Two Bunnies Return to WDW

[jwhtewolfd]

Wow you have a long list . I still have a lot of my stuff packed from the May and July trip. I always pack a huge medical bag and all of that is still packed. I can't pack clothes yet because we are wearing all of our summer clothes right now. I payed off my trip today so I am excited about that .

Yay! Congrats.

You do have a long list! So organized are you!

And what is the Sharpie for?

What ISN'T the Sharpie for????

I almost always carry a Sharpie (especially at work). It's mostly for autographs at WDW, but you'd be surprised how often you need a Sharpie when you have one on hand.

I know the list looks long and intimidating, but all the park stuff (p) fits in one small backpack, and all the rest of the stuff fits in the trunk of my Nissan Sentra. So it's not as bad as it looks - I swear!

 

[jwhtewolfd]

Pet Peeve - pictures of the castle with the top spire cut off. It's just wrong.

...Days Left Until 2009 Walt Disney World Vacation
74 - Tower of Terror, 199 feet tall, is the highest attraction at WDW
73 - The Magic Kingdom can hold 100,000 guests
72 - There are 557 fireworks firing cues during Wishes
71 - Pirates of the Caribbean opened in WDW December 15, 1973
70 - Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom can fit inside Epcot's Land pavilion
69 - Donald Duck's birthday is June 9, 1934
68 - Bay Lake is a natural lake; Seven Seas Lagoon is man made
67 - Tower of Terror "falls" faster than gravity by being pulled down

 

[jwhtewolfd]

Tony went and braved the journey through the evil empire known as Wal Mart. He came away with rain ponchos, SPF 70 Coppertone Sunscreen spray, moleskin, new socks and ziplock bags. All we need are traveling snacks and we'll be ready to go. And we know better than to buy those until right before we go. Otherwise we'll just end up having to buy them again.

I had located all the other leftover supplies from last year, and have subsequently misplaced them again. But we are planning massive house cleaning in the coming weeks, so they will re-surface. After that, we just have to chuck some clothes in the bag, and off we'll go.

We debated on using the shoulder sling/half backpack vs. the NWF backpack. I might bring the smaller one just in case, but the pros of the slightly bigger backpack won out.
1. bottle holder on the side for gatorade (we like the gatorade bottles for the wide mouth, easy to add ice water to once the gatorade is gone)
2. spare room for souvenirs

It should be better than the bulky messenger bag from last year. Here's the contents breakdown:
- ziplock with 8 AA batteries (enough for 4 battery changes)
- 2 rain ponchos
- ziplock with 2 doses each of advil, tylenol, pepcid and gas-x (12 pills total), neosporin to go spray, a sheet of moleskin, tiny fold up scissors, 5 band aids, small vial of eyedrops, and one spare contact for each eye
- 2 handheld fans
- trip book
- 1 bottle gotorade (in the outside holder)
- possibly the camera that Tony might use

So it's really not a bad load. I might even toss in an extra pair of socks if the pack looks too empty.

In my bag, which will be my normal small purse, I'll have:
-my camera
-all memory cards
-KTTW cards
-sharpie
-blistex
-maybe a credit card, haven't decided yet
-itenerary/ADRs/confirmation numbers

It's getting so close I can taste it! Oh wait, no. That's just me reading food porn before lunch. I've GOT to stop doing that.

...Days Left Until 2009 Walt Disney World Vacation
66 - The water flows upwards in the Imagination pavilion fountain
65 - Mickey Mouse's birthday is November 18, 1928
64 - Test Track is WDW's fastest attraction; top speed is 65 mph
63 - 2,000 acres are mowed 3 times a week - 450,000 miles a year (kinda lame that Tony can't keep up with our little lot)
62 - Donald Duck's first film was "The Wise Little Hen"
61 - Bay Lake, behind the Contemporary, is over 340 acres
60 - Walt Disney only attended one year of high school
59 - Epcot's Fountain of Nations can shoot water 150 feet into the air
58 - Epcot is twice the size of the Magic Kingdom

 

[disneygirlinnj]

WHERE have I been!??!?!? This wasn't subscribed for some reason but I see on page 2 I said I subbed in! AHHH I missed so much! Awesome ADRs... we'll be at some of the same parks on some days (I know AK...and I think an Epcot day...I'm drawing a blank right now lol). I might also be doing MNSSHP so we'll see!

