WDW and a Disney Cruise--What a way to Celebrate my Birthday!

[TLinden16]

Day 1--Friday January 19, 2007

I got out of bed at about 4:00 a.m. after a restless night’s sleep. I had been a bit concerned about getting to the airport this morning, as a slushy mix was supposed to hit Boston overnight, and I was worried about slick roads and flight delays. My sleepless night was for naught because the storm never really happened, and it was clear and dry when the town car picked me up at 4:45 a.m. that morning.

I arrived at Logan International Airport in Boston at about 5:30, 90 minutes before my 7:00 a.m. flight to Orlando for a night at Disney World, followed by a week on the Disney Magic (my first ever cruise), and two more nights at Disney World (including my birthday). I grabbed a bagel and cream cheese at Johnny Rocket’s at the airport, and headed to the gate to relax until flight time.

The flight was uneventful, and the plane landed within a few minutes of the scheduled arrival time. I quickly made my way to the tram to head to baggage claim. I think my bags were the last off the plane--it just took forever to get them. Bags finally in hand, I called my friend KarenNY, who along with Iluvdisney, were picking me up at the airport and would be my roomies on the cruise.

We drove over to Saratoga Springs Resort, where we were staying before the cruise. We were in a second floor studio in the Congress Park section of the resort. I really like the rooms at Saratoga Springs, but the resort itself is a bit too big for my liking. I like my resorts more compact and easier to manage.

We decided to go over to Wolfgang Puck’s Express for lunch. I ordered a barbecue chicken salad and crème brulee. KarenNY and Iluvdisney shared some kind of Chinese salad, and KarenNY got the butternut squash soup as well. My salad was very good. The barbecue sauce was very tangy, and not too spicy--although there was way too much of it on the chicken. The crème brulee was outstanding--very tasty. KarenNY and Iluvdisney seemed to enjoy their meal as well.

After lunch, we went to the World of Disney so I could buy some Disney Crocs. KarenNY and Iluvdisney didn’t really think that the Crocs would be very comfortable, but after trying them on, they realized that they were as comfortable as everyone says. We must have spent 20 minutes trying them on and picking out colors before we all walked out of that store with Disney Crocs on our feet--I got the black ones with a red strap, KarenNY got the red ones with a black strap, and Iluvdisney got the blue ones with a green strap. Throughout the trip, KarenNY and Iluvdisney talked about how comfy the Crocs were. We all had very happy feet.

Before leaving Downtown Disney, we took a picture of our feet in Crocs. Since we all have been to Disney World so many times, we thought it would be fun to get pictures of our feet in different places around the world--we even got others to stick their feet in for pictures.

We then walked back over to Saratoga Springs Resort to drop off our old shoes, and hopped on a bus over to the Animal Kingdom. KarenNY and I took a ride on Expedition Everest, and then we all went to see the Flights of Wonder Show. We also went on the safari, where we saw quite a few animals despite the lateness of the day.

We headed back to Saratoga Springs to change into warmer clothing before heading over to Epcot for a while. We went on Spaceship Earth and the Nemo ride at the Living Seas. I had not been on the Nemo ride yet. It was cute, but not something that I feel the need to rush back and see again anytime soon.

We then headed over to the Land to have dinner at the food court. I got the Mongolian beef with rice and noodles and a chocolate chip cookie. The beef was very tasty with a slight kick. It was good, but some of the beef was a bit on the tough side. The chocolate cookie wasn’t as good as the ones I’ve had on previous trips--it had a slight minty flavor to it that made it a bit unusual.

After dinner, we took a ride on Living with the Land, which I hadn’t done since they changed it to prerecorded narration. It was a good tour, and you definitely could understand the prerecorded voice better than many of the live guides I’ve had in the past--some of them just didn’t enunciate very well.

I headed out of Epcot to go over to Jellyrolls for a couple of hours. I arrived there a few minutes after 8:00, but no one was onstage yet. One of the piano players, Tommy, came over to me to say hello, and he explained that Michael, the piano player he was playing with, was stuck in traffic due to a car crash. Tommy was debating if he should go on his own, and I told him he should. Michael arrived within a few minutes, and they took the stage.

At 9:00, my beloved Scotty and Ray took to the stage. They were as wonderful as ever. I put a large tip on the piano to get them to sing “Drift Away” for me, which they sang along with Michael and Tommy at the top of the hour. If you ever go to Jellyrolls when Scotty and Ray are working, I highly recommend requesting “Drift Away,” as they do a wonderful job on it.

