Trials, Treats & Meet'nGreets of 15th Disney BDay: May 09 * THANK YOU! 8/18/09!

[MyMuse]

Aww that stinks that they weren't that impressed with Soarin! although I will have to admit that I REALLY wasn't impressed at all the first few times either. Then someone mentinoed to me that it's a million times better if you ask to be in the front, so you dont have feet hanging in your view. And it was a lot better then. Maybe the feet ruined it for them?

True..or they could have said, it was the most wonderful ride they have ever been on just to make me happy......ah well.

Maybe they will be impressed the next time...and the fact we had Birthday FPs, it was like gold. But sometimes, you don't know what you've got when you had it. The next time they go (not with me, of course), they are going to be standing online for hours.....

 

[autumnpalm]

I just got all caught up on your TR... awesome pictures!!! I love the one of you guys at Chef Mickey's all together, it's great. And Mmm that Edible Arrangements thing looks so neat.

Loving the report so far... Jenna is so lucky to have you! You're an amazing aunt.

 

[MyMuse]

Part 3 - World Showcase!

We arrive at Mexico and I finally get to see some Showcase players! I ALWAYS miss Showcase players. I am never there when they are; it’s like a mission with them. LOL! So, we stop and listen to the Mariachi Band for a few moments and I take pics and video.

We go inside the pyramid to see about the ride. I have never gone on the ride and was looking forward to it, but really, it was like a maze to get to it. Geez. First the art section, then the stairs, then to try to find your way through the shopping plaza. Holy Buckets!

Inside is cool looking but still, it’s like a jungle! I didn’t realize it was so dark. San Angel Inn is in the back next to the Gran Fiesta ride, sort of like the Sci-Fi Diner. I take pics while we wait for Dom, since we can’t go on the ride without him.

To get to the ride, you must go thru the Plaza:

We call Dom and he says he’s at Mexico but can’t find the ride. He hasn’t realized you can walk into the pyramid, so we had to go back outside and get him. We finally get on the ride (no wait!) and it is cute. Reminds me of small world at MK. I take some pics on the ride. The simulated fireworks were pretty cool.

From the ride:

There’s not too much going on in Mexico, so with the strands of the Mariachi Band behind us, we walk to Norway. It’s good timing since both D&J are having food meltdowns and it’s time to check in at Akershus for our 3:10 ADR. So, it’s probably 2:45pm now or thereabouts.

It’s actually getting a bit on the hot side and Dom disappears. He does come back (I forget whether I called him or not) and I have him take J to the Kringla Bakery for a snack and for both of them to get out of the sun. My receipt of J’s Strawberry Cream Cake says it is 3:03pm. Time is flying by! Thank god for the Birthday FP!

There’s actually quite a line to check-in but I finally get to podium and check-in. The themeing here does look very cute.

I find D&J in the bakery eating and tell them I’ve checked in and waiting for our name to be called and go back outside. I retreat to some shade and as soon as I do, our name is called and I get online and call them to come out. I think we were called fairly on-time, around 3:15pm. I think at this point, I told J that her birthday lunch will be spent with the Princesses. Within a few moments, we were online heading for our picture with Belle. I was kind of hoping it would be Aurora but it seems Belle is the one usually at the picture spot. At least, it is with a live character instead of a plastic statue. And it was included in the price, I didn’t have to pay extra.

The CM here was really funny and kept kidding around with J that girls who are from NJ and having a birthday were banned. So, after quite a few moments of the CM stalling, we got our pic with Belle. I explained it was really Jenna’s birthday day. The pic didn’t really come out that well (it was ok), and I completely forgot that I could have it redone.

Once we got inside, I was wowed! I loved it! We got steated the right side in front of a beautiful tapestry, so I like this a lot. We will not have food in the background and no people walking by and with a tapestry of a royal table. Our waitress comes and takes our entrée and drink order. Dom and I order the traditional Kjottake and Jenna orders the BBQ Sandwich. She’s not that adventurous when it comes to food. The waitress does find out that it is J’s birthday.

I ran around taking pictures before I went to the buffet for the appetizers & salads. I was impressed! This is much more calm than Chef Mickey’s and it’s half buffet and half served. It was tasty. Our entrees come fairly quickly and the Kjottake was a cross between a hot dog and meatloaf is the best way I can describe it. Very filling. It came with mashed potatoes and asparagus.

The dessert selection arrives. You don’t order it; they just give you a plate with all three desserts already on them. The desserts are the traditional sweetbread (which is custard pudding donut with coconut), rice pudding with strawberries and a chocolate brownie. The waitress then comes back with a lighted Birthday Cupcake & a signed birthday card with the celebration theme from all the princesses for Jenna! I was surprised. I literally forgotten they do that. We have never experienced it with any of the other restaurants we were in and I didn’t have that when I was there in March. So, she loved it and so did I. I thought it was very magical of them.