 

[jwhtewolfd]

WHERE have I been!??!?!? This wasn't subscribed for some reason but I see on page 2 I said I subbed in! AHHH I missed so much! Awesome ADRs... we'll be at some of the same parks on some days (I know AK...and I think an Epcot day...I'm drawing a blank right now lol). I might also be doing MNSSHP so we'll see!

S'ok. Sometimes I just talk to myself. Looks like alot of us end of September-ers are picking the same parks on the same days. I can't wait for MNSSHP. When I look back at my trip notes last year we didn't "accomplish" much at the party, but just walking around and taking it all in was awesome.

 

[jwhtewolfd]

Some thoughts from today's DIS board readings:

No Living with the Land! I always thought of this as one of the most "Epcot-esque" rides. I had it in our itenerary twice. To me, Living with the Land is to Epcot what TTA is to Magic Kingdom. TTA is SUPPOSED to be up and running when we go, but at this rate I wouldn't be surprised if they have Space, TTA, Living with the Land and Soarin' all down for refurb! What is going on over there?

Word of a 2011 release of another Pirates of the Caribbean is floating around. How exciting! Meanwhile, I'll be avoiding this Tim Burton/Johnny Depp version of Alice in Wonderland like the plague. And I thought the animated version was scary! I just can't fathom putting this story with this director and slapping "Disney" on it. How will that work?? I'm really baffled, but I'm in no hurry to find out.

A word on Tim Burton - It's complicated. Some of it I love; some I can't stand. Love, love, love Edward Scissorhands, Batman and Sleepy Hollow. Also ok was Beetlejuice, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Big Fish. Hate and cannot stand Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd. And in it's own separate category (and my college room mates agreed, so it's not just me) Mars Attacks was SO. SO. VERY. BAD., it is known as "The Movie Who's Name May Never Be Mentioned." This Alice monstrosity is sure to fall into one of the last two categories. Though I must admit I never thought there would be a movie worthy/bad-enough to join the movie who's name may never be mentioned.

A word on Alice in Wonderland - I kid you not, the animated Alice in Wonderland had me in tears when I was little. I think I watched it one time, and I've never been inclined to watch it since. Even now. I might be better able to appreciate the adult material now, but just thinking about it still makes me queasy. I can't even glance very long at the Queen of Hearts at MNSSHP! The weird thing - I couldn't really tell you what about the movie scared me so much. Probably all of it - the characters, the animation, the story. ::heebee jeebees:: But I was even scared of Sleeping Beauty when I was little. What can I say? I was a scary kid.

And we know I love cats, but Cheshire Cat? NO THANK YOU. Freaky. Freaky disappearing. Freaky smile. Freaky standing on his head. Freaky riddles. Freaky, freaky, freaky. Just FREAKY. In fact, the whole thing weirded me out so much, that I was just lucky I never had to read "Through the Looking Glass" for school. Because I wouldn't have. I'd've simply had to fail that test. I kid you not. And I was the kid that had read all the books three grades ahead of me on the summer reading lists.

Now that I'm thinking about it, there was a show on the Disney Channel a while back called Adventures in Wonderland. Somehow that was ok for me. But I think it was loads less trippy than the movie. (Had to go look it up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8eyTkt-6Lk Still don't like Cheshire Cat, but MC Hammer Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee is ).

EGADS! That was almost 20 years ago! Am I really that old? Did I really just say "egads"? Did I really just write three paragraphs on how much I dislike Alice in Wonderland? Yes, yes, and yes. Perhaps it's time for bed.

