Tim and Lesley Year of Million Compromises/TONS pics- 8/5 help me pg. 164!!!

[timandlesley]

Hi Lesley, Boy, you sound pretty upbeat for just
returning to reality!! I'm so glad you had a wonderful
trip and made some more great memories. Theres
nothing like disneyworld to make those
Anxiously awaiting your TR, I know I'm gona feel like I'm
right there with you!!

Not really upbeat, just had a magical trip with no regrets and now that we are home, just getting things in order. Excited to put this TR together too, it always help with the post Disney blues!
Lesley

Just caught up today. Cannot wait to hear about the trip.

Thanks for catching up!
Lesley

I'm so glad that you liked POFQ! We are staying there is October.

Can't wait to read your report!

Oh you will LOVE it, can't wait to share our experiences and photos with you!
Lesley

SO glad to see that you made it home, safe and sound !!!

Isn't the saddest day, your day to depart.... I get teary when I get up in the morning, and am like that until I get on the plane home

So happy you enjoyed POFQ.....it's really a "gem" of a resort....probably because it's the smallest of all the moderates. We've got our two nights pre-DVC booked there, so I can't wait to see it, in all it's HOLIDAY-glory !!!!

Can't wait to hear about all your 10-days of details and DREAMS.....

Oh yes, tears were shed on the last day, it was sad to go. It is truly a gem of a resort, so true!
Lesley

Welcome back. I really enjoyed the reports from you and Tim "live" from WDW. I am so happy you loved POFQ, it really is such a wonderful resort. Did you have a water view room? Can't wait to hear all about your trip and your encounters with the Dream Squad.

Tim couldn't resist, he was so excited and we just had SUCH a good time this year - we do every year but this year was just AWESOME! We did not have a water view room, we actually changed rooms mid- trips, details to come on that.
Lesley

I was so glad to get to meet you guys on Thurs! I felt like I was meeting celebrities and told DH that maybe I should just allow you to enjoy your dinner in peace, but he convinced me that I had to introduce myself! Believe it or not, I saw you from a distance or in passing several times throughout the week (Gotta love TGM...I promise, we were NOT stalking you! ). Didn't see you at Breakfastosaurus on Tues though?? We almost introduced ourselves one afternoon on the TTA - you were in the first car, and we were in the last car. We weren't quick enough to get to you after we got off of the ride though.

For those that haven't been lucky enough to have a "timandlesley" sighting, I am here to tell you that their kids are even *more* adorable in person!

Can't wait to hear about your trip! I'm feeling kind of bad, b/c we didn't even get one wish and I can't figure out what we did wrong! Of course, I never spotted the Dream Team either, so I can't wait to hear how you figured them out!

Jill

Jill, it was so great to meet you too, you should have come and said goodbye, you weren't bugging us. The moment I realized you had left I said to Tim "I should have gotten a pic with her" I am so sorry about that, I wanted one to have to post of you on here, oh well. It was GREAT meeting you and your family. Glad you are home safe as well, sorry the Beachclub wasn't all it could be for you and your family. You didn't see the Dream Team? We saw them ALL of the time, I'll explain what to look for in my report, bet you did and didn't even know it. Thanks for the kids comments, it was funny how Luke just started talking to you like he knew you, my kids know all about the TR and would say "was that lady from your trip report thing?" so funny. Funny you saw us on TTA! The kids thought it was great that people recognized Tim and I this time around and they loved posing for the pics too. Again, thanks for coming up and saying hi, great to meet you!!!
Lesley

Welcome back... can't wait for the report...

Thanks!

Yay! I'm glad y'all made it back w/o any problems and I'm even more excited it was the best Disney trip ever. Which is gonna make this TR awesome b/c every trip to Disney is good somehow. Can't wait to hear all about it.

Can't wait to tell ya all about it!
Lesley

WELCOME HOME!!! I can't wait to hear all about your fabulous trip and see all your pics!

Thanks!

 

[ktturner]

Tim couldn't resist, he was so excited and we just had SUCH a good time this year - we do every year but this year was just AWESOME! We did not have a water view room, we actually changed rooms mid- trips, details to come on that.

