Two for One: Double Disney Birthdays! *Meg nonTR upd 9/23* // *Help out Katie! 10/22*

[Megablocks]

Just a couple of things before my update -- tomorrow we can start playing the "this time next week" game with Katie, AND she graduates tomorrow! Congratulations, girlie! Happy graduation!

I also just wanted to share a picture of Kailyn before her junior prom (this is from two weeks ago.) I figured it is safe to share on here, since she tagged herself in the picture. None of the full-length pictures seemed to pass muster, so I won't post those, but her dress was BEAUTIFUL! It had a full skirt and the beading all over.

Day 4 (Monday February 15) part 2

My mom and I had passed a really nice, relaxing afternoon at Epcot and DTD (which I just remembered is where I also purchased some super-secret things for Katie), and my dad and Kailyn had been to DHS. We met back at the room and relaxed (well, they did; I wanted to get out), and decided to head to DHS for the nighttime EMH, which is something we've never gotten to do before.

I stopped to say hello to Bo.

I hadn't been on the GMR in AGES, so we decided to head for that. I think it was only about a 20 minute wait. I still get a huge kick out of seeing the previews and stuff while waiting in line.

We got the gangster. I think this one of those rides that I kind of have to be reminded that I actually really like, despite its cheesiness, but I think that's part of the charm. I remember always hating the "Alien" part, and I cowered in my seat during that part. However, I LOVE the ending with all the movie scenes. For some reason it always makes me tear up. I YouTubed it before our trip, actually, and cried a little.

We headed over here...

My mom doesn't do this ride any more since the drops changed, but she likes the gift shop.

I want to say that we rode RnRC two and two, or three and one, because I remember having to call to see where the rest of my family was, and they had found Mulch, Sweat, and Shears performing!!! We LOVE them!

This little girl was SO cute and so into it!

This was NOT our doing. We walked by and Oprah had on TSM glasses.

I took a picture of this...

...then I heard, "Meg, take a picture of me like that."

THEN, it was, "I'M the next American Idol!"

Kailyn was sitting down and texting. She texted people a LOT during this trip. She and I had that in common.

Since it was pretty crowded, we just decided to wander and then call it a night. People had to use the bathrooms, so I took a picture of a sign I never noticed -- "Desert Hot Springs Co." I thought it was cute!

Then, of course, there was "Meg, take a picture of this."

...I just noticed when I was looking for the picture on Facebook that it says "MGM"! There were also little doors that said "loading dock" and "shipping/receiving." I LOVE all the attention to detail.

Finally, this was on the way out. I think Kailyn was getting concerned I was going to drop her.

That was our night. I'm sorry I couldn't go more into detail -- this is what happens when you don't take notes.

Next: Happy birthday, Kailyn!!!, and a Haunted Mansion DIS meet with Christine (Tink9721)!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Congratulations on graduating, Katie!!!

Meghan, fun pictures of your night at DHS -- you know we always love seeing photos of Bo!

 

[DisKate]

Katie, when I was looking at your pictures on here (and sneaking peeks on Facebook, too, of course), I literally said "ohhh..." out loud because it looks so amazing! I love the fact that you could see SSE Could you see Illuminations from there at all? Or the stuff on SSE during/after?

I also love that you posted pictures of the views during night and day...like I was telling you before, your pictures are making me want to stay there so badly! I think I might have to do Beach Club first, though.

I am soooooooooo in love with the Boardwalk! You could see Illuminations and parts of Wishes from our balcony. Patrick has said if we ever stay there again he can't imagine having anything less then Boardwalk view, which is fine by me, as long as he's the one picking up the tab

Congratulations on graduating, Katie!!!

Thanks! (and you too Megs!) I can't believe the past four years are over with. It doesn't seem possible.

This time next week...well, I'll probably still be asleep! But the day will consist of finishing packing, getting the cats food and accessories together for my wonderful friends who are feeding him, and finishing any last minute running around. Then at about 4 we'll head to the airport for our 6pm (or 6:30, can't remember which) flight to MCO! We should be getting in around 9pm so at the hotel by 10pm? We're planning on grabbing a snack from the food court then crashing because MK is open until 3am the next day

We're also talking about maybe taking the new tour that's being offered, Walt's Inspiration (or something like that) so I'll let you know more about that later!

Have a great Saturday everyone! I'll try to post a graduation pick later...

 

[Megablocks]

Meghan, fun pictures of your night at DHS -- you know we always love seeing photos of Bo!