I think the Princesses came then. First was Cinderella! I heard she doesn’t really come to Akershus, so I was super surprised to see her. And happy, of course, since I could not get into Cinderella’s Royal Table. The interaction between her and J was very nice; she signed both the autograph book and my Aurora card, which technically she wasn’t supposed to do, but who was I to stop Cinderella? So, Jenna has 2 birthday cards, signed by the Princesses. One can never have too many of those.

Dom wasn’t around, so no pics of me with princesses. So, I took a bunch of pictures and videos.

We saw Ariel, the walking version. But Snow White came next and she was a hoot! She also signed both the Aurora card and the autograph book. I was happy that Jenna was relaxed enough to get autographs this time. Perhaps, it’s easier when the characters can talk, not in suits and can see the autograph book.

Next was Ariel. J and Ariel had a discussion about cool red hair and cool hair accessories. She did the same with her autograph and I did like how each of them stood in a different way. Cinderella held her skirt, Snow White had her hands in front and Ariel had her hands out to the side. It made for different pictures.

And our character photo:

The folder it comes in:

I think at this point, the Princesses and their peeps were making sure everyone got to them, so Snow White came double-backed over to our area and there was a bit of a traffic jam, so I turn to Snow White and say "don't they know you are a princess? they should be parting and making way for you!". She says without missing a beat and says they all definitely should. It was cool.

One manager type person comes around and asked whether all 3 princesses came around, but I took her aside and asked what time Aurora comes out since that was the primary reason for booking Akershus. We got Cinderella instead, so I’m not complaining. She said she would check.

All in all, the themeing was great, the interaction great, and the people friendly. I wish I remembered to take another Belle picture, but still a pretty good time. My receipt says 4:30pm.

The bill came and went and the CM did not return. We left and J stops at the restroom and I was going to shrug it off, but then decided I really did need to know, so I can make sure Jenna can meet her. I go back to the podium where my waitress was and asked. And that person went to find the CM (Wanda, I think).

J comes out and CM Wanda returns and says Aurora will be in France between 5:15pm to 6:20pm. YAY!!!

We head outside and go on Maelstrom, which we Bday FP it. Our FP says 4:40pm. The standby line was really long! I didn’t take a pic, but I think it was something like 30 or 40 minutes. The ride is perfectly fine, quick and just a little thrilling, so I don’t understand why the line is so long. Maybe it’s the crowd from Akershus? Anyway, I didn’t get to ride this last time, so I was happy to ride it now with a Bday FP.

Inside Maelstrom:

I still wanted to head to the shop to buy the perfume I saw and smelled in March. I know France is where you are supposed to buy perfume, but this one was heavenly. It is called Laila and I bought the smaller bottle for $55. Now, you know from this TR, I’m not big on shopping while at the parks, but this is incredible. And, a little pixie dust came my way, because the designer was there signing bottles!

It took some time to get through to the register, since there were some elderly ladies at the counter who did not quite understand American monies and perhaps knew the designer since it was helping to translate. I finally paid for my perfume at 5:03pm. The designer was Geir Ness. He apologizes, which I thought was quite amazing, and signs my perfume bottle and give me a tiny bottle that he says was in the Grammy swag bag. I explain to him that I was here about 6 weeks ago and came back to make sure I bought this perfume. He gave me this big hug and says how lucky since he almost was not there that day. How cool was that?! He also gives me, D&J, little purse sizes as well and I got a signed photo as well. He was a cutie-pie!

We had to make a stop at the Kidcot Station since that was part of her birthday celebration when we were planning. She wasn’t so into it now since Dom wasn’t, but I said we are doing it. So KS signs and stamps her autograph book. Next time, I’m going to get myself an Epcot passport book and hitting all the Kidcots again. I think they are super neat.

I also forgot about the Troll Garden (too many things inside my head!), so I also missed that. We also have so much left to do and a 6:40 ADR. Time just flew by and we are now just finishing up Norway with all the other countries to go.

 

[MyMuse]

I just got all caught up on your TR... awesome pictures!!! I love the one of you guys at Chef Mickey's all together, it's great. And Mmm that Edible Arrangements thing looks so neat.

Loving the report so far... Jenna is so lucky to have you! You're an amazing aunt.

Thanks! Sometimes, I felt like a third wheel though. We had a good time, however, I don't think I would repeat it with the same cast of characters.

You are leaving in a week! Holy Buckets!!

 

[MyMuse]

So, I left off at finishing up Norway after our awesome Princess Lunch...

I remind the troops about our 6:40pm ADR for dinner in the UK. We decided to head straight off to France to see Aurora, since that is Mission Number 1. I did stop to take a pic of the Aladdin topiary.

We get there slightly before 5:15pm, as she was out walking to the gardens.
One little girl ran up to her and they held hands walking. It was adorable! We got in line and J got her Aurora card signed. J & Aurora had some wonderful interaction including the signing of the card and A being suitably impressed and the proper wearing of a crown. So, Aurora fixes J’s tiara. There was a Photopass CM there, so I took only a few pictures, got out of the way and took mostly video.