OK, I was being patient, but you changed rooms??? We were guessing the Cinderella suite a few days ago, did you really get it????
Forget the laundry, I'm not gonna sleep tonight!
I leave in 22 days, I gotta get the juicy stuff soon!

 

[timandlesley]

Welcome Home!! Can't wait to hear all about your amazing trip! Hope you dont make me call and change my WL ressies to POFQ!! haha...but i guess if it wasnt for last years TR i would never have gone into WCC and never would have desired to stay at the WL.

Thanks so much, stick with WL, it's an AWESOME resort too as you can tell from my TR last year, I still LOVE WL but POFQ is just so cool and for the price over WL it was just really nice for us. Great to experience something new!
Lesley

Welcome home! I cannot wait to hear all about it!

Thank you!

Welcome Back! Can't wait to start reading your TR, your pre-trippie report rocked!

Thank you, glad you enjoyed the pre-tr, my first one- it was fun and made the countdown fly by
Lesley

can't wait to read it ......

Thanks!

Welcome Home I can't wait to hear all about your trip.

Thanks, coming soon. . . .stay tuned!

Welcome back. Glad to hear there were no tummy upsets this trip. I am so excited to read this trip report, I have waited a long time. I loved you last trip report. Looking forward to all the pictures as well.

I was SO relieved the kids were healthy this time too, soooooo great! Glad you loved last years, TONS more pics this year (didn't think that was possible) : )
Lesley

Welcome back Lesley & Tim! Can't wait to read this great TR!

Thanks!
Lesley

Welcome back! Hope you guys had an AMAZING time! That is so cool about the wishes! I can't believe you were granted not one but two!! I am so looking forward to reading your TR!

I have been wondering how the crocs worked out for you. I bought myself a pair a few weeks ago but held onto the reciept because I am not sure I am keeping them. Let me know if they are worth it...

Yeah, lets just say Tim was pretty lucky this trip. You know, I was worried about the CROCS before we left bc I had worn them at work and my arches hurt a bit. But at Disney they were GREAT, they held up wonderfully. I did wear my Tevas (gasp) two days we were there because I had a blister on the top of my foot where the croc strap went, but then swapped back to Crocs for final days and they were great!
Lesley

Just spent a good part of the kids' naptime reading the pre-trip. Can't wait to start reading the details of your trip. And we are heading to Red Robin for dinner tonight all because I was hungry when reading about your DS's birthday wish.

Glad you had a good read, hope Red Robin was good to ya tonight - too funny!
Lesley

WELCOME BACK!! Can't wait to read all about it!!!!!

Thanks!

Glad to hear that you guys got back safely. Can't wait to read your TR...

Glad to be back safely (Tim gets so nervous with plane rides)
Lesley

Congratulations on another fabulous trip! loking forward to hearing more (and more) about each day.

BTW-Great Father's Day gift! We did this one Christmas for DH, my dad and my bro-tickets to see Montreal Canadians (their fav hockey team) Went over spectacularly!

Thanks! Tim was thrilled with his F-day gift, so hard to surprise the man!cool about the Montreal tickets, AWESOME!
Lesley

Can't wait to start reading your new trip report...

Thanks! Stay tuned
Lesley

 

[timandlesley]

OK, I was being patient, but you changed rooms??? We were guessing the Cinderella suite a few days ago, did you really get it????
Forget the laundry, I'm not gonna sleep tonight!
I leave in 22 days, I gotta get the juicy stuff soon!

I WILL reveal we did not get the suite, I NEVER could have waited this long to tell you guys that. I will share why we switched rooms though in the report. Hopefully you can get some sleep now. Oh man, I wanted that SUITE SO BADLY!!!! We did meet the family who won though and got all the details from them, very cool - I'll put that in the report too. I should get first installment out soon, Tim's working on the pics for me as we speak, we have SO many of them that he is transferring them to this PC and then I need to upload all to photobucket to share. Hang tight, IT'S COMING SOON!!!!!
Lesley

 

[punkin413]

welcome home!!!!! sounds like you guys had a great time...i'm so glad! can't wait to hear all about it.