I really, really wish I had been able to cut out a speech bubble or something saying "hi Chelsea!" I love that Bo now gets dressed up for photo ops

I am soooooooooo in love with the Boardwalk! You could see Illuminations and parts of Wishes from our balcony. Patrick has said if we ever stay there again he can't imagine having anything less then Boardwalk view, which is fine by me, as long as he's the one picking up the tab

What other options are there for a view? That creepy clown pool or just parking lots and nothingness?

I would LOVE to be able to see those from the balcony! I didn't realize you could see SSE from your balcony until I saw your pictures, that is amazing!

Thanks! (and you too Megs!) I can't believe the past four years are over with. It doesn't seem possible.

This time next week...well, I'll probably still be asleep! But the day will consist of finishing packing, getting the cats food and accessories together for my wonderful friends who are feeding him, and finishing any last minute running around. Then at about 4 we'll head to the airport for our 6pm (or 6:30, can't remember which) flight to MCO! We should be getting in around 9pm so at the hotel by 10pm? We're planning on grabbing a snack from the food court then crashing because MK is open until 3am the next day

We're also talking about maybe taking the new tour that's being offered, Walt's Inspiration (or something like that) so I'll let you know more about that later!

Have a great Saturday everyone! I'll try to post a graduation pick later...

You or Patrick could also send me a picture and I could post it...however, since Charles and I are doing some super secret shopping when I get out of work at 5, it might have to wait till after... This box had better reach you by at least Friday!

Are you going to stay at MK till 3 AM? That was an experience I will never, ever forget, it was absolutely amazing. And I heard about that tour on another PTR, it sounds awesome!

 

[DisKate]

Here's a pic to get started until I can upload more graduation pics later

 

[Megablocks]

I can't wait to see more graduation pictures! I was so excited when you sent me that picture earlier today. I didn't get to tell you that I forgot I set my picture, etc., text tone to the "Disney Afternoon" ringtone that you sent me, so I was sitting in my car at a red light with Charles and Kailyn and got SO confused when I heard it I played it again for Charles later and, like me when I first got it, it took him a few seconds to place it, but then he remembered it. I love it!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Congratulations Katie!!

Great update Meg! Were those TSM glasses just randomly placed there?! Hahaha, I can't stop laughing. I'm glad you all had a fun end to the night in DHS.

 

[Megablocks]

Day 5 -- Monday, February 16 (Kailyn's birthday!!!)

Today was Kailyn's 17th birthday so we of course let her decide where we went today. Our only solid plans were a Chef Mickey's ADR around 5, when they opened for dinner, and a DIS meet with Christine Tink9721 at MK later on, I think going on the prior assumption that it was going to be our last night and we'd end up there. I wasn't sure where Kailyn would want to go after, but I think I was hoping for MK. I was also desperate to see Wishes.

Coming back from one of the parks a couple of days before, I stayed with my mom while she asked someone in the bakery part of the Pop food court about ordering a cake. We usually ended up cutting through Everything Pop and the food court to get back to our room, especially since we'd often just grab a quick snack. Since Kailyn is notorious for being a fairly picky eater, we were trying to remember what kind of cake she liked. I think we finally determined that a yellow cake with vanilla frosting would be the way to go.

I didn't have a lot of it, but what I did have was really good!

Kailyn's personality is very relaxed, laid back, go with the flow, etc. So when we were asking her, "so where do you want to go?", we heard a lot of, "I don't care." I don't know if it's because she's concerned about picking something that no one really wants to do or if it's just her really NOT caring (like I said, she is super laid back), but she finally decided on MK.

I had been texting with Christine because today was the day that she and her mom were supposed to be arriving, and she had been concerned about the snow, especially after what happened to us. I got a text in the morning saying that their flight was NOT canceled, despite the fact that it was snowing pretty hard. I was SO excited for my second DISmeet ever!

Since it was Kailyn's day, we let her pick the rides. Today was definitely the day that the Presidents' week crowds had descended on to the World...it was crowded, but definitely not as bad as when we went in April '08. We're used to crowds, so we just sucked it up. We headed for TTA, since it's a family favorite and Kailyn has very fond memories of riding it and Space Ranger Spin over and over and over with my mom while my dad, Mike, and I rode Space Mountain. There also might have been a time that they heard ME screaming on the ride.

The birthday girl!

Mom and the birthday girl!

I am pretty sure this was actually after I FIXED my hair...I was so grateful to have a bigger bag with a brush in it. And, yes, I was probably texting Katie. My family saw a lot of that. So does Charles.

