TR, Lots of pics and video, too-Celebrated Life, Disney Style!

[tmfranlk]

Sounds like some good days! (Minus the Hitler moment, ) I love TGM too, but can see where parts of it wouldn't work for your family.

I love those towel animals! So cute.

 

[jordanyosh]

I'm a guy.....did the guys choose Super Bowl?

 

[coteau_chick]

Great update. The same thing happened to us for the safari, the fast passes were gone when we got there and the line was 80 minutes (on a green day) I can't wait to hear about the rest of your day.

 

[TigerKat]

Enjoying your TR very much Lori, great job!!

 

[lori1043]

Thanks you all-but I am having a busy week and can't do part 2-this TR may take a while!! We were gone for 12 days!!
Glad you all are following along!

Lori

 

[jordanyosh]

No worries....I'm sticking around...

 

[lori1043]

Okay here is a NON trip related post-
1. my van was totalled We looked at the blue book value and it is only worth $5800-so totalling didn't take much(75% of the value) BUT it is mostly JUST "facial" work and the radiator. The insurance adjuster and body shop says it may be worth fixing and keeping. Hey, if there is no engine damage and no suspension damage-I am GAME. No car note-yay!!! We find out tomorrow. Body shop will estimate and adjuster will tell me what we get of that if we keep and if we don't keep. We have never had problems with it so even if it gives us another year of no car note-I will be happy. It is in great condition (exceptt for the accident). It brought us safely to WDW and back not 3 weeks ago!

2. my dad had an angiogram and stent put in yesterday-he is still in the hospital. Hopeful to come home tomorrow. The hospital is about 45 minutes away so i spent the night at my MIL's closer to the hospital. I think my dad is enjoying peace and quiet from my sister and DN5.

3. I woke up to a flat tire this morning on the rental, which happens to be the same model and color minivan I have-shweeeew-maybe no one will notice ..


JORDAN I NEED SOME MOJO that you have had-couldn't I have met you and you could have maybe shook my hand and rubbed off on me-and my DH too!!!!

Hope you feel better, Jordan.

Updating , well I am not sure when...

Lori

 

[jordanyosh]

Sending some MOJO your way right now.........for the car and your Dad too

Drugs are good......feeling no pain now....just waiting now for the PM part to kick in.....

 

[coteau_chick]

I hope things start getting better for you. Thank God you didn't get hurt in the accident.

 

[lori1043]

OMG where did I leave off???

Gotta go check, I think we were almost to the end of Superbowl Sunday-2/3!!

Jordan, hope you are feeling better the "peeps" on your TR are taking % !

coteau chic-thanks, i agree!!


Okay, Okay... let's see............................................

after our safari to Kilimanjaro or wherever, we went to Rafiki's Planet watch. This is something we love every time we go. It is off the beaten path, usually not too crowded and a nice place to chill. We always see characters(other than the Disney ones ) back here and my kids love animals so it just fits us nicely. My kids LOOK fior the talking garbage can every time and he always seems to be back there or we just catch him at it . I find it fun to try and figure out WHO is the person running him. Never do I tell my kids though, I like to see them try and figure it out. My DD* is not interested in figuring it out-she just likes to bug with the talking trash can!
We saw Jiminy back here, as well as Rafiki and Pocahontas. I LOVED that we saw Jiminy, we haven't seen him before, i don't think and this is my MIL's favorite character. So we got a few good shots and we are blowing it into a 5x7 and framing it for her.

After petting all the animals,, seeing more people we knew, we headed back and went to Kali River Rapids. We brought our Dollar Tree raincoats and they worked nicely, then after we handed them off to someone else. About 5 people asked where we got them! I even rescued a lady from spending $7 on a Disney one-she was very thankful!! I have no photos of the ride this day for some reason, but I have a few from the next time we went for later! Hardly any lines, I guess, for people who didn't want to get wet!!
Let me tell you, my kids LOVED this ride and later in the trip we head back for more... and more!!!

It was getting later and we headed to see if we could squeeze in to the last Nemo show and it was already filled so we couldn't, so we headed out toward the exit-the Rainforest Cafe exit. WE skipped Camp Minnie -Mickey and the Tree of Life and Festival of the Lion King. We have seen it as a family 3x before and love it, but it wasn't priority this trip. The only thing I really missed was the Kid stations that mine really enjoyed this trip.

So we headed to Rainforest Cafe and were seated really quickly(no ressies) at about 4:45pm. The plan was to eat then split up in to females/males. The males, or daddy's were heading to see the Superbowl from who knows where-probably back at the hotel rooms b/c all the Disney restaurants were probably full. While at dinner, there was a snake above our heads that completely FREAKED DN3 out!
here he is...