 

[dddisrunner]

WELCOME HOME! I was totally following along your trip with you! Each day I looked at your itinerary to see where you would be, so when Tim posted that you were at MK at the day you "should" have been at MGM I knew something "BIG" must have happened! Now if I could just know! So happy to hear you had an amazing trip! Really looking forward to reading all about it! I have some very specific questions for you about POFQ and was wondering if I could PM after I read your TR because, I figure you might answer some during the report! Until then I will be waiting very patiently for you to begin!

Forgot to also ask how PAL MICKEY worked out? I am thinking about this as a Christmas gift for the boys before our next trip?

 

[ktturner]

I WILL reveal we did not get the suite, I NEVER could have waited this long to tell you guys that. I will share why we switched rooms though in the report. Hopefully you can get some sleep now. Oh man, I wanted that SUITE SO BADLY!!!! We did meet the family who won though and got all the details from them, very cool - I'll put that in the report too. I should get first installment out soon, Tim's working on the pics for me as we speak, we have SO many of them that he is transferring them to this PC and then I need to upload all to photobucket to share. Hang tight, IT'S COMING SOON!!!!!
Lesley

Thanks. I was beginning to wonder how good you really were with surprises!
I'm so glad you had a great time. Reading your report has kept me pumped up, and helped me time out when to get everything done before we go!

Thanks, get some rest, and type away as soon as you have clean undies!

Katie

 

[Hillary12.8.07]

I can't wait to read all about it! I've been anxiously awaiting your report!!! I loved your last one and reading everyone's awesome trippies has inspired me to start my own wedding planning journal/pretrip report for December!

sitting here waiting...

 

[IluvXU]

And that your trip was truly magical. So much planning, I would have hated for things to not have been great. Can't wait to see all the pictures and hear all about the trip. Now at least you are on summer break- no school to go to tomorrow! (That should ease the post-disney blues!)

Waiting eagerly for more details.....

 

[tiggrbaby]

Happy to hear that everyone had a wonderful (and healthy!) time. Looking forward to all the details.

 

[2angelsinheaven]

Singing the Jeporady tune in my head....

Switching now to banging my fist on the computer desk, "we want a TR, we want a TR"....

Just kidding, but John and I are "patiently" waiting to hear all about the trip.

And I can certainly appreciate the "laundry", don't get John started, I haven't made a dent in it yet...lol.

 

[Pixeldust Fairy]

Hope I can get through your trippie before we leave. Looking foreward to those tips about the dream team. I can hardly wait. We have less than a week. Im so excited.

 

[jwwi]

Switched rooms, but stayed at POFQ? I hate when I have to move mid trip, always a huge waste of time. Of course if it is planned then I am ok with it. Hope it went well, I thought maybe you headed back to WL? Maybe we should stop asking all these questions and just wait for your TR.

By the way, great Father's day gift for Tim. We are huge MLB/Brewers fans, and NFL/Packers fans. Since our daughters no longer live at home, I have to join in with DH and DS talking sports. DS works for Brewers so lots of baseball talk here.

 

[punkin413]

warning: awhile back you had mentioned something about not updating my TR like blayne when you were commenting on my TR and i didn't know what you were referring to. i had long ago unsubbed from that TR because it made me mad (and no flames here, please - i unsubbed - it's my right!) that she didn't tip mousekeeping. IMO, if you can't afford to do those kind of things, don't go! those people work hard and deserve those little tips....i mean, what's a dollar a day??? okay...rant over. sorry. anyway, just out of curiosity, i just checked out her TR to see if she was done and now i see what you were talking about!!!! i just had to comment and tell you that your comments had me cracking up!!! and of course you were kidding. geez. people take things way too seriously. besides.....people are too babied nowadays! a little teasing builds character!

 

[daisy_77]

Wooohoooo! You are home!

I cannot wait to read all about your trip!

 

[shannon47142]

I gotta say that I was trying to wait until I read through the FIRST 96 pages to post, but my daughter's ready for bed and I just realized that today is your first full day home!! I have truly enjoyed reading your report and everybody's comments. I've gotten some great tips and am soooo looking forward to reading the rest! You have a great family!
Shannon

 

[solgent]

Hi Lesley

I'm happy to hear that your trip went so well! I'm really looking forward to reading your report & seeing your photos.