The fixing of the royal tiara:

The Aurora Bday card:

Jenna was floating on air afterwards and finally got to meet Aurora. J said she was very nice but when Aurora asked her if she knew who her fairies were, J said she blanked out since she was nervous. The fairy is Mary Beth, in case of any future Aurora meets and greets for those of you out there. I’m guessing Aurora asked since I’m sure Jenna said she was her favorite princess. I explain that the characters know what they are doing, try to relax and they will talk with you.

I don’t think I know where Dom’s location currently is. I mention that we should try to find Mary Poppins since Aurora was out. We go to the UK and she is out in her white & red walking dress. At the Mary P Broadway show, she’s not in this iconic dress. There was no Photopass CM, so I took pictures.

While waiting: Twinings Tea of London

Jenna gets frozen again, so I start off with that we just saw her on Broadway as a birthday gift for Jenna. So, they had a quick conversation about Broadway and Mary P signs her autograph book.

Happy times this was and she didn’t even think that D wasn’t around, since she was on a high after meeting, let’s see…Belle, Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel, Aurora and Mary Poppins.

I think we decided to backtrack to France and we stopped to take a pic of the Eiffel Tower at the bridge between UK and France. I always forget it’s there and the few things one cannot visit.

We visit a few stores and stopped to check out a perfume shop. There was one there we both liked, I think it was called Strawberry or Raspberry Sorbet or something. It wasn’t heavy and something a teen can wear. The sales lady was definitely giving it a push in a nice way. I said we would think about it and told J can buy it if she wants, since she has birthday/Disney money to spend. The sales lady said since it was J’s bday that she would add in a Givenchy denim totebag for a bday gift. I don’t know if they always do that, but I thought it was nice to tie in J’s bday to it. We said we would think about it and was told they were open until 9pm.

Cool window in France:

French shoe tree:

Dom finally joined us in France, we walked a bit around the place and moved on to Morocco.

I wanted to find the hidden mickey there but found it was moved across the street to the lakeside shops. I literally found it by accident. Note to Kat!

Morocco hidden mickey:

Jenna wanted a henna tattoo, so we stopped for that. She picked a symbol for happiness. My receipt says it is now 5:48pm. The tattoo went really quickly. We probably also stopped for Kidcot Station.

Pretty dress in Morocco:

Henna tat:

Jasmine, Aladdin and the Genie were out, but we didn’t stop for them. The lines were long, J wasn’t too interested and we still had lots to do.

I take a few scene pics (I never noticed the Illuminations ball by the lakeside!) on our way to Italy. The home of my paternal peeps.

The sign said a venetian mask maker was there, but I never noticed where. Italy has no attractions other than the architecture, which is beautiful. It is a replica of Venice, which is one of my favorite cities on my trip to Italy last summer. They got it pretty close.

We take a pic by the Lady & the Tramp topiary, visit their Kidcot station and I don’t think I see any Showcase players. We head out for Germany, the home of our maternal peeps.

I love the miniature village here. I don’t know why; it’s just so adorable. I take some more scene pics as we meander through Germany, stop at the clock (see the figures running around) and of course, stop at the shops. I do like the architecture inside here too. I stop by the talking steins, but I don’t see them go off. I did in March and it was hysterical. I pay homage to the clock wall and walk by the pickle tree. I also noticed they have Aurora plates, which is cute and expensive crystal. I bought a Minnie perfume bottle here in March.

Miniature village in Germany:

We visit the Kidcot station, take pic of some cute bears, find Dom (he went to get a drink) and head back out. It’s close to our 6:40 ADR for the Rose & Crown in the UK, so we make our way there.

 

[MyMuse]

We are leaving Germany after visiting the Kidcot station, take pic of some cute bears, find Dom (he went to get a drink) and head back out. It’s close to our 6:40 ADR for the Rose & Crown in the UK, so we make our way there.

More Germany pics of inside stores:

Expensive crystal!

The clock wall:

Cute bears:

I take some scene pics on the way to the UK, including the French cart which fascinates J. She is in French class at school (which is why I wanted POFQ so badly!). We come to the UK , take a pic of the chalk marking on the ground and I make my way to check-in & get a buzzer. D&J head over into the UK.

Across the lagoon:

Too shady at the French cart:

The Showcase players are out – the Beatles tribute band, so I listen for a minute or two, then go into the shop to find D&J. I know we did Kidcot, but I don’t know whether it was before or after Rose & Crown. Anyway, buzzer goes off and J&I go to check-in and Dom will follow in a few minutes since he heads back into a store.

So, here is where is goes downhill.

We get seated and all I hear is whining. She’s not hungry, she doesn’t want to eat, she wants to go back into World Showcase, she’s pouting because Dom is not paying attention to her, etc, etc, etc. Mainly, she is repeating what Dom was saying since he wasn’t hungry either, was itching to shop and maybe will come into the R&C to join us.

I explain we don’t have to eat, just order a drink and an appetizer and we can move on. If you remember, I ordered a custom cake for this Rose & Crown ADR. I am okay that we are not going to stay; I was initially planning to be here for the entire 2 hours and see if we can use their patio for Illuminations viewing. However, since we have not done much in World Showcase, fine on ordering and leaving. We can find a spot for Illuminations.

