Walking for my Dream (Comments welcomed)

[hockeygirl]

Hey Carole! I hope you had a great Mother's Day and you are enjoying your trip! Can't wait to hear all about it when you get back!!

 

[keenercam]

Hi, Carole! Just wanted you to know I am thinking of you and hoping your trip is absolutely awesome! Can't wait to hear about it, and especially your DD's reaction to La Nouba. My DDthen16 said it was the most indescribably awesome thing she'd ever seen.

 

[CaroleD]

Loved,loved loved my trip!!!! I am so glad I trained for the walking first. I bet we walked 5 or 6 miles a days every day easily. Erin...my DD's friend did not and suffered with blisters and muscle pain for the first few days. She was a trouper though and didn't whine. I had warned her to start walking training but being young I think she thought that would only apply to the old lady in the group. lol. Even DD got a blister and she had been training with me. My feet served me well.
My cold disappeared the day I started my vacation. Yeah! But DD ended up with the sniffles for two days. Guess it wasn't allergies after all. We started off our vacation with a huge shopping day at Great Lakes shopping centre in Michigan close to the airport in Detriot. Then we stayed overnight near the airport as we flew out early in the morning the next day. It was fun doing that cause it felt like our vacation started a day early. And the girls loved the shopping mall.
I'm off to do a 10K walk this morning. I'll continue this thread later. Cam I hope your race went well. I'll get over and read your journal soon. Denise you are so funny! Back soon.

 

[hockeygirl]

I am so excited that you had an awesome trip!!!!! Can't wait to hear about it!

I hope your 10k went well this morning--that is so great that you are getting right back into your training!!

 

[toystoryduo]

I'm glad to hear that you had a great trip, Carole! Will you be doing a trip report?

How did your 10K go? That is wonderful that you are getting back in to your training so quickly.

Have a wonderful week!

 

[CaroleD]

Thanks Laurie and Tracey,
I've been feeling like the March Hare since I got back. Right back to work doing nights the next day and all weekend. I'de like to sit back and catch up on everyones journals. Hopefully this week will be better time wise. I'm glad I got my 10K walk in with my walking group. Today I'm going to walk to and from work which will give me my 6K walk that I have to do Tues.
Tracey I want to record my trip on this thread. Slowly I guess. That way when I need a Disney fix I can revisit.
My DD is 23 and Erin, our friend and incidently our hairdresser is 24. I worried a bit about Erin as she is allergic to peanuts and shellfish and is also a chickitarian. No red meat for that girl. Disney handled that beautifully. Each table service we got a visit from the chef. That turned out to be a highlight of our meals. We loved it.
We arrived at noon to POFQ. So beautiful and it is wonderful having everything so close. My check in was a hoot. I got Victoria who was "earning her ears". Somehow I don't think its going to happen. She kept saying "I wish I was at home" while she was checking me in. I had a huge list of questions...none of which she could answer. But I'm not one who doesn't get my questions answered. I finally nicely suggested she get someone who can answer them for me. I got another "Wish I was at home" statement and then she got help. Poor Victoria. She was not feeling the magic. I did get the building I had requested. Number two. And a nice courtyard view as it is a standard room I thought that was a bonus. And our room was ready so we stowed our carry on stuff and headed for the boat to DDT. Magical Express was magically going to deliver our luggage.....and it did.
The boat to Ddt was great. Only took about 15 minutes. And we headed straight to Earl of Sandwich. Best counter service ever!!!!! Then we went to DisneyQuest. That was fun. Pirates of Carabean was my favourite experience. We didn't have to wait more than 5 minutes for anything. Actually the whole trip was like that. The longest we waited for a ride was probably 20 minutes all 9 days!!!! After that we went to La Nouba. Our mouths were open for the next hour and a half. Really I am in awe of the talent it takes to bring that show together. The Cirque store turned out to my favourite shopping spot too. I bought a purse and a top there. The girls found it pricey but I'de rather buy one or two things I'll use alot than 10 things. Probably cause I really don't like shopping.
Then it was on to Wolfgang Pucks. Turned out to be one of our favourite table services. Erin had one of her first of her many chicken meals. The girls wanted to take our waiter home to Canada. He was pretty cute. And their first Disney TS was a very positive experience. BEST Key Lime pie ever!!!!
We headed back to POFQ by boat to find our luggage all there. Yeah Magical Express. And Garden Grocers had delivered our order. So I looked after organizing the room stuff while the girls went swimming. We had an early start the next day to Animal Kingdom so we were all in bed by midnight with a YIKES 6:30 wake up call put in. It was a grand day and looking back I wish I could repeat it all over tomorrow. I love the first day excitement when everything is new. Sadly I'm off to work tonight instead.
Next installment...Animal Kingdom.