Thanks for being an advanced scout regarding the Dream Team. It would be awesome to win a dream! Did your kids know about YOMD ahead of time? I don't want my kids to be keyed up and disappointed so I don't want to tell them if I don't have to, and I'm wondering how you handled that.

I signed up to teach two summer classes this summer, for the extra money and the experience of teaching a new class to a smaller group. The last few weeks especially were not very fun, but I am pleased to report that I am FINISHED and it all went fine. Now I can really focus on what's most important: thinking about & dreaming about & planning our vacation!

Oh, one of my 12 year old twin DDs and I were talking about WDW yesterday.
DD: What's Rock N Roller Coaster?
Me: You go upside down. I'm not doing it.
DD: I definitely want to do it! I've only been upside down once.
I knew she meant on a rollercoaster, but I teased her anyway...
Me: Get up and I'll hold you by your ankles. You can do it as much as you want. No lines, no waiting.
She laughed and laughed. Just a little example of how discussing past trips and anticipating future trips brings our family together.

 

[timandlesley]

warning: awhile back you had mentioned something about not updating my TR like blayne when you were commenting on my TR and i didn't know what you were referring to. i had long ago unsubbed from that TR because it made me mad (and no flames here, please - i unsubbed - it's my right!) that she didn't tip mousekeeping. IMO, if you can't afford to do those kind of things, don't go! those people work hard and deserve those little tips....i mean, what's a dollar a day??? okay...rant over. sorry. anyway, just out of curiosity, i just checked out her TR to see if she was done and now i see what you were talking about!!!! i just had to comment and tell you that your comments had me cracking up!!! and of course you were kidding. geez. people take things way too seriously. besides.....people are too babied nowadays! a little teasing builds character!

OMG, thanks so much for saying that, she certainly attacked me, you should see the PM she sent me WHATEVER. I am over it and working on our TR now, I got several PM's from people who felt the same way we do about that TR but didn't post on her TR, oh well, guess tim was the only one who had the guts to do it, I personally thought his posts were funny and yes they were a JOKE, I agree, people take things way too seriously. OH WELL, thanks for your post, Tim was so upset over what she posted this week, geez, take a joke guys! o.k, rant over!
Lesley

Wooohoooo! You are home!

I cannot wait to read all about your trip!

Thanks!

I gotta say that I was trying to wait until I read through the FIRST 96 pages to post, but my daughter's ready for bed and I just realized that today is your first full day home!! I have truly enjoyed reading your report and everybody's comments. I've gotten some great tips and am soooo looking forward to reading the rest! You have a great family!
Shannon

Thanks, gotta post first installment tonight, I'm obsessed.
Lesley

Hi Lesley

I'm happy to hear that your trip went so well! I'm really looking forward to reading your report & seeing your photos.

Thanks for being an advanced scout regarding the Dream Team. It would be awesome to win a dream! Did your kids know about YOMD ahead of time? I don't want my kids to be keyed up and disappointed so I don't want to tell them if I don't have to, and I'm wondering how you handled that.

I signed up to teach two summer classes this summer, for the extra money and the experience of teaching a new class to a smaller group. The last few weeks especially were not very fun, but I am pleased to report that I am FINISHED and it all went fine. Now I can really focus on what's most important: thinking about & dreaming about & planning our vacation!

Oh, one of my 12 year old twin DDs and I were talking about WDW yesterday.
DD: What's Rock N Roller Coaster?
Me: You go upside down. I'm not doing it.
DD: I definitely want to do it! I've only been upside down once.
I knew she meant on a rollercoaster, but I teased her anyway...
Me: Get up and I'll hold you by your ankles. You can do it as much as you want. No lines, no waiting.
She laughed and laughed. Just a little example of how discussing past trips and anticipating future trips brings our family together.