He would hiss at us every so often and we laughed it off and hoped DN3 would too after seeing my kids were not scared of him. Well, you know, she IS 3 and she WAS tired and so she practically sat on her momma the whole time, who is 6 months prego!! Daddy had her too, but she wanted her momma!! He IS kind'a scary!

The kids wanted those light up glasses so we got those and took a few there.....

We love Rainforest Cafe and go after AK every time-it is a tradition now!
We just really enjoy the whole package and think it is worth the $$. I am not so sure about the T-rex place that will be opening that is being built in DD, by the same company. You know mer, I am afraid they will eat me!! I think my DN3 will NOT be going there any time soon!

We were leaving RC and guess who was out there-WAY after park closing?

******picture taken off for personal reasons***********

along with Goofy...

********************************look above**************************
THIS was our FIRST MIckey sighting of our TRIP!!! We were so EXCITED!!!
I have to say that the people in front of us in line were very rude and even the CM's had to ward them off. They took pic after pic after pic after pic and then friends would be on the sides and they'd jump in, it was ridiculous and RUDE. They probably did this everywhere they went and got away with it. The CM's were annoyed you could tell and they'd look at you andyou could see it.
All in ALL, it was wonderful to see them at about 6:15-6:30 pm after the park closed at 5pm. Walking into them was sooo cool!

Anyway, in answer to the Superbowl question, my DB leans over and tells my DH that he is going to MK with his DD and DW(sap!! ), so now my DH is on his own. I truly thought he would go back to the hotel room and have a beer and watch it in peace and quiet, but he didn't-no qualms about it, he came with us to MK. It really didn't bother me either way, but i was glad, that for ONCE, I won out over a BIG game like the Superbowl!!! Yay, Me!!!!!
I know that makes him sound really bad about football being more important than his family, but lemmeee' tell ya' , when it is Saints or, even more, LSU, I don't even fight it, he LOVES it!! I have known him since I was 16 and that is accepted and I am glad he can teach the kids about it b/c I can't!

We bussed it to MK and I think I lied earlier about Wishes, I think THIS is the night we saw it, not the first night. My photos usually have dates and for some reason they did not this time and I think it was mixed up. Oh so sad, my mind and memories are getting clouded

Wishes

my kids video taping Wishes...

This is the night I was closest to tears, my kids are getting older and it was wierd seeing DN3 all in wonder about it all. Mine were too but they have been here 3x before and someof the stuff was "been there, done it, gonna do it again" to them. Not bad,see, I am breeding little Disneyphiles like me to enjoy EVERY stepm they take in these parks. BUT this night, they haven't seen before, and it was joyful!

Here is DD10 with my SIL after Wishes. Now, we were IN Disney and it was all magical that night.

We started where we finished on the first day in MK in Fantasyland-so we did Peter Pan, Small World, etc...

We rode everything in Tomorrowland-lines were NILL this night and we had so much fun. Me and DD8 on Buzz!

We waited for that peaceful time after park closing to wander out and thought we'd have an easy time getting back, hardly anyone left... BUT...

The lines for the Pop bus were out almost to the beginning of the bus depot. You know what i mean?? The Pop busses were at the last depot(I think #18) and it was lined up along the lake to the first depot for another hotel!!!

I have to tell you I was NOT impressed with the busses to and from Pop. I liked ASmovies and Sports better for the values.
This happened more than 2 or 3 times.
The CM's are great for getting the lines to LOOK manageable. But it took about 4-5 busses for us to get to one. The park was not that crowded. We walked on most every ride except Peter Pan and SM-why were the lines so bad an hour after closing? Grrrr....
I do NOT expect perfection, then I'd have stayed at the Poly, but this was crazy. Pop's bus system has been raved about on other sites and this was one reason we switched to Pop from ASMovies about 6 months before the trip.
WE always wait till the crowds die down to go to the busses. Every other time was almost a walk on. This trip it was a constant.

Back at the hotel finally, we got a late night snack and got to bed. By this time I was craving a bath(what i usually do) so i cleaned it out with my own cleaner and filled it up fpor a nice hot bath . Good night!

More tomorrow about Disney MGM-where the Incredibles made thier mark!!!

Lori

 

[coteau_chick]

Thanks for the info about pop buses. My dh would probablly never go back to disney if he had to wait in lines like that for the bus. He has no patience for that. Your girls look so cute. I love their dresses. Rain forest cafe sounds fun maybe we will try it next time. I want to sit by the snake too. My friends were at MK the same day as you and they also stayed at pop. You might have been on the same bus as them. Were there alot of crying kids on the bus? I bet the little kids don't undrestand having to wait in the long line for the bus when thery are tired.