... Days Left Until 2009 Walt Disney World Vacation!
57 - Donald Duck's voice was performed by Clarence "Ducky" Nash
56 - The monorail system is 14.7 miles long
55 - The WDW buses travel 18 million miles yearly
54 - Walt Disney was the original voice for Mickey Mouse
53 - The Lego sea serpent in DTD is made of over 1,000,000 Legos

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

No Living with the Land! I always thought of this as one of the most "Epcot-esque" rides. I had it in our itenerary twice. To me, Living with the Land is to Epcot what TTA is to Magic Kingdom. TTA is SUPPOSED to be up and running when we go, but at this rate I wouldn't be surprised if they have Space, TTA, Living with the Land and Soarin' all down for refurb! What is going on over there?

53 - The Lego sea serpent in DTD is made of over 1,000,000 Legos

WHAT? What are they doing to the Land? I had not heard of it being closed.

Your comments about Alice had me .

That is a LOT of Legos! I like Legos. There were two big sets I thought were cool at the Lego store at DTD Disneyland but at $150 each, I passed on both. They were like 3 story city block scenes with a lot of detail.

 

[disneygirlinnj]

Some thoughts from today's DIS board readings:

No Living with the Land! I always thought of this as one of the most "Epcot-esque" rides. I had it in our itenerary twice. To me, Living with the Land is to Epcot what TTA is to Magic Kingdom. TTA is SUPPOSED to be up and running when we go, but at this rate I wouldn't be surprised if they have Space, TTA, Living with the Land and Soarin' all down for refurb! What is going on over there?

Word of a 2011 release of another Pirates of the Caribbean is floating around. How exciting! Meanwhile, I'll be avoiding this Tim Burton/Johnny Depp version of Alice in Wonderland like the plague. And I thought the animated version was scary! I just can't fathom putting this story with this director and slapping "Disney" on it. How will that work?? I'm really baffled, but I'm in no hurry to find out.

I'm crushed about Living with the Land too! I love the boat ride and cool stuff. Especially the Cinderella pumpkins! I wonder what they're doing.... I have to go browse the boards for news. I only saw the info over Twitter.

As for Alice... I'm kind of intrigued to see it. I'm not sure it will be kid friendly but I do like some stuff that Tim Burton does...especially with Johnny Depp and Helena.

 

[racefanof88]

I too was freaked out by Alice. I think it was the whole little girl disappears into a hole into a strange world thingie. Kinda scary for little kids .

 

[jwhtewolfd]

WHAT? What are they doing to the Land? I had not heard of it being closed.

Your comments about Alice had me .

That is a LOT of Legos! I like Legos. There were two big sets I thought were cool at the Lego store at DTD Disneyland but at $150 each, I passed on both. They were like 3 story city block scenes with a lot of detail.

I haven't read anymore today yet, but from what I gathered yesterday, it was something about bigger boats and they were having trouble making some of the turns.

I loved Legos when I was little. My aunt used to have a GIANT bucket of them that I'd play with when I slept over at her house. Those were the real little ones. We only had the big giant ones for babies at my house. It was pretty crowded at DTD when we went last year on a Sunday, so we didn't actually go INSIDE the Lego store. I'm hoping going on a Thursday this year will have us seeing the nice light crowds we got use to having in the parks and we can make it inside more of the shops.

I'm crushed about Living with the Land too! I love the boat ride and cool stuff. Especially the Cinderella pumpkins! I wonder what they're doing.... I have to go browse the boards for news. I only saw the info over Twitter.

As for Alice... I'm kind of intrigued to see it. I'm not sure it will be kid friendly but I do like some stuff that Tim Burton does...especially with Johnny Depp and Helena.