Funny. I couldn't get Luke on it b/c it went upside down either, BUMMER!!!
Lesley

 

[timandlesley]

Tim and Lesley’s Year of a Million Compromises 2007 Disney Trip Day 1 of 10:


So the day we had been waiting for was FINALLY here. I had set the alarm for 4:45 a.m. I gave the kids a bath the night before and had them both in bed by 7:30 p.m. knowing how early we would rise the next morning. I didn’t sleep to well obviously and was in and out of Disney dreams all night long. When the alarm rang at 4:45, I rolled over, hit it and said to Tim: “It’s GO TIME baby!” I went in to wake up Lauren who immediately got up and smiled and said “YEAH DISNEY!!!!” I heard Tim go into Luke’s room with a kazoo and start waking him up by humming Disney tunes on the kazoo. In no time the kids were dressed and were chanting “WE’RE GOING TO DISNEY, WE’RE GOING TO DISNEY!!!” at 5:00 we were downstairs, we marked the final day off of the Disney calendar and we were on our way out the door. As we headed out Lauren said “now let’s get out of here, I don’t want to sleep in my stinkin’ bed anymore I want to see the Princesses!” that’s my girl!!! : )
Here is Tim coffee in hand headed to the airport at 5:00 a.m.:

Here are my way too happy children in the backseat:

Mickey ears and all, smiling faces WE WERE READY TO GO BABY!!
As we drove we listened to the CD Tim had made for us with the SpectroMagic music, Fantasmic soundtrack etc. to get psyched up. We also listened to the new High School Musical song “What time is it!” VERY appropriate as we drove towards the airport.
We watched the sun rise as we drove into the Dayton airport:

Got in the long line to check in with the kids as Tim headed to park the car in the economy long term lot. He found us in line, checked in and we headed to security. This was TOO funny – Tim had forgotten to take his belt off, so they took him to the side, put his hands up against the glass and OH YES ladies and gentleman, Tim was being frisked by security before 6:00 a.m.! I wanted to snap a picture of this but didn’t think security would allow that one!
We got some breakfast at the Cinnabon there at the airport and headed to the gate. We were on board, flight on time and in the air by 8:00 as scheduled. Here is a pic of my happy Luke on the plane:

The flight went very well, loved the XM radio on Airtran airways they give you complimentary headphones too, NICE! The kids loved the snacks (never thought pretzels and pop could make a kids morning like that = funny!).
We got to Orlando and were on cloud nine. Sunny skies, beautiful day and WE WERE IN ORLANDO!!! We got on the tram to head towards the terminal to catch our Disney express train. Here is Luke on the tram at the airport:

It wasn’t as clearly marked as I remember, I didn’t see anyone from Disney with the white gloves as I had remembered two years ago when we flew and took Disney’s Magical Express, oh well. We followed the signs and found a guy in a Disney uniform who was VERY strange, we asked were the express buses were and he said Mickey had taken the day off, etc. etc. come on guy, you’re the first Disney employee we see and this is IT!?!, we let it go and found our way. The line went super quick and we were waiting in line by 10:30. Here is a pic of a happy happy Lesley waiting in line for the express bus:

And here is happy Tim, he even has the ears on:

We got onto the Magical Express bus quickly and were on cloud nine. Here is a pic of Luke and Lauren on the bus (can’t you just feel their excitement !?!):

It was great to be headed towards Disney property again, SO THRILLING! Here are the kids lovin’ every minute of it:

In no time we were on Disney property passing the beloved sign I have been dying to see for over a year now:

We arrived at French Quarter, we were the first stop and headed to the front desk. Right away I was impressed with this hotel, it was very pretty, even prettier than all of the pictures I had looked and looked at online, just gorgeous. We headed to the front desk where a nice lady checked us in and to our surprise said our room was ready. I was happy to discover we had been given a first floor room but when she said building 7 I was disappointed. I know POFQ is close together but this room was the farthest point from the food court and buses possible, oh well, I asked nicely if anything else closer was available if we waited and she said no they were booked solid, oh well, wasn’t gonna let this ruin the experience. Off to our room we went.

