to do that today, so off we go. The crowds do seem a bit lighter than usual today.

We pass the castle (and the show that we have not once watched), and I reflect on our morning. IASW, HM, and SM. Three of our favorite rides of all time, and it's not even noon. And now we're heading toward Space Mountain. Man, I LOVE this place!

We reach Tomorrowland, which if you've never seen it, looks like this:

Or at least the entrance does. Once inside TL, I park the stroller while Kristin heads over to Space Mountain to grab Fast Passes, and the kids eye up the merch stand. Dylan wants a Buzz Lightyear racer, and he's got money, so he gets it. Emily briefly looks at the Duffys, and the seed is planted. As we're deciding what to do next, this guy shows up:

He tends to be one of the more fun characters to meet. After Stitch, we look at the Buzz standby-line, but 40 minutes is more than we care to wait. Anything over 20 is usually grounds for grabbing FPs and coming back later for us, but since we just got them for Space Mountain, we have to linger a bit before we can get any for Buzz. So we ride Carousel of Progress, which is one of Kristin's favorites. It has some moments I love, too ("I'm indecent!"), and is generally a nice way to take a break while not just sitting around doing nothing.

After CoP, we notice that Buzz Lightyear himself is between that ride and his own, but the line is pretty long, so we pass. We'll catch him at Pixar weekend next Friday, hopefully.

As we continue to mull around waiting for our Space Mountain FP time to arrive, we stop into Mickey's Star Traders. Or was it Merchant of Venus? Can't remember. Anyway, I failed to mention before that one of the bows on Emily's dress popped off after riding Splash Mountain. This is really a shame, since she's eating at Cinderella's Royal Table this evening and HAS to look her best. So we step inside, and Kristin asks a CM if they have any safety pins. She looks...and looks...and nothing. Dylan and I eye up their Vinylmation offering, which has become our new addiction this year. Sooooo many cool ones! I love the Nightmare Before Christmas ones, the Park ones, the Urban ones...ok, let's face it, there aren't many I don't like. Emily tends to go for the Cutesters.

Hold on - the CM is back - with a ticketing gun! For all of you non-retailers (like me), that's what they call those little plastic gun-like things they use to attach tags to products. You learn something new every day! Anyway, the CM craftily re-attaches the bow to Emily's dress with it, and earns herself a cameo in this trip report as a reward:

VERY cool of her to go the extra mile to do this for us. I wish I had her name...Disney higher-ups, if you're reading this trip report, please give her a good review! Getting the names of exceptional CMs is something I've always wanted to do, but sadly, with the exception of one awesome PHotopass photog from Epcot last year, have not. Then again, I'd probably be taking down a TON of names, which shows you yet another reason why I love this place so much!

Wait, I guess it IS on her name tag, isn't it? Problem solved.

Dress now intact, both kids buy (and subsequently trade) new Vinylmation figures. What a fun process - the CM gets a numbered box out from behind the counter, and you get to pick which slot (out of between 10-20) you want to trade for. It seems like the rules vary from CM to CM, with some allowing you to veto a trade, but it's a great experience throughout.

Now that the deal is sealed, it's off to Space Mountain, which will mark Emily's first time riding it, ever. She's excited. I'm apprehensive. I really don't think she'll like it, but I'm not saying anything to her either way. I was sort of hoping she'd shy away from it this year...but will she?

We'll find out in our next update! Until then, good night!

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[MEK]

I love Emily's dress. thanks for the close up. did Kristin make that - its so cute!!!!!!! Love it!

Great update. Can't believe splash has lap bars. Didn't ride it this May cause I didn't want to get wet. I know I know! So wrong!

MK looks like a blast. Love CHH, especially the upstairs. You guys are having so much fun. Love it!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Great update! Love the HM and Splash Mountain pics I've never been on a log flume with a lap bar so am not sure how I will feel about that.

on meeting Stitch - he looks like a fun character! Also am glad to read that Emily's dress got fixed. It looks so pretty, it would be a shame to have a bow missing from it. What a great CM!

 

[nilla]

I love Emily's dress. thanks for the close up. did Kristin make that - its so cute!!!!!!! Love it!

Great update. Can't believe splash has lap bars. Didn't ride it this May cause I didn't want to get wet. I know I know! So wrong!

Kristin did not make this one. She made one similar to it last year (but not as detailed), but it's getting too small, so she ordered this one online. She did make others, which you will see later (cliffhanger!).

As for not riding Splash, I can respect that you would skip it because you do not want to get wet. Those people who DO ride it, but wear ponchos...now there's something I will never accept

Great update! Love the HM and Splash Mountain pics I've never been on a log flume with a lap bar so am not sure how I will feel about that.

The lap bar was really a non-issue. You forget it's even there. And if it makes the lawyers happy, then so be it, put in a lap bar

 

[KatMark]

We too love eating upstairs at Columbia Harbor House and people watching. You got a lot accomplished in the morning hours already. We missed IASW last year as it was closed while we were there (no great loss in my book), and I can't remember if we did Splash Mountain or not because Mark had neck surgery two months before the trip; I had read that they were getting lap bars (if it helps prevent some of the dumb lawsuits against Disney, I'm all for it).

COP -- not a favorite...this is where I usually take a nap; Mark, on the other hand, loves it.

to Nikki, the CM, for going the extra mile.

And I'm with you on Haunted Mansion -- gush, gush, gush.

 

[mimiecp]

Thanks for the shot of the lapbars. I told my ds about them on our way to school this morning and I think I might actually get him on the ride this year. Our 09 trip when it was just ds, my sister and me was a disaster in terms of rides - I think he rode five things in the MK and that was only after a lot of "discussion" including a memorable incident on Pirates where my sister and I forced him on the ride in true parent/aunt of the year award fashion. I told myself I would never be "that" parent, but it turns out, I was. I'm hoping to avoid that on this trip...