You can kind of see the crowds beyond the little green men. The little green men totally made me think of Jackie's Connor!

Since Carousel of Progress is right near TTA, I asked if we could go there. I don't remember ever being on it, but I remember seeing some pictures on here. It was definitely on my must-do list, and I was so glad we did, because I thought it was SO cute! No one else seemed too enamored with it. I think my mom said that it was a good place for a nap and Kailyn said that she dozed off a couple of times. I did have the song stuck in my head and kept on singing it. Definitely want to do that again.

I will confess here that I did not have my camera out a lot, so I can't really remember exactly what we did next. I know that we stopped briefly to watch the castle show, and I took several pictures of the castle, because you can never have too many castle pictures. Only posting one because that is apparently all I uploaded. This was when Facebook and iPhoto were not cooperating with one another.

My favorite!

I was texting with Christine, because she and her mom had made it to MK! She told me that she was wearing a Sox jersey and I said that I was the girl with the black fleece and RENT bag with a "Celebration" pin on it. I think that they were at Casey's as we were watching the show, and then we decided to move on to Adventureland. The wait for PotC looked HUGE -- the line was outside and they hadn't rearranged the queue, so I guess it looked a lot longer/worse than it was. We stopped at Aloha Isle for a little snack to hold us over till Chef Mickey's. Everyone but me got a dole whip or dole whip float -- I got the orange twist one. No one else seemed to like it, but I loved it! I remembered to take a picture after I had already had some.

Instead of staying at MK, we decided to head to Epcot and hopefully ride SSE and Figment. On the way out, this guy was playing the piano at Casey's.

He was AMAZING and played SO fast! As he was playing, he noticed Kailyn's birthday button in the mirror and without missing a beat in his playing, he smiled and wished her happy birthday. I DID have video of his playing, but I, being myself, got aggravated with one of the settings on my camera and just deleted all of the pictures in that date range...including the videos. Anyway, he played "happy birthday" for her and it was very cute. She got to hit a key at the end.

Seeing this big old golf ball kind of gives me the same warm fuzzies as seeing the castle does.

We rode Journey into the Imagine and, I believe, SSE. I love SSE and I could go on it over and over again. I also admit that I love Figment. The whole ride is (for lack of a better word) trippy, but I love it.

Next: Chef Mickey's, more MK, a Haunted Mansion DIS meet, the sweetest thing EVER, and crying during Wishes.

 

[Megablocks]

Congratulations Katie!!

Great update Meg! Were those TSM glasses just randomly placed there?! Hahaha, I can't stop laughing. I'm glad you all had a fun end to the night in DHS.

Thanks Kelli! Yeah, the glasses were just randomly placed on Oprah. I thought it was hilarious! And it was a great night at DHS

 

[photographymom517]

Great updates, Meg!!!

I love those little green men...are they in one of the parades? I am excited to try a Dole Whip on my trip this year...it will be my first one. I never knew they existed until I found DIS! I loved all of your pictures from your update!

And congrats on Graduation, Katie!!!

 

[MeMom]

I was texting with Christine, because she and her mom had made it to MK! She told me that she was wearing a Sox jersey and I said that I was the girl with the black fleece and RENT bag with a "Celebration" pin on it. I think that they were at Casey's as we were watching the show, and then we decided to move on to Adventureland.

So did you guys not meet up then?

The cake looks nice.

That guy has been playing the piano there for so long. Wonder how many thousands of pictures he has been in?

Looking forward to many more pictures. Bella gets to have her first breakfast at Chef Mickey's on the Fourth of July.



Many congratulations to Katie! Best wishes for whatever you are planning for your future.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Katie, that's a great graduation picture!

Meghan, yeay for MK on Kailyn's birthday! The cake looks delicious! Yes, Connor loves the Little Green Men -- we are super excited about Toy Story 3 and are even planning to make LGM cookies to celebrate! (The recipe is in the latest D23 magazine -- super cute!)

 

[CanadianWDWfan]

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR GRADUATION KATIE!

The birthday cake looks so GOOD!

MK is a great place to spend a birthday!

So sweet for her to get Happy Birthday sung by the 'piano guy'.

I simply adore Dole Whip Floats!

I can't wait to hear about Chef Mickey dinner.
It will be a first for us to have a dinner there in August. We have done the breakfast, and loved it!

 

[Megablocks]

Great updates, Meg!!!