 

[goldcupmom]

Sounds like you had a wonderful trip, Carole! And, your walking is fantastic! Wish I could find a walking group like that.

Have a great rest of the week and weekend!

 

[CaroleD]

Thanks Julie. Its keeping me motivated having the walking group. I was to do 6K today so I walked to and from work. Thats actually 6 miles but I'm an overachiever. Not sure if I would have if I didn't feel the group would be doing the same thing in their spare time. It was pretty tempting this morning when I got offered a ride home this morning after working 12 hours but I declined. I'm sure my co-workers think I'm insane.

Tomorrow I do hill training with my group and I intend to work in the garden all day before that. The wedding is looming up on me and I want my garden to look fantastic. Little garden pride issue happening.

Back to Animal Kingdom. I'de never been before-the only park I've never seen. I loved it! Everest rocks and so does the Lion King show. We arrived in time for the rope drop. The family beside us got picked for opening the park. We had talked to them before this happened and they had already done this before. They had two cute blonde children. We said we needed a couple of cute kids to borrow. Amazingly parents kept offering their kids up.
We talked to so many strangers on our trip and with the crowds so low we would keep running into them. One family yelled out "Hey Canada" whenever we saw them.
Our plan was to spend the morning at AK, the afternoon at Blizzard Beach and then EMH at AK. Didn't happen. lol. We could not seem to leave the AK park. I was glad we stayed because the parade was awesome. I had purchased "Magic" in the form of Disney purses to give out to crying little girls we saw crying from being too tired. I had meant to go back to the Dollar Store to get something for boys but ran out of time. We had one for each day in the park. We saw this little 4 year waiting for parade who was crying so Kim gave her a little purse. It worked and she stopped crying but she was too shy to say thank you as her parents wanted her too. We had told the parents we didn't need a thank you, we were just glad it made her time happier and we walked on further into the parade line. Then the dad and little girl came up about half way through the parade and the little girl came up to Kim and in Spanish said the nicest thank you. She was so sweet.
The theming at AK really appealed to me. I could have stared at the Tree of Life for hours. I kept discovering more animals. My 20 year companions weren't into quiet contemplation. Though Erin with her mega blisters should have considered sitting. We ended up visiting the first aid station for more bandaids. She ended up with a blood blister on top of normal blisters. Poor girl. I found AK of all the parks was doable in one day which I liked. We really felt we had seen and done everything. Though I never found "Devine". I did find Wes Palm and PIpa. I would love to have gone back and spent more time enjoying each area. We did get to see the baby Spoonbills.
Animal Kingdom became my favourite Park after Magic Kingdom. MK has the magic I feel. AK is beautiful. A Bugs Life is a hoot. Though there were some traumatized children in there that may need extensive therapy in later life. Kilamajari Safari was fantastic. We went first thing in the morning and saw a lot of animals. I did find it alot of walking and a bit hot. But having read on the Disboards I was prepared for that. I was glad we did it on the first day as it got progressivelly hotter each day. They were calling for rain and thunderstorms every day we were there. I think it rained twice at night late during the nine days. Otherwise it was beautiful.
We left the Festival of the Lion King until last and what a great way to end a day!
We got home and swam in the pool and checked out the hot tub. Next day...Epcot.