I am so excited for this R&C ADR, since I loved it when I was here in March and there was so much involved in ordering this cake. I assumed it was the “Plan A” cake since I didn’t get a phone call from the bakery line. Of course, having the cake delivered the table, I was envisioning a lovely time.

I am not all that excited where we are sitting, right behind the podium outside. I wanted to be inside, but I didn’t want to make a big deal and we weren’t staying for a meal anyway. Our waitress comes and I cover J’s ears and ask whether there is a cake in the back. She left to check to make sure. In the meantime, Dom arrives and repeats exactly what Jenna did and whines.

At this point, I just have HAD it. I cannot handle any more whining.

The waitress comes back and indicates yes and I ask to have to boxed up, so we can leave. The waitress takes a look around and scurries to the back. She returns very quickly and the chef personally brings out the cake and says it came out very nicely. The chef rings up the cake ($45!) personally. It turns out it was the Aurora cake (“Plan B”). It then makes me sad that we couldn’t enjoy this, since it would have been a super cap to a day of princesses.

I apologize to the chef explaining that I have a meltdown happening and it is best that we leave. Dom finally clues in and realizes what is going on and says “we can have coffee!” and I shake my head and refuse to look at him or talk with him. My receipt says it is now 6:54pm.

 

[MyMuse]

I left off at leaving the R&C with a boxed up cake....

We head into the UK shops again. I don’t make an issue out of Kidcot, since all I got is expiration or indifference and quite frankly, I am not in the best of moods. I’m part frustrated and part saddened. This time, D actually asks for it and I just hand it over.

I decide to go outside and enjoy the Beatles tribute band, while they shop and do whatever. I still have the boxed up cake, which J has not yet seen the decoration of it.

As I am listening, D comes up behind me and scares the living daylights out of me. He thought it was funny. I didn’t.

We head out again; they were in shopping mode and the discussion about going on additional rides with her Bday FP was veto’d. I asked if they are shopping, that we switch bags and I will go on rides with the golden Bday FPs . Dom keeps both bags and so I leave them to their shopping.

I make my way, taking scene pics of more topiaries as I go, to Soarin’ at The Land, but the FP line is super long as well. All the regular FPs were done, but it must have been a popular time to return. I love this ride and was happy, literally, to be free. It was probably around 7:30pm by the time I was done.

Playground topiaries:

I just like this sign:

I debate whether to go on again since I had all the Bday FPs but I lost the internal debate. Instead, I head to the Camera Center to add our Norway lunch pics to my Photopass, where I had earlier added the Chef Mickey’s pictures. I get a text from Jenna and I explain that I am now at the Camera Center.

After, I thought I would head to Mission: Space, less intense version, since I had all this open rides on the Bday FP. I really did want to use it since I wanted to get my full use out of it, but I decide to find out where Tinkerbelle topiary is since I have yet to see it on our travels. I look at the F&G guide and realize it was on the other side of the Butterfly Garden! We didn’t walk that way earlier, so we completely missed it.

It was so cute!! It is getting a bit dark now, so my pics do not come out well. The specific area where Tink is located is actually blocked off with a gate, so I couldn’t really see that well. I’m a bit disappointed I missed all this, since it did look adorable.

As I leave the Pixie Hollow Fairy Garden, I saw the sand sculpture promoting Earth, which we also missed. Very detailed for sand!

I then decided to ask about American Adventure times since I was at the big board. I have never seen this show, so I wanted to and Illuminations, I guess I am just not in my happy place to watch it. The CM checked, I checked the big board and couldn’t find it and then we both realized it was listed on the front of the Times Guide not the back! Duh!

So, I head to America and ask the CM at the theater when the next show was and it was for 9pm. It was 8:30pm now, so I head for a restroom next to Liberty Inn. J texts and I tell her where I am and to remember Illuminations begin at 9pm. D then texts and says he is heading to where I am. At this point, I’m still in the restroom.

I stopped at the Liberty Inn for forks and a knife since we would need it later for the cake at the resort. I still have some time for the AA show to hang with D&J for a minute as we text back and forth. I find D after I exit Liberty Inn and he does ask if I bought anything and I say no, while he goes for coffee and I find Jenna. On the way, I stop at a little cart since I do want to get F&G pins. Dom finds me at the cart and hands me a little bag with the F&G pins in it.

I find Jenna at the fence in front of the AA theater where the globe is. This is really an excellent spot since there is a blind spot next to us, so no one was crowding us and we could see perfectly. They have a ton of bags! We hang while Dom gets the coffee.

J is upset & crying since D was yelling at her while they were shopping. We talked about it for a few minutes. I’m sure she was calling a million people in NJ upset as well. D doesn’t handle people well when they are constantly with him and I wasn’t there to be the buffer.