 

[lori1043]

The busses werlike that 2 or 3 days for us and so we opted different routes that took longer but seemed easier and less sitting around. It was a little ironic, b/c as i will mention on our EPCOT day, we left out of the back entrance and took the boat to the Beach Club Villas, where we enjoyed the ride and the new scenery. At the BCV we waited 20 minutes for a bus to pick up like 5 people. But it was relatively quiet. It wind up taking us over an hour to get back to Pop BUT we'd have had the same wait(My DB and SIL waited at the bus stop) sitting on cement waiting in YET, another line.

STOP the PRESSES!!!!​

OMG my DH just woke up from a nap(yeah, it is late and he has been sleeping for a few hours) and said, "book the Disney cruise for next December"!!! I said, "are you dreaming?"-he said, "no, you showed me all those pictures (from the DCL Dis thread) and as long as we CAN get our $$$ back, if we cannot swing it by then, just book it". I had gotten a quote just out of curiosity for future reference....
Makin' lemonade!!!!

NOW I really gotta get working! New motivation to go to my stinky job !


Back to my normally scheduled post........

At least we got to ride in a boat, see the Boardwalk, wait there, go to DD for a few minutes and take , a shorter bus line(MUCH shorter) to POP!
So at least we had scenery! Instead of staring at the gross cement with food and gum wadded up on it for so long it was now BLACK.


Wait a minute...... now I am nervous about saving to pay for another trip. I mean, we are supposed to be MOVING....

Okay that feeling is gone. How many people go on vacations even though they move. Big deal. If it is meant to happen, it will happen. If not, well , we'll be asking for a refund!

Lori

 

[jordanyosh]

You'll love the DCL....

I'm sorry about the busses at Pop. I didn't have too many issues with the bus other than that one long wait.......

Of the 5 days I was there, I probably waited 5 minutes most of the time....

 

[jordanyosh]

oh and I am surprised that the men opted out of the Super Bowl...good for them...

 

[lori1043]

Hey Jordan-feeling better?

I am thrilled that he is saying to book it! So I did! We are planning on next December for the Eastern Carribean 7 day cruise.

My quote for 4 for category 9-outside cabin with porthole view-for 7 day cruise going to St Croix-is $3539.69. I will be buying trip insurance on my own. Are you supposed to do that NOW? Or is it something you wait on?
Do I need passports??

Anyway, we got to the busses at the wrong times on some of the days. We had no wait or short waits a little more than half the time. We avoided EMH parks, we got to the bus lines at peak times in the mornings but did our waiting thing every time which worked great except for that MK EMH night and one other night at EPCOT.

Another update coming soon!

Lori

 

[jordanyosh]

Lori, I would buy trip insurance soon, just to get it out of the way.

I don't know when the rules change (I think they change sometime later this year or early next year), but as of right now you don't need passports if you travel by land or sea. However, if something were to happen and you needed to fly back to the US from outside the country, you would need your passport. It's just better to have them....

 

[lori1043]

Hey , to the 2 or 3 people following my TR!! Thank you for following along on our AWESOME most LONGEST TRIP EVER TO WALT DISNEY WORLD!!!

Okie dokie!

On to DHS! Everytime someone puts DHS on the Dis, I think of my high school-Domincan High School-DHS.
Since that was LOOONNNGGG ago, it will now be happily substitued with Disney Hollywood Studios...

We were up late, again and missed rope drop.but I am by now WAY over that whole thing! I LIKE my sleep and restful vacations SO much better. We got to DHS about 9:30 or so and went straight for the strollers, as usual, and the schedule for all the shows in this park. THIS has been MY least favorite park due to THAT. I always feel like there is NO way to get this park done in a day due to the schedule, schedule schedule!!! BUT this is DH's favorite park, due to it being the home of Rockin' Roller Coaster, his favorite ride of all time until we went to DL's California Adventure. His west coast favorite ride is California Screamin' and south/west coast is RRC. California Screamin' ROCKS!!! So does Space Mountain in DL-it puts WDW's to shame.

okay, the roller coaster ride comparison is done, so off we go-until we hit the HSM pep rally upon walking down the street!

Being that we ahve 2 DD's-10 and 8- you KNOW we stopped to enjoy that!! When DH and I were in DL last year , my DD10 told us we couldn't watch it w/out them . BUT as we were not looking for it, we saw it about 3 times just passing by us!! It was truly an adult trip to DL!
The kids loved it!! I can say this though-we never waited for it, it runs so aften that at any given time during the day, you may see it passing or stopped by the big hat bunches of times! At one point we asked the kids did they want to wait for a good spot for the show by the big hat and they PASSED!

Due to the DL trip we took and learned to draw Mickey at the Animation Studios, the kids were REALLY wanting to do that here. DH got FP's for RRC and I rode TOT by myself!! DD10 was in line with me and chickened out at the elevator entrance!!! Thankfully, the lines were not long BUT the CM ushered us out to the exit in a "normal", very slow elevator so i could bring her to her dad. They allowed me right back up the slow elevator to ride without waiting in line again! Okay, so my WHOLE family chickens out on me and I ride next to a kid who is scared sh--less w/ his mom. He was boo hoo-ing after the ride so i told him how brave he was and how my family were all chickens!! He gave a small giggle .