I'm not sure what it is about Tim Burton, but like I said, I love it or hate it. I defintely don't like the claymation/stop action. I'm not sure what about it, but it just doesn't sit right with me. I probably would have like Sweeney Todd better if I had seen it in high school. That was my dark, disturbing movie phase. I try to avoid that kind of stuff now.

I too was freaked out by Alice. I think it was the whole little girl disappears into a hole into a strange world thingie. Kinda scary for little kids .

Glad I'm not the only one. I mean, I know I'm a little off sometimes, but it couldn't be just me. Right?

 

[jwhtewolfd]

45 days left!

Ok, so I took this picture yesterday and there's really only 44 days left. Even Better.

...Days Left Until 2009 Walt Disney World Vacation
52 - The monorail has a maximum speed of of 50 mph
51 - Animal Kingdom toko 10 years and $800 million to design and build
50 - Epcot was the largest construction project in the US at the time
49 - Disney's Pop Century Resort opened December 14, 2003
48 - Walt Disney earned 32 Academy Awards
47 - The same company designed both the Barnstormer and RnR Coaster
46 - In 2008 the Magic Kingdom alone hosted 17 million visitors
45 - Walt earned his 1st live action film Oscar for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
44 - Donald's full name is Donald Fauntleroy Duck

 

[jwhtewolfd]

GRRRRRRRR!!!! Just read the all ears newsletter. I am SO MAD.

According to them, as of Oct. 27, ADRs go back to 180 days. GRRR! Why dump all that stress on all the people that have been agonizing over the 90 day limit all this time? Wasn't the excuse the economy and not wanting to set park hours so soon?? Has the economy made some sudden turn around I'm unaware of? Granted, it didn't mention anything about park hours, but come on! What was with the lame 90 days? I got up at 5 freakin' AM to make ADRs b/c of the increased competition at 90 days.



Not only that, but now Flights of Wonder is going to be closed while we are there. WTH!! This is another attraction we were going to see multiple times. What the hell is going on over there? What can they possibly be refurbing for Flights of Wonder for a month and a half?? I don't understand.

 

[jwhtewolfd]

Pet Peeve: People who post threads wondering if their precious vacation will be RUINED by a hurricane.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Pet Peeve: People who post threads wondering if their precious vacation will be RUINED by a hurricane.

That annoys me too....

 

[disneygirlinnj]

Pet Peeve: People who post threads wondering if their precious vacation will be RUINED by a hurricane.

I hear ya!

My other pet peeve? People who have mental breakdowns if they don't get Le Cellier or insist their 4 year old will NEVER EVER EVER forgive them if they can't get CRT.

 

[jwhtewolfd]

That annoys me too....

Yeah, and then when you point out what would be a real disaster and that airport delays and one day of park closures are just minor inconveniences, you get jumped on and told that "the OP has a right to worry." Yeah, you can worry. I worry too. I don't want it to happen either, but I'm not posting how disaterous it would be for a hurricane to ruin my vacation when I know good and well that at the same time it is probably destroying other people's homes and lives.

I hear ya!

My other pet peeve? People who have mental breakdowns if they don't get Le Cellier or insist their 4 year old will NEVER EVER EVER forgive them if they can't get CRT.

Yep. Sure, we all want the popular places. But your 4 year old won't forgive you? Your four year old doesn't even know what's going on most of the time. I doubt missing one meal in an overpriced restaurant is going to scar them for life. Maybe the little snot needs to learn to be grateful that she is IN WDW!

Stroll with me down memory lane:

I can honestly say I don't remember anything from when my parents took me when I was 5. I know we went b/c I was told so, but I can't conjure up a vivid memory. I THINK I remember the plane ride, but that could be a manufactured memory from being told that's how we got there. My mom says she was pregnant at the time, but I really can't picture anything in my head.