I said I will stay for Illuminations and leave American Adventure for another time. J goes off to the restroom, which is probably to make a bunch of phone calls to NJ while D comes back with huge coffees. He also shows me that he bought me a big drawing of Epcot as J must have told him we were browsing through them earlier in the day. I actually was looking at a smaller drawing of MK (thinking of traveling back with it and where to hang it), but it was the thought that counted and I was planning on getting all 4 parks eventually. D just couldn’t do enough; shame that he couldn’t do this in the first place. I didn't need for me to get me pins and a drawing; less grumpiness & attitude would have been far more appreciated.

Illuminations starts and we watch from our perfect spot. I don’t think it was all that crowded. Gorgeous as usual. I was fairly impressed that my new camera took fairly decent pictures. I also took a bit of video.

It ends and we gather everything up and decide to go to the American Adventure Amphitheatre to have cake and coffee instead of the resort. Jenna finally sees that she has an Aurora cake that said “Happy 15th Birthday Jenna”. It was decently good and held up well considering it was in a bag for 2 hours being lugged across World Showcase.

She cuts while we have our coffee (she has hot cocoa) with the trees twinkling around us, relaxing from a very long and tiring day. We don’t rush which is nice. We finish off half the cake, pack it up the best we can and start strolling through the park to the exit.

I take scenery pictures and we watch the dancing waters again framed by the Epcot ball. I wish Photopass was still out, but I don’t see any around.

We stop in at Mouse Gears, I actually do shop a bit and pick up a graduation car topper for my sister, a 2009 tee for Jenna and a 2009 zip hoodie for myself. I saw this hoodie from jenseib’s TR and loved it. They don’t have XL, so I get the LG, which I’m sure will not fit, but I like it too much. The CM was nice enough to even check. My receipt says 10:02pm, so we were there for a good while.

We head out and catch the bus to POR.

Up Next: The Night Does Not End Here!

 

[disneygirlinnj]

I love Laila! When i went in 2000 (I think?!) I also bought it. Sadly I never got to finish the bottle and now I think it has gotten stronger and I can't wear it anymore. I need to go buy another bottle when I go in Sept!

 

[dawnbu40]

I'm sorry to hear the day didn't go as you had planned but at least it seemed to improve near the end of the day! I love the hoodie and almost bought that when we were there last month but decided to pick it up in Sept. I hope they still have it then!

 

[MyMuse]

Part 7!

We arrive at the resort and go and collect the forwarded purchases from the parks (remember the big old dinosaur from AK?). As we walk through the reception area, we see the caricature artist is still there. J starts jumping and we agree she can have one done. It’s got to be around 11pm by now.

She and the artist bond over Dane Cook (he sounds exactly like him ) while she picks out her theme. They continue to have a whole conversation about her theme, the actual color of her eyes, etc. It was quite funny to watch. Jenna chooses a music theme, so she is singing and has a guitar. I sit on a nearby bench with the 50 bags while Dom goes into the gift shop to pay. I take care of the tip. It doesn’t take too long, but I’m sure it was close to midnight by the time we actually make it back to the room.

I think at this point, I probably tell J tomorrow morning is actually a character breakfast meal (1900 Park Fare) at the Grand Floridian to meet Mary Poppins & friends. She knew she was going to fancy breakfast at a deluxe resort. It was called Supercalifragilistic Breakfast, so one has to assume Mary P would be there.

At our room, our Magical Express time is for 2:30pm and they already printed out our boarding passes, which I do think is a little odd. My trip from March, I had to go to the airline check-in desk at the lobby. In any which case, we pack the best we can since we are leaving our luggage and checking out before the breakfast, then heading to DTD after we finish.

While packing, I find out Jenna did get the perfume from France and the bag the sales lady was talking about. It was quite a feat packing it all. Dom will not be using ME for luggage (remember his freak-out at the arrival of the luggage), so he will keep his separate.

We head to bed, since our breakfast is at 9am at the GF . We still need to checkout of the hotel and check-in our luggage at the airline desk. We need to be up early to take care of all this plus get to the Grand Floridian in time. Holy Buckets!

And so, Birthday Day at Disney formally ends.

 

[MyMuse]

Thursday, May 6
Departure Day
Part 1 - Check-out, Check-in and Supercali

It’s departure day and we have the Supercali Breakfast at GF for 9am. We wake and get moving, since we have to check out. We really have not had a chance to wonder about the resort, but J has to get back to school for some sort of quiz tomorrow.

Jenna wears her new 2009 tee which looks super cute. We wheel our luggage out saying goodbye to our room. We try to eat more cake and fruit, but leave most of it behind.

We get to reception and check-out. I tell the CM that fruit and cake are left behind, so the housekeeping will not be surprised. I explain we are checking out now, but will be back for our ME time of 2:30pm. I look over to the airline check-in desk and they are not open yet. So, I guess it is a good thing that we already have our boarding passes, but I am concerned about where to leave luggage. In March, I left it with the airline check-in desk.

Front desk, very quiet:

The CM says to go outside and look for the ME sign and place our bags with the CMs there. I do state that I & J have ME but D does not. The CM just says to go to the ME sign. Okaaaay, we do that. Total chaos ensues and I just can’t believe it. I didn’t have any of these issues in March at POFQ and I left even earlier. The ME CMs are completely confused why we are there and are bordering on rude.