Then we rode RRC! I rode, again, by myself, so DD10 could ride with DH and DD8 refused the ride at all. I do love that ride, but it is so quick.

I bought DD10 a pin for riding it, even though she wasn't crazy over it. BUT by the end of the day she was asking to ride again!!

Then we went to the Animation Studios, which was a HUGE hit with the kids-this is the one place here that we all enjoued immensely together!
These are the characters we identify with most:

And here are most of our creations of a lovesick Donald Duck-since it was close to Valentines day!

DD8, above, was not happy with hers, hence the look on her face, but I LOVED it, of course!

I did take art in school and thought of going into cartooning, so I especially enjoy this class...

We were hungry so we headed over to Sci-Fi, where we had a ADR for 3:40-but it was 1pm. My prego SIL was really wanting to eat now so the scheduled things the rest of the day weren't interupted-so we got a seat pretty quickly without an ADR, BUT here is where DD10 was having her meltdown of the trip. I even have no photos trying to deal with the kids-WHY??? you ask. We did NOT sit in cars, we sat at uncomfortable picnic tables I did not even knew they had. As we were fit in and they had no other spots for us together-we sucked it up. I have to say, we come here for the theming, the food is not much above a counter service-but the kids like it better than 50's Prime Time Cafe. DD10 does not usually melt down, but here she was complaining, persistently(something she is really good at- the persistent part) that there were empty cars sitting right in front of us the whole time. Ugghhh. DH and I are short tempered with this sort of behavior so we werte of the "Sit down, shut up, enjoy that we are even here, and look at the bright side"-of course she melts down more due to the fact we told her to "shut up". We never say that so it is offensive to our kids. We finally quieted down and enjoyed what was left of our meal.

Not a Disney moment, i must add, but on to more wonderful magical Disney moments...

Not the best photo, but a fun one!

I will try to post some video of Fantasmic-it seems they changed some things, maybe?? Somethings seemed new from 3 years ago to us-and I have the whole thing on video from back then. We had wonderful 2nd row seats and were around some awesome people!

More later!

Lori

 

[TigerKat]

Enjoying your TR Lori! We were thinking of trying Sci-Fi next trip just for the atmosphere - worth it?

 

[coteau_chick]

I don't blame you little one for having a melt down. That was mean of them not to let you guys sit in the empty car. I bet she couldn't understand why. Poor baby. I know how you feel too it is hard when your kid is having a melt down. I hate that especially on vacation. It can be so stressful. I am enjoying your trip repotr and pics. Keep the updates coming. We are here with you.

 

[lori1043]

Yeah, I have to admit that we were a little disappointed too and we were actually going to go back when we came back to that park. I also have to admit we were trying to at least do meals with my brother's family and although I was glad we did it ealy-or we would have missed that car show-Stars, cars and... whatever it was called! The only pics I got of that were bad Herbie shots!
BUT I swore for the rest of the trip we would do what we wanted and we did not have to do every meal we planned with them. Maybe by this point SIL was not liking what I had booked but she agreed to all of it b/f leaving.
I was not too upset but set in my mind that although we agreed on meeting for the ADR'es meals, that we did not have too. Maybe she had enough of us .

Anyway, we told DD10 that we'd go back and sit in the car, as we all originally wanted that-BUT after the aggravation wore off and we were thinking of heading back on another day,DD10 apologized and told me it really wasn't as big a deal as other things she wanted to do on that trip, so we wound up not going back there. We will just go back nect time! I guess we just had good memories of the place on previous trips so she wanted to have that experience again. Not so, BUT our vacation went on and we had so much fun-our kids are getting older and that was enjoyable to experience with them.
It was such a different trip this time. If this TR sounds slow, well it was! We didn't run around like chickens!!

The next day , on Mardi gras, we took off, slept in.
Stay tuned for a great Mardi gras day-resing and goofiness and the Pirate and Princess Party!!!

Lori


PS please do not think we were not understanding of DD10's meltdown, we were upset with ourselves for going along with eating so early even though it worked out in the long run. We did express this to each other and to DD's. We decided as a family that we had gone with other families b/f and learned that you cannot and shouldn't expect to want to do the same things. So we made a mistake and weren't doing it again. No one was upset with the other-DB's family and ours-but they witnessed the meltdowna nd Dd0 kept saying why didn't we wait till our ressie time and all this so tension was there. But no one allowed it to ruin the trip or be upset with the other. We chalked it up to needing to open our mouths a bit wider!! But as i said, i cannot take a 10 year olds whines very well-i do think that no matter what the circumstances, the best needs to be made of it-no matter where you are.