 

[DisDee]

Hi Carole, I love reading about your trip...it takes me back to WDW! We are leaving for Florida on June 1st, but we're not going to the parks this time, just doing a road trip. We're staying at SSR and plan to go to Typhoon Lagoon, DTD etc.

Continue posting your trip reports...they're great!

 

[toystoryduo]

Hi Carole,

I am loving your trip report! I think it's a great idea to put it in your journal where you can return to it when you need a little Disney in your day.

Because Tusker House is closed during our trip in September, we decided not to go to AK this time around. I've been waiting for almost 3 years to eat there! Now, Disney is turning it into a buffet.... I will miss the Lion King show and the Safari, but we will most likely go to the Animal Kingdom in December when Tusker House is open again.

I love how you spread the Disney magic by giving that little girl a purse. Sounds like that made her day!

Can't wait to read more of your report! Have a great day, Carole!

 

[keenercam]

Carole -- I am so glad you had such a great time and on being totally prepared for all the walking. That must have made you feel so great!

I am loving your trip report. When we were down there for the Minnie 15k, we didnt' go in the parks at all, except when the race course took us through MGM and EPCOT. We'll be down there again for 2 nights and a day before our July Wonder cruise, but again, no parks. I will be in dire need of a park fix by the time we get down there for the Tower of Terror 13k in October. In the meantime, I will live vicariously through your trip reports.

Oh, I just remembered what I was going to ask you -- did you get to see the Nemo show at AK? It is absolutely awesome!!!

 

[CaroleD]

Hi Denise....Typhoon Lagoon was my favourite water park. Loved the wave pool!
Tracy and Cam thanks for reading my report. One day I will be doing a race I hope with you Cam. My next race is a ten K in June. And yes I did see the Nemo show. It was great. Erin however said about halfway through that she was going to be sick. Now she is an adult so I figured that was a private thing and didn't need my assistance. So Kim and I enjoyed the rest of the show and we met up with Erin afterward. Apparently that is her bodies way of dealing with foods that have one of her allergens in it in a slight degree. And AK does not have a table service so it must have been something from the counter service we went to that had a cross contamination of nuts or shellfish. Luckily it was the only time this happened.

Tonight was a hill climbing night. Just 4 hills....though it didn't feel like just "4" when I was doing them.

On to Epcot. This park was the one I was looking forward to most because of the topiaries. And they were awesome. I think I took a picture of each and every one. We headed to Soaring first thing and I loved it. I wanted to get right back on but it made both the girls dizzy. Darn!!!! Hmnnnn....but they could do Test Track twice!!! Then we took in a show "Honey I shrunk the Audience" Cute. The World Showcase was open by then. Now this was a mistake. I forgot Future World closed at 7. And we missed because of that Ellens Energy Adventure. We knew we were coming back Friday night during EMH's to do the Space stuff but Ellen is not open during that. Oh well...gives me another reason to come back.
We loved the World Showcase. Had lunch at Le Cellier and I've decided if you haven't had their duck appetizer you haven't lived. Though Erin made little quacking noises and reminded me how cute the mallards are I've been taking pictures of. Did I mention the girls love to shop. Well they were in their glory in the World. Supper ADR was at Rose and Crown and I requested and got a great patio spot at 7:45 for Innovations. So we sat and had dinner and had desert to fireworks. Thanks again to DIS advise!!!
We headed back home after and the girls wanted to go to Pleasure Island. I said I'de go but just to the Adventurers club and they could do whatever they wanted. We were sleeping in the next day. The Adventurers Club was a hoot. The girls lasted about ten minutes but as there was a lack of dancing they wandered off and left me alone. I stayed for the whole show moving from room to room with the crowd nursing a smoothy and then headed home on the bus.
About 2PM the girls arrive home. They had met a couple of cast members....OK Goofy is forever ruined for me now forever. Turns out he has red hair and likes my DD. And he has a friend who works at Universal who also likes DD. Kim doesn't choose Goofy. She prefers Universal guy. Whew. Bad enough Goofy has red hair but I could not deal with Goofy holding my DD's hand. These cast members now keep popping up during the next 6 days. More of that later. Funny how they keep being in the same park we are. HMNNNN.... Now DD is not much of a drinker and she (and the rest of us) now have an unpleasant night while DD deals with the spins and everything that goes along with that. They both swear off Pleasure Island after that. Thank goodness.
My highlights of Epcot...Soaring and the Topiary and Innovations
My low....the aftermath of Kims pleasure island adventure.
Tomorrow-Typhon Lagoon and back to Epcot

 

[toystoryduo]

Epcot is my favorite park! We're eating at Le Cellier's for the first time in September and I can't wait! (We've had the cheese soup and pretzel bread to go, but we have never eaten at the restaurant.)