We have precious time ticking by and we FINALLY straighten out the luggage. The ME CMs were absolutely no help at all and I think was deliberately misunderstanding me. Is this really the first time this has happened?

I finally get my and J’s luggage to the right place – there is an airline luggage desk further down the pavement. Why didn’t they say that in the first place when I explained it? Dom’s luggage plus mine & J’s carry-on get placed in the holding area where these CMs are. What a chore to get this done. I wonder why the airline check-in desk was not open; it would have eliminated all this hassle. Not a good way to start the morning, let me tell you!

In any case, we finally finish this up and head for the bus depot and hop a bus to MK, then monorail it to GF. I’m definitely getting antsy since I didn’t plan on wasting god knows how much time getting the luggage straightened out. I try to relax and de-stress.

View from the MK monorail of GF:

We get there and GF is gorgeous!! We check in something like 9:05am and we wait anyway. It does seem like character meals usually run a little late. I take pics of GF & marvel at the place. I show J the menu that was on the wall that it had strawberry soup. She seems excited. A little bit of some birthday magic before we need to head home is nice. We get buzzed shortly thereafter.

We get online to have our meal photo which is back against a wall with a MK mural. We then proceed to go online to wait for our name to be called to be allowed into the hallowed hall of 1900 Park Fare. LOL! We get called and we have a nice table and a nice server. We immediately see characters doing their thing. I think Mad Hatter was yelling.

We head off to the buffet and get ourselves some Mickey waffles and strawberry soup! Everything was very tasty. The place was really pretty.

J & strawberry soup as topping on Mickey waffles!

The character interactions were also good. And this time, I got into the action and made Dom take pictures before he had time to scamper off. Plus, I bet, he’s still feeling it from yesterday.

We met Pooh, Tigger, Mary P, Alice and Mad Hatter. It was great fun! I would do this character meal over again, no problem. Dom even consented to have his pic with Pooh (he came around twice) & Mad Hatter. I didn’t actually get one with Mad Hatter since I was taking the photo. Mad Hatter was also busy being very vocal and throwing things. Even Dom laughed at him.

Tickled orange by Tigger?

Do they kinda look alike?

We had a great convo with Mary P (told her about Broadway) and Alice (told her we were waiting for her and Mary P). If you talk, they will listen and go with it. I also got some good video as well. Though, my battery dies right in the middle of taking pics with Mad Hatter, so he yells at me. It was too funny.

Our meal photo:

GF Folder:

I buy the meal photo and pay for the meal. My receipt now says it is 10:26am. D is itching to get to DTD, but we go outside and take a pic of the Mary P topiary. GF is such a super pretty resort.

As we walk out, a CM say hello and ask how the breakfast was (I’m assuming he saw the GF picture folder). The CM literally beams when I say it was lovely and I would love to stay at this resort. What a nice feeling.

On our way out:

GF had a Victorian theme, so this was in front:

 

[KatGarcia]

That was a whole lotta update!!!

The pic from Akershus was funny, what the heck was Belle doing?!

So sorry your plan for an awesome surprise didn't work out! At least you got some alone time to relax a bit and the night ended well!

 

[KatGarcia]

U were posting as I did....

finally you are in some pics! Great character photos!

 

[disneygirlinnj]

Ohhh...cute photos! 1900 sounded really fun!

 

[MyMuse]

I love Laila! When i went in 2000 (I think?!) I also bought it. Sadly I never got to finish the bottle and now I think it has gotten stronger and I can't wear it anymore. I need to go buy another bottle when I go in Sept!

It smelly so heavenly! And Geir Ness was a sweetheart!

I'm sorry to hear the day didn't go as you had planned but at least it seemed to improve near the end of the day! I love the hoodie and almost bought that when we were there last month but decided to pick it up in Sept. I hope they still have it then!

Yeah, I needed that break. I love the hoodie too! I might look for it again in December for a bigger size. Aren't they pretty?

That was a whole lotta update!!!

The pic from Akershus was funny, what the heck was Belle doing?!

So sorry your plan for an awesome surprise didn't work out! At least you got some alone time to relax a bit and the night ended well!

Isn't it? I think she was doing an Elvis impression. I completely forgot I can ask for a redo. And I wore my glasses in the photo, which I meant to take off.

I needed the time alone, so it was a good break for all of us. Not so much Jenna....but, hey, it was of her own making. I was saddened that my surprise didn't work out but eating in the twinkling trees wasn't too bad, either.

U were posting as I did....

finally you are in some pics! Great character photos!

I know! Finally! I think I got Dom still in grateful mode.

Did you see that they moved the hidden mickey in Morocco? It's now lagoon-side.

Ohhh...cute photos! 1900 sounded really fun!

It was! I would definitely do that one again!

Thanks for reading everyone!

I think I have one more update, then hopefully, I'll have Photopass pics and videos!!!