The room was lovely. We put money in the safe, grabbed stuff we needed for the parks and were on our way QUICKLY. We decided since it was 11:30 to grab lunch at the foodcourt there so we could just enjoy MGM when we got there, I was trying to make it to MGM for the 1:15 High School Musical Pep Rally. We really were impressed with the food court at POFQ, WL has a small food court and the food selection here at POFQ was really good. I got the chicken quesadillas. YUM double YUM!!!! Tim had a burger, he really liked it, kids got chicken kids meals. Good lunch. We tried the beinets with lunch since a desert came with the sit down credits and unfortunately I have to say I was let down – sorry for all those fans out there but they just weren’t that awesome, I personally like funnel cakes better and Tim and I were really looking forward to trying these, I don’t know if we got a bum batch or what, but they just were o.k.
Anyway, lunch was over, time to head to MGM.
First of all I just have to say that the weather on this day couldn’t have been nicer. In previous years we have had TONS of rain on almost every MGM day and throughout our trip. Last year we were there during a tropical depression and with our June visits I just expect rain daily. This just wasn’t the case, especially on this beautiful first day – the kids were feeling good (no puking this year) and the sun was in the sky, we were in Disney, we were feeling GOOD!!!!!
We got to the bus stop and made it to MGM by 12:30 ish. It was a LONG bus ride, we stopped at every stop at Riverside, that was a little of a pain, took 30 + minutes to get to MGM due to all of the stops, guess I was just anxious (YA THINK!!! ; ) When we got there we headed to the gates, as we were walking in we stopped some good friends from Cincinnati walking out, couldn’t believe it, we didn’t know they were there, that was cool to see them. We stopped and talked but the kids were getting ANTSY so we broke away and headed in. I went to get the double stroller rental for the 10 days we would be there, YIKES 170 with tax, we had budgeted for this, but MAN! Anyway, got the double stroller in hand. Tim had headed to Rockin’Roller Coaster and TOT to see if he could score us FP’s, NO LUCK, unfortunately the return times for each were past 5:00 and we had dinner reservations at 5:30 for Kona so no luck.
To be continued,need to separate posts due to amt. of pics.

 

[timandlesley]

We got a good spot for the High School musical pep rally and waited for it to start. IT WAS HOT!!!! I decided to run and score us FP’s for Little Mermaid since we were right there and it was still 10 minutes to show time, I got those no problem. We sat there sweating as it started. Here came the float:

The kids were so excited for this show, it really was cute, here are some more pics from it:

When it came time for kids to get up and dance I thought surely Lauren would jump right up, I mean this girl can’t go two seconds without singing or dancing and usually it is a High School musical song and she has been dying for this moment since I told her about it, but NO, she chickened out, LUKE got up and danced, couldn’t believe it- I was proud of him. Here he is striking a move with the cheerleaders and cast:

And another, go Luke go!!!

After the Pep Rally we went to the Little Mermaid show:

Got great seats for the show, here is a shot of Ariel for ya (no flash photography allowed, so it is dark – sorry):

Lauren was in HEAVEN (o.k. I was too, I just love this show, SO GOOD TO BE HOME, still in awe).
After Little Mermaid we went and got in line for the great movie ride. This is where the title of our trip report comes in. I promised Tim to be more flexible this trip and he the same with me (it’s easier for him I have to admit- o.k. so it’s a character flaw, I admit it : ) Well, as we went into the Great Movie Ride the line was LONG, sure the air felt great on a hot day but it was a LONG line and looking at my watch (it was 2:30) I knew the parade spots would be going quickly and it was our first day there and I was in a parade type of mood, who doesn’t want to see Mickey, right!?! So I said, as we stood by an exit door in line “wanna ditch out and go to the parade” he thought about it, he really wanted to see the Great Movie Ride, he hadn’t gone on it before. After a little exchange he said to me “o.k. Lesley, this is what this trip is all about, remember this, I will give up the ride for the parade” and so we excited and we started talking about how this would be the trip of a Million Compromises. I kept this I mind the entire trip and it really worked to our advantage, more on that later. . . .
So. . ..where was I. Oh yes, we left Great Movie ride and headed to get a good spot for the parade that was scheduled to start at 3:15, found a shady bench, NICE, great spot for the parade. Here are our parade pics, there are quite a few:

After the parade we went to Indiana Jones, we got second row seats on the right side, GREAT seats. Here are a few not so good pics of the show,

we really enjoyed it. Luke thought this show was AWESOME! After that Luke was begging to do a ride, he wanted to ride ride ride!!! So we headed to Star Tours, I was nervous, it was the first test to see if Lauren would pass the 40 inch mark. You know – they NEVER even checked her height on this ride. We were on, the FOUR of us, I was so excited. It was so cute to watch her face on this ride and her little squeal of a scream (happy screams of course). ADORABLE. We had a fabulous time.