I love those little green men...are they in one of the parades? I am excited to try a Dole Whip on my trip this year...it will be my first one. I never knew they existed until I found DIS! I loved all of your pictures from your update!

And congrats on Graduation, Katie!!!

Thank you! And the LGM are on top of something in Tomorrowland -- I can't remember exactly what, but I love seeing them from TTA.

I also didn't know that dole whips existed until I started DISing, either! I think it's one of the things that my family is appreciative I found on the DIS. That, and the cream cheese pretzels and spicy cheese pretzels.

So did you guys not meet up then?

The cake looks nice.

That guy has been playing the piano there for so long. Wonder how many thousands of pictures he has been in?

Looking forward to many more pictures. Bella gets to have her first breakfast at Chef Mickey's on the Fourth of July.



Many congratulations to Katie! Best wishes for whatever you are planning for your future.

We did meet up, just not then. We met up when we went back to MK after Chef Mickey's, and rode HM together, so Christine can now vouch for the fact that I AM a wimp when it comes to the heads popping out from behind the tombstones. We met up the next night at AK for the nighttime EMH and she can also vouch for the fact that my dad really IS as crazy as I say he is. We don't actually have picture evidence of our first meet at MK because we knew we were meeting up the next night.

That guy was amazing! And I can't wait to see pictures from Bella's first Chef Mickey's meal!

Katie, that's a great graduation picture!

Meghan, yeay for MK on Kailyn's birthday! The cake looks delicious! Yes, Connor loves the Little Green Men -- we are super excited about Toy Story 3 and are even planning to make LGM cookies to celebrate! (The recipe is in the latest D23 magazine -- super cute!)

The cake was really good! I didn't have a lot of it because I made another Goofy's treat the day after, and I was very focused on finishing that because I couldn't bring it home. Are you going to take pictures of the LGM cookies? They sound really really cute!

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR GRADUATION KATIE!

The birthday cake looks so GOOD!

MK is a great place to spend a birthday!

So sweet for her to get Happy Birthday sung by the 'piano guy'.

I simply adore Dole Whip Floats!

I can't wait to hear about Chef Mickey dinner.
It will be a first for us to have a dinner there in August. We have done the breakfast, and loved it!

I think I had a very small piece, but from what I heard, it was really good.

I think we've probably spent all of the birthdays that she has celebrated at MK. Her birthday always happens to fall at a time that she and my mom are on vacation from school, so she's gotten to celebrate a lot of her birthdays in the World.

Dinner was SO much fun. Lots of characters, and we were really close to the buffet (which is very important to me ), and we got a lot of pictures!

 

[DisKate]

Thanks everyone! I have a month off and then I start graduate classes...so I don't really feel like I'm "done" but I'm getting there!

One week from today I will have woken up on our first day in DISNEY!!!!! And we'll probably head to the MK first thing, although it is Star Wars Weekend, so that could have some affect....I'm going to work on a loose itinerary later and hopefully post it.

 

[DisKate]

Here are a few photos from graduation on Saturday:

Also some great news! On the Passholder part of the Disney website it says there will be a special showing of the MSEP and the new fireworks on the 5th!!!!! Complete with "special glasses to enhance your experience" available only for passholders! And, we booked a room for October last night!!!!!

 

[Megablocks]

Day 5 continued -- Tuesday, February 16 (Kailyn's birthday!)

After Epcot, we decided to hop on the monorail to the Contemporary for Chef Mickey's. When we got up there, Kailyn and I amused ourselves by stepping just past the yellow line. We're simple and easily amused.

I tried to get a picture once we were inside and waiting to check in, but that didn't quite work. I think at this point I get was annoyed with it. She used to never get in pictures and now she was getting in them TOO MUCH.

We skipped the part where they take your picture since we already had a really nice one from 1900 PF and we figured we weren't going to get a better picture than that. Quit while you're ahead, right?

Pictures in no particular order...

I was up at the buffet when this was taken. See?

Donald is so itty-bitty! Kailyn and I were both sitting down for this. Please excuse our faces; we were laughing because he gave us bunny ears at first and then moved his hands down at the last second. I could feel my hair moving and knew what was happening.

I LOVE Goofy!

This is us in a nutshell...

I'm pretty sure this was when they were bringing out Kailyn's cupcake and the music was playing. I'm pretty sure the blurriness was caused by the fact that I was waving my napkin over my head like a maniac.

The birthday cupcake!

We left Chef Mickey's stuffed and satisfied. We were heading back to MK to meet up with Christine and her mom, and to finally see Wishes.

Continued in next post...