 

[KatGarcia]

Did you see that they moved the hidden mickey in Morocco? It's now lagoon-side.

I def have to remember to take a new pic next time!

 

[jenseib]

Wow! You updating fool.
Sounds like fun. I know how it goes with whiners. I have one for a DH when we travel. LOL!

I have learned, even with my older two when I travaled with them as kids, that even the best plans go awry. I think this poast trip was one of the best because I wasn't pushing as hard to do "my plan" and just kind went more with the flow than in past years. Yes we still had stressful problems, but I think it went better, and since I let them sleep in a bit more, they were nicer in the long run. LOL! Someday I will go and do EXACTLY what I want to do.

I think you guys got the 3 fairies names wrong. I don't think thre is a Mary Beth. there are 3 of them, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather.

I love the sweatshirt! I am kind of puffing up with pride that you took some of my ideas. LOL! I did think they ran a bit small. I think I got an XL too. Though if I keep eating like a pig the way I have been lately I'm gonna need a bigger size too! LOL!
The cake was goregeous too. Too bad about the surprise not working. I was didappointed how ours worked out to at 1900 PF. They delivered it to MY spot, when it was for Claire, while we were up dancing with the stepsisters. She never even noticed it when we got back til lwe moved it over to show her. I wanted the presentation to be part of the fun. OH well. I should write and complain though. The waitress we had in general there wasn't all that great.

Sounds like you should've went for the b-day gift card with all the shopping she did. And it sounds like she just didn't want to do many rides, at least with Uncle Dom around. LOL!

The way you describe her with him reminds me of my cousins. We always had so much fun, but they had an older brother who worked alot and when he would come home they would treat him like he was so great, and he was fun, but it became annoying. We couldn't do anything unless it was something he wanted to do. Whats funny now is that 25-30 years later he is kind of the blacksheep of the family (he got into drugs for awhile) and they don't have much to do with him at all anymore.

Ok, i need to go exercise now. I promised myself after I read your update, I would.

 

[MyMuse]

Sorry for the lack of updates, but I thought my Photopass CD would be in from the share I was in.

It is NOT!

My leader said she received the CDs on 5.27.09 and it is now been 2 weeks and nothin'. She also ordered the CDs without letting anyone know, so the album I uploaded is not included. *sigh*

I did a Photopass share in March and it was great. I was always kept updated and got the CDs timely. This time, no communication at all. I have no idea where things stand and emails/PMs are not being answered.

Or maybe I'm just asking too much?

I think I am rethinking any future Photopass shares.

so, long story short...I will update with the rest of the trip soon (yes, there's more!) and do the videos (ooohhhhhhh) and hopefully, there will be Photopass pictures to post!!!

THanks!!

 

[MyMuse]

So, I left off at leaving the...

..and we are at the prettiest bus depot I've ever seen.

There is actually a person there monitoring the buses! I have never seen this before. Is this only at Deluxe resorts? We tell her DTD and she checks her paper and says if the bus is not here in a few minutes, she will call for one. We chat while we wait and I make sure to get another souvenir penny from the machine nearby. We do wait a bit, but one does come and off we are to DTD.

I am so used to using the riverboats to get to DTD, this is a new experience. We get dropped off at Marketplace.

We check out the water feature/fountains from the ground thingies, hit a restroom, visit pictures areas and stop in to the Art of Disney. Still no small Vinylmations! So, I take a pic of one on the wall. LOL!

Hmm, Christmas card 2009?

I convince Dom not to buy stuff right now, since he seems to be eyeing big things and get them on the way out, so don’t have to carry around. In so doing, I completely forget to buy a box of Vinylmations pins.

So, we continue on, stop at Photopass studio and add the Supercali breakfast and end up at Westside, so we can check on the balloon ride. It is temporarily closed for weather. We talk to the CM and he says as soon as we see the balloon in the sky for the test flight to come back and check.

Boo!

We stop in to the Wetzel Pretzel for D&J to have something. I don’t know what they get (milkshake?) because I got a call from the NJians. I finish the call and we head to the Virgin Megastore. We split up in there and wander around a bit. There doesn’t seem to be many sales for a place that is about to close.

I get myself a book, earhooks and my receipt now says it is 12:29pm. We hook up with Dom and I see ......

















......the balloon in the air! Whoo-hooooo!

....so I go to check it out. Dom stops me to go into another store (Mickey’s Grove?) and when we get out, there’s now line of 15 people waiting for the ride! Argh! I just lost a bunch of time. I get upset and D scurries away to go shopping somewhere.

J stays with me as we wait in line for a flight, but she stays in the shade due to her very fair skin. I pay for the ride and my receipt says it is now 1:04pm. We are the 3rd group, I think, so I’m trying to calculate if we have enough time to do this, visit a couple of stores and make it back to POR by 2:30pm. I think we can.

So official!

Our Boarding Pass:

Other flight coming in:

Down the gangplank we go!

J makes a little friend on the flight. So cute! We finally get to go up and it is the greatest thing! Once up, you can walk around as long as the others are in step with you since you cannot lopside the balloon. It only takes 5 people at a time, but really depends on the weather.