I am loving your trip report! Can't wait to read about the next installment. Somethings tells me that the friendly cast members will make another appearance.

Have a great day Carole!

 

[CaroleD]

You are so right Tracy...Goofy and Universal dude make several more appearances. You will love Le Cellier!

Tonight I did 5 K with my walking group. Funny how 5K seems like not much anymore. My walking partner has developed new blisters but she is pretty determined. Just means we still aren't walking very fast. It will be interesting when DD joins us for the half marathon clinic in June because she is a quick walker. Not sure how that will work out.

Day 4 in Disney is kind of our free day. We decide on Typoon Lagoon. We have an ADR for Marrakesh Restaurant in Morocco at Epcot for 6:30 and their is EMH at Epcot that night.
We sleep in till 9:00. WooHoo!! Everyone feels better for the extra rest. Although Kim is still feeling the results of Pleasure Island. But she is a trooper and doesn't complain. Just looks a little pale from time to time. The water park was great. Loved the wave pool! And the lazy river. The slides are great but really the wave pool was what made the day for us. We finally are waterlogged and head back to POFQ to freshen up for dinner. Now I hope I don't offend anyone who loves Marrakesh but I was disappointed. I tend to rate a restaurant not just on the food but also on the cleanliness of the bathroom. I figure if the bathroom isn't clean and thats the part the public sees then what is the condition of the kitchen??? Well the bathroom was disgustingly dirty. We had already ordered so I couldn't just leave. But it made it hard to enjoy the meal. Which was too bad because it was tasty. I was just squeamish by that point. The girls thought it was OK but nothing like Le Cellier or Rose and Crown. The belly dancer was very good though.
We stayed on at Epcot and did Mission Space-the easy version and the other Space one that looks like a golf ball. They were both fun and not scary at all. Test Track was down so we were glad we did it twice yesterday. Soaring had a huge line up so we went to the Land and rode through the greenhouses. We all loved that. I'm still in awe of all the Topiaries in the park. Oh and I almost forgot....the girls wanted a wee nap before coming to Epcot (Pleasure Island after effect again)so I came early and they met me at Marrakesh. And I saw the concert with Davy Jones before they met me at the restaurant. Now when I was a teenager Davey Jones was a heart throb of mine. So I was thrilled!!!! The girls had no idea who he was of course.
Now during the evening Universal dude and Goofy are in the park and there is many texts happening on the cell phones. But we never do end up meeting up with them that night. Just alot of text messages. That does seem to keep Erin and Kim amused while we wait in line. By now I'm curious what the mystery boys look like but am also happy Epcot is so big. We end up heading home early as we have to get up early to catch the Mears shuttle in the morning.

My highs of the day...Davey Jones and the wave pool
My lows...Marrakesh's bathroom and a vivid imagination of the kitchen

Next day--Universal Islands of Adventure, Spectromagic

 

[CaroleD]

Universal Islands of Adventure and Magic Kingdom Spectromagic.....