 

[Megablocks]

Continued from previous post

I just wanted to say that I am sorry, but I don't have any pictures from Wishes. I ended up not taking any and just enjoying it and being lost in the magic.

We entered MK again, and I had been texting with Christine again. She and her mom were by Haunted Mansion, and since we were heading that way, she asked if we wanted to ride with them. We found them quickly and ot in line. I can see from reading back in the report that we had a very lively group in the stretching room. Christine and I rode together, and my mom and Kailyn were right behind us. Christine got to witness that I really am as big a wimp as I say as I am when the heads pop up from behind the tombstones. I kept my hand over my mouth and squealed whenever it happened, even when I was expecting it. At the part where you are turning sideways, I heard from Kailyn, "psssst...psssst...MEG!" Then I heard my mom say, "oh, Christine's on that side!" I found out when we got off the ride that my mom had been hoping for me to be closer to her so that she could reach out and grab my arm.

After HM, we stood and chatted for a little longer, and then Christine and her mom headed to their ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern. We were planning on meeting up the next night at AK for the EMH so Christine and I could ride EE together. Little did we know, we'd end up riding it more than once AND end up riding some other rides together. Before we parted, Christine gave me a little LGMH to put on my bag! She even had the string!

When we parted ways, my family and I headed towards the castle. I am pretty sure I was almost skipping because I was SO excited to finally be seeing Wishes. We found a good spot to the right of the castle, right on the walkway that goes around either side, against the fence nearest to the castle. I was kneeling down and staring at the castle, watching it change colors, totally lost in the moment. I was so lost that I didn't even realize what was going on JUST to my left until I heard people start applauding and cheering. I stood up and looked over and saw a guy grinning and a girl wiping her eyes...she held up her hand so we could see a ring...he had proposed to her right before the fireworks started! It was the sweetest thing EVER and it made ME tear up (just remembering it is making me tear up, too.) Barely two minutes after this, the show started.

Wishes makes me cry to begin with...so already seeing what had happened next to me made me even more emotional. I was already teary, but as soon as I heard, "starlight, star bright..." I completely lost it. I just cried. Then I cried even more and felt giddy when Tink flew right over our heads. There's something about that entire show that makes me feel the magic more than ever, which is why I now have to see it on every trip. I would be happy seeing it every night.

After losing it during Wishes, I was able to compose myself as we headed to Tomorrowland. We had two sets of Fastpasses that we had gotten earlier in the day, so we were able to ride it twice in a row. The first time, it was my dad, Kailyn, and I, and the second time it was just me and Kailyn. I hadn't been on this since the refurb, and I was dying to see what it was like now. Kailyn had never been on it, and she was very curious, and I think a little nervous, about it. She kept on asking me what it was like.

"Meg, what's this ride like?"

"It's dark."

"Okay."

(three minutes later)

"Meg, what's it like?"

"Kailyn, I haven't been on it in years and they just redid it."

"What was it like before they redid it?"

"It was dark and fast."

"Okay."

As we were loading, Kailyn was behind me saying, "Meg, Meg, Meg. I'm scared. Meghan, I'm scared. Ohhhh, Meg." Then...we took off.

All I have to say about the refurb is WOW. It was so dark and so fast and you never knew what was coming next, and I LOVED it! I couldn't stop laughing when I got off and my legs felt like jelly. To me, that is the sign of a GREAT ride.

We enjoyed it just as much the second time around.

After Space Mountain, we headed out. As we were heading to the bus stop, the little show was going on around the lagoon! Naturally, I did not upload any of the pictures. It was really cute, though, and I was excited to see it because I never had before.

Have a terrific Tuesday, guys!

And...Katie leaves for Disney World in FOUR DAYS!!!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Great graduation pictures Katie!

Meg, I absolutely LOVE Wishes too. As soon as that music starts playing, the tears start. How absolutely magical to be proposed to there, at that moment!!

 

[Tink9721]

Congrats Katie!!!!!

I love the Oprah picture

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Your dad is hilarious

The crowds were SO bad at MK that day!!!! I always go that week and it's not usually like that

We don't actually have picture evidence of our first meet at MK because we knew we were meeting up the next night.

And because we forgot. We remembered the next night. MeMom we knew you'd be mad at us if we didn't take a picture

That was such a fun DIS meet!!!

I'm finally about to update my TR. A REAL update! I finally have a day without homework so I have time I have 17 more days of school When I'm done I'll have lots of DIS time. I'm tired of school getting in the way of my DIS time!