We went again when I was 10 and my brother was 5. We stayed in the Contemporary. I mostly remember the monorail, napping in the room and I think we rented bikes one day. We went one more time when I graduated high school and we stayed off site. Of course I have more memories of that time - we rode Haunted Mansion first, I sat on a bench while everybody else rode TOT and RnR, I liked AK and I was in charge of the video camera. Oh, and I had put some gel inserts into my shoes upside down! And walked that way for a whole day! OUCH. Shows how wise you are once you graduate high school.

Now I think I'll go flip through last year's pictures and get all excited for this one.

... Days Left Until 2009 Walt Disney World Vacation!
43 - Down Town Disney was originally called Lake Buena Vista Village
42 - Peter Pan's Flight opened in October of 1971
41 - Mickey Mouse has over 175 outfits in his wardrobe
40 - It's A Small World debuted at the 1964-65 New York World's Fair
39 - No bricks were used in building the Castle, just steel and fiberglass
38 - Splash Mountain covers 9.2 acres
37 - The large red Torii gate in Japan symbolizes honor
36 - Space Mountain has (had??) two nearly identical tracks: Alpha and Omega
35 - The town of Marceline, Missouri inspired Main Street, USA's design
34 - There are 24 sub-woofers in each Rock N Roller Coaster limo
33 - The wishing star during Wishes is 100 feet higher than the Castle
32 - The Torii gate in Japan is modled after a shrine in Hiroshima Bay

 

[jwhtewolfd]

Hmmm, lots of angry smilies in the last few updates...guess that means I need a vacation.

I confirmed all our ADRs online yesterday. Everything seems to be oktogo. Still can't get anything at the Plaza except for in the middle of Spectro or Wishes, which, I'm sure, is the only reason those spots are still open.

I was trying to rework the itenerary without Flights of Wonder and Living with the Land. It's sad to see those crossed off. Now I'm thinking I'll just leave those spots for buffer time. I think a little extra slow time on days 3, 4, 5 and 6 will be nice for the feets.

I made some crowd consessions when planning park days, not realizing that HS was sacrificed both times. Our first HS day is AM EMH and UTG's park to avoid that day, with a crowd level of 7 (the highest of any day we're there). Our second HS day is a Fantasmic! day, but at least the crowd level is only a 4. Are you ready to see how my brain arrived here?

MK on first day is non-negotiable.
Didn't want to be in Epcot on opening weekend of F&W.
Visit each park once during the first half of the trip and once during the second half.
Didn't want to be in MK on a Monday or a Saturday .
For the most part, we're moving from an earlier park closing to a later night show each day.
AK has to be same day as MNSSHP (makes me feel like I'm not "missing" something).
MNSSHP had to be earlier in the week in case of bad weather so we could try again later.
Had to see each night time show at least twice - except for Spectro, which is only showing ONCE!
Add in a little shuffling for ADRs.

And I'm sure I looked at some other things that I'm forgetting now, but that's the plan and I'm stickin' to it. We mostly do shows at HS anyway. We'll do TSMM and RnR at rope drop, squeeze in GMR once and FP Star Tours (if there's even a line). The rest is all juggling show times. I don't really consider the Backlot Tour a "ride" and I'm leaving plenty of time for smoke breaks/Animation Academy. I'd also like to see Mulch Sweat and Shears play, but it's not a top priority.

I'm timidly optimistic. I expect the crowds will be "bigger," but hopefully not necessarily actually "big." Last year with a day and a half in HS we ran out of things to do (after 5 Animation Academy classes) and purposely decided to stand in a 50 minute line for TSMM to kill time. And if we don't get to everything on the first day's plan, we'll just skip the repeats on the second day. See, I'm flexible like that.

Yeah, I know the spreadsheets suggest otherwise, but really it's just so we don't do the this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGTWmrnPdgk

Top Priorities:
Nighttime shows (Wishes, Illuminations, Fantasmic!)
Restaurants
MK - Pirates, BTMRR, Philharmagic, HM
EP - Soarin', F&W
HS - TSMM, RnR, Animation Academy, LMA!
AK - Safari, FoLK, animal trails, EE

The rest is gravy and the schedule is to keep us moving along. Last year on our last day we spent a good half hour in AK after Kali and lunch just drying our be-hinds on a hot bench while eating frozen Minutemaid lemonades. And this was on the path to Camp Minnie-Mickey, so not even too much people watching to do. But dang those frozen lemonades were good. I guess everything tastes better in Disney.