We take the Mears shuttle to Universal. Its $16.00 for return trip and picks us up at our resort. Nice. Off we go to play at the Islands of adventure. First ride The Hulk. Not my cup of tea at all. I felt like my skin was being pulled backwards. There were many rides I loved especially Spiderman. I had purchased fast passes for this park so every ride had no wait. We had a little glitch when our passes didn't print out for the day so had a fairly long wait to get that sorted out at guest relations. Very frustratating and I was hot...my one whiney time at a park.
We all noticed that although Islands of Adventure was fun it was missing
something. It doesn't have the magic of Disney. But also it just doesn't have spots in the shade to sit and relax. We went from ride to ride without breaks in between except lunch and a snack. We finished the park by 3 and
headed home.
Spectromagic was at 9 at MK and I want a good spot at the train station's balcony so my plan is to get there at 7:30. We have a nap first. Yeah for naps. And the girls get in a swim too. And then off to MK.
We feel it as we come up to the gates. This is where the magic lives!!!! I head straight up to snag a spot for the three of us on the train stations balcony. Thanks DIS again. Its a great spot! The girls go to get us counter service meals to eat while we wait. They are glowing being in MK. It was so relaxing eating our supper on the floor watching people go by and chatting with the other people on the balcony. Its getting close to time for the parade and two families are now behind us with 4 little girls. We invite the children to sit in front of us at the railing and they made Spectromagic so much better for us. They were so enthusiastic as each float came in view that it made it more fun for us. We loved the parade...so glad we saw it!!!!
After the parade we leave the park. Electric Light Pageant is floating by as we are leaving...more magic! We are coming back two more times to MK. We are tired and have another day at Universal Studio's tomorrow.

My highs...Spectromagic and Spiderman
My low...dealing with the missing passes at Guest Relations at Universal

Next day
Universal Studios and MK and I finally meet the mystery boys

 

[wdw4us]

Hi Carole:

Sorry I haven’t posted. It’s been busy here. Hardly any walking – shame on me. We have been working in the yard and the landscaper came yesterday so that process has started.

The contractor came on Weds to tear down a wall between two rooms to make a large quilt studio/drawing room so my house is a disaster area and that is where the computer is so I haven’t been able to post much as it is I’m doing this from work.

I LOVE reading your reports and agree 100% with your opinion of Universal. One year we went there for a long weekend BEFORE we went to Disney. On our last night I made my husband get us a cab to go to the MK I just couldn’t stand not being HOME. Hopefully I’ll be up and running next week, both on the pavement and on the computer.

Have a good weekend,

denise

 

[hockeygirl]

Hey Carole--I love your trip report!! IT gives me a dose of disney that I so deperately need right now! I miss Disney!! Sounds like you all had an awesome time!!! Can't wait to read the rest of the report.

 

[CaroleD]

Denise, I'm sooooo jealous of your quilt studio to be. Lucky you! It will be two years before I get my space back.

Laurie since I've gotten back I keep wishing I was still there. The wedding stuff is looming and I'm feeling pressured. Too little time and too much to do. Yikes!!!

 

[CaroleD]

We really enjoyed Universal Studios. Much less hectic than Islands of Adventure. And we enjoyed the preshows. I even got picked for a stunt demo..I'm dropped 40 feet off a ledge. Or at least they make it look like I was. That was fun. Our favourite was Horror Makeup Show. Very funny cast members. Jaws was good too. We finished the park and headed back for those life saving naps.
We just had to go back to MK for more magic. Its EMH's at MK and we walk on to every ride. Space Mountain was my favourite. Mickeys Philamagic was my favourite show. And Peco Bill makes THE BEST hamburgers ever.
And lo and behold the mystery boys find us in the park. Now how did that happen????? Neither one looks like a bad kid---no mothers nightmare here. Thank goodness. Kim looks thrilled but Erin is finding the whole thing a little old by now. So we watch Wishes, from behind the castle. It feels like the fireworks are happening all around us there. A couple of days later we see it from the front and I preferred the back. Anyway Erin and I take off to ride Cinderellas horses. Kim who normally would love that hangs with the boys. Really! Luckilly Dumbo is another matter. The boys depart, apparently their was talk of Pleasure Island but Erin said NO. Thank you Erin!
We've had a tireing but happy day. We ride the monorail just to say we did and then head home for a swim.

Highes-getting to pretend to drop 40 ft and Mickey's philimagic
Lowes-not a one

Next day-Blizzard Beach and Fantasmic and the boys

 

[toystoryduo]

Can't wait for the next installment.... Have a great weekend!