We can see the Epcot ball, the Tower of Terror and the deluxe resorts in the distance. As well as all of DTD, of course. I take a bunch of pics and video. We land and J says goodbye to her little friend.

During the flight:

Heading Down:

Homebase:

It was GREAT! I highly recommend it.

We visit the Lego store, J gets a pic with the lego girl with a cell phone. I have J do the same pose. We head over to World of Disney and J takes a pic with Aurora. I text Dom to make sure he knows we need to leave by 2pm to make our ME bus.

LOL! But I do forbid fanny packs!

This would probably be cuter with a skirt on:

We run into Mickey’s Mart to grab some surprise bags (I LOVE those things!). My receipt says 1:46pm. We very quickly do a look-see around Goofy’s Candy Co, but everything in there seems complicated.

Surprise Bag surprises:

Big ol' Mickey rice krispie at Goofy's:

You're welcome!

One last look to Characters in Flight:

I text Dom again since I don’t see him anywhere. I head for the boat since I’m right there and I have no idea why I didn’t think of the bus. It probably would have been faster. However, there was a boat right there waiting.

Dom texts back that he’s at the bus but it still doesn’t occur to me to take the bus, so I text back that I’m at the boat. He finally gets there and we board around 2pm. So, I start to breathe. However, to my horror, the CMs just hang and talk. The boat is completely full, so I don’t know why we aren’t moving. We finally go, make a stop at POFQ, where the CMs AGAIN stop to hang & talk. I am now officially in full panic mode.

We finally make it to POR and take off running to the ME station, only to see our bus turn the corner out of the parking lot. I am horrified and just beyond myself.

The luggage people are not helping by just shrugging. I am amazed at their complete indifference. One helpful CM says to check if we can ride on the 3pm pickup.

We get our carry-on out & I ask if my checked in luggage went on the bus without me. I get blank stares. I am getting very frustrated, so I go back into the resort with Jenna. Dom went off somewhere. She escapes to the bathroom where, I’m sure, there is another flurry of phone calls.

I go to the concierge and get a taxi number and explain what had happened with the ME luggage CMs. He seems shocked and apologizes. He suggests going to Bell Services and checking on 3pm ME bus. I return to our bags and J quickly gets off the phone and we head outside to Bell Services. The CM there is very nice and learns the 3pm ME bus is full. I decide to order a taxi and confirm my luggage went to the airport.

We finally find Dom, outside in some corner, drinking and talking on the phone. If I didn’t seem him, I was just going to leave without him.

*SIGH* So, NOT the way I envisioned ending a Disney Birthday Celebration.

We are definitely not the only ones since there is a family that is in the same predicament. They also order a taxi but offer to share, which is such a nice thing to do. A little Disney magic between all this craziness is definitely appreciated!
However, I did not take them up since they were a family of 5 with luggage and we were 3 with luggage, so it would need to be a rather large taxi.

Both of our taxis roll up at the same time, ours is this van and there is a regular taxi. It should be the other way around but the taxi drivers say they have to pick up who they were called for. So, the three of us pile into the big van taxi.

I am completely silent all the way there and I’m sure it is uncomfortable all the way around. We get to the airport in short order. Dom pays!

Dom still has to check his luggage, so we wait until he does so. He should already have his boarding pass, but I think they re-issue it just to be safe. I did check ours on the kiosk and we are all good. And he kept a bunch of things since J & I can still bring another bag on the plane with us. Argh.

We get through security to the monorail to our gate. This part, thankfully, goes fairly smoothly. The blessed thing is we are fine on time for our flight, so I head off with J to get some food and coffee. I’m sure J made her phone calls home to calm down the NJ people and D plays on his laptop.

We board and I continue the travel journal, read and listen to music. We touch down and head over to luggage where it takes an additional 30 minutes to get it, while my sister circles the airport. Dom is outside most of the time. Luggage forwarding is sounding better and better these days!

My sister drives us to my house and then I drive J home, about 45 minutes away at 11pm. So, I finally end my day at around midnight.

*****************

In the following weeks, I get the online photo album together (all properly labelled ad separated), border up my Photopass, write up a trip report (J will get a edited version of this one) and place together J’s binder with all the momentos of the trip (b-day cards, BDay FP, park card, meal photos, etc). I buy a cute hot pink beach bag, place the binder inside and give it to her. I'll add a CD of all pics as soon as I get the Photopass ones and the edited TR later.

The Greatest Thing of All:​

I did receive a very pretty thank you note from Jenna AND in the mail a few days later.....











.....received my original Chef mickey photos! How cool was that!

I made sure to send a thank you note to the Contemporary on Mickey Mouse stationary.


Up Next: Photopass pics and Videos. The videos are AWESOME!!!

 

[dawnbu40]

Great update! Looks like you all enjoyed DTD! My DH and DD did the balloon ride and they loved it too! How nice of her to send you a thank you card! It shows she must have really appreciated all you did for her!