Which reminds me, I have some snack goals while we're there: funnel cake, big croissant, big chocolate muffin, frozen lemonde, frozen strawberry lemonade, the limone slushie in Epcot, chocolate milk, chocolate shake or soft serve (interchangable if done correctly), the chocolate wave at Coral Reef, the chocolate mousse at Coral Reef, egg rolls, popcorn (only b/c I know I'll want it once I smell it - can't help it, I'm addicted to salt), onion rings (also with salt), breadsticks, bugie from Tutto Italia...I need to go get some lunch now.

...Days Left Until 2009 Walt Disney World Vacation!
31 - The large fountain behind Spaceship Earth is called "The Fountain of Nations"
30 - The Universe of Energy pavilion generates solar powered electricity

 

[disneygirlinnj]

Yep. Sure, we all want the popular places. But your 4 year old won't forgive you? Your four year old doesn't even know what's going on most of the time. I doubt missing one meal in an overpriced restaurant is going to scar them for life. Maybe the little snot needs to learn to be grateful that she is IN WDW!

Stroll with me down memory lane:

I can honestly say I don't remember anything from when my parents took me when I was 5. I know we went b/c I was told so, but I can't conjure up a vivid memory. I THINK I remember the plane ride, but that could be a manufactured memory from being told that's how we got there. My mom says she was pregnant at the time, but I really can't picture anything in my head.

We went again when I was 10 and my brother was 5. We stayed in the Contemporary. I mostly remember the monorail, napping in the room and I think we rented bikes one day. We went one more time when I graduated high school and we stayed off site. Of course I have more memories of that time - we rode Haunted Mansion first, I sat on a bench while everybody else rode TOT and RnR, I liked AK and I was in charge of the video camera. Oh, and I had put some gel inserts into my shoes upside down! And walked that way for a whole day! OUCH. Shows how wise you are once you graduate high school.

Haha I totally agree! If it wasn't for pictures and stories they tell me, I don't remember anything from being that young. Possibly sitting in the hotel room finger painting with my cousins. And also for some reason I remember a waitress spilling a whole tray of soda on me when we were at Chef Mickey, or whatever it was called back then. Do I remember the parks and stuff? Not really!

Are you ready to see how my brain arrived here?

MK on first day is non-negotiable.
Didn't want to be in Epcot on opening weekend of F&W.
Visit each park once during the first half of the trip and once during the second half.
Didn't want to be in MK on a Monday or a Saturday .
For the most part, we're moving from an earlier park closing to a later night show each day.
AK has to be same day as MNSSHP (makes me feel like I'm not "missing" something).
MNSSHP had to be earlier in the week in case of bad weather so we could try again later.
Had to see each night time show at least twice - except for Spectro, which is only showing ONCE!
Add in a little shuffling for ADRs.

haha, we're on the same page...we have almost the same requirements too

 

[jwhtewolfd]

...I remember a waitress spilling a whole tray of soda on me when we were at Chef Mickey, or whatever it was called back then. Do I remember the parks and stuff? Not really!

That sucks. The fact that it happened is bad enough, but the fact that it's one of the few memories that stuck?

Oh, I forgot to mention lamb. I've never tried lamb before. I'm guessing my best chance to try it will be at Boma or F&W. I've had veal and venison. I wonder if it's like either of those.

 

[disneygirlinnj]

lamb isn't like veal...it might be like venison though but I honestly don't remember! I love lamb and could probably eat it every day. I'm drawing a blank now as to what restaurants have lamb down in the World!