When they finished, I caught up with Scotty to tell him that I was leaving for the evening as I had been up for so long, and was very tired. I told him I would be back after the cruise. Ray happened to walk by as I was talking to Scotty, and he put his hands out and looked at his watch, trying to figure out why I was leaving so early. He gave me some good natured ribbing about my early departure, and I told him I would be back next Saturday to celebrate my birthday with them.

I headed out on the Boardwalk to call Iluvdisney and KarenNY to see if they were still at Epcot when I heard someone shout my name. It was Iluvdisney and KarenNY. They walked over to the Boardwalk to meet me, and we all took a bus to Downtown Disney and walked to Saratoga Springs together.

I crawled into the couch bed at Saratoga Springs, wondering if I would even be able to sleep with the excitement of leaving for my first cruise the next day. The couch bed was surprisingly comfortable, and sleep came pretty quickly. I slept really well--I guess the sleepless night before leaving really made me tired enough to sleep well that night.

 

[TLinden16]

If you want to read about my Disney Cruise you can find it here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1357244

If you just want to read about the Disney World portion, continue below.

 

[TLinden16]

Day 9--Saturday, January 27, 2007

Happy Birthday to me! I noticed city lights outside the window when I woke up, so I got out of bed and went out on the Verandah to watch as the ship went through the channel and on it’s way to port. The seagulls and the coast guard were leading the boats down the channel. Although I was sad to have to be up early and get off the boat on my birthday, I was also happy because I knew we would be going to Disney World, where I would get to spend the day with some of my other friends, and top off the day at my favorite place--Jellyrolls.

We quickly got ready to leave the ship. I took a quick walk around the ship to take a few more pictures and buy a picture at Shutters before we vacated the room. We went and sat in the Promenade Lounge to wait until our 8:15 breakfast at Lumiere’s.

When we walked into Lumiere’s, Liz, Herman, Brenda, Dylan, and Jack were already seated at the table. Sammy was lingering around, and I gave him a big hug. Rodel wasn’t around at the time, but both him and Sammy would get lots more hugs from me this morning. When we were all seated at the table, my tablemates sang Happy Birthday to me.

Our final breakfast together was fun and sad at the same time. We shared our memories of the cruise, some laughs, and exchanged e-mail address. We really lucked out and had some great tablemates on the cruise. I ordered the express breakfast, which had eggs, bacon, sausage, and hash browns. It was OK, but nothing special.

After breakfast, we took a long time saying goodbye to our tablemates and Sammy and Rodel. I noticed Iluvdisney was getting teary eyed because she was so sad to be leaving the ship, so I told Sammy to go give her a hug. Next time I looked, KarenNY and Iluvdisney were gone from the restaurant. I told Rodel that I would have to stay on the ship since my friends left me behind, and he told me that I could stay with him. After one more big hug for Sammy and Rodel, I went out to the lobby and found KarenNY and Iluvdisney.

We walked down the gangway and exited the ship. I was surprised by how easy getting off the ship was. We got a porter to help with our luggage, and then we quickly made our way through customs. We just handed in our forms, showed our passports, and we were on our way.

Iluvdisney and I stayed with the luggage while KarenNY went to get the rental car. We were soon on our way to Disney World. When the ship was out of view, I said something I’ve said many times since being off the ship: “I miss Sammy, and Rodel, and Keyon, and Ian, and Pikey, and Christiaan.”

KarenNY drove us to Orlando International Airport, where Iluvdisney would be picking up her rental car, and KarenNY would be picking up her daughter. Iluvdisney drove me over to the Boardwalk Villas, where I would spend the next two nights.

I arrived at the desk right around checkout time, so there was a long line. I wound up going to the ladies room and changing into the shorts I had in my carry on, as the day was warmer than originally predicted, and then got back in line in the same spot.

My room was ready when I arrived, which was a very pleasant surprise. I had a package waiting for me when I arrived, a birthday gift from my friend Goofy4Tink. She gave me four boxes of Bottle Caps candy (one of my favorite types of candy from my childhood), a book about girlfriends, and a card telling me the reasons why I’m a princess (and the card was so on the money).

I was in room 5063, which overlooked Heritage Green and had a partial view of the Boardwalk. As soon as I walked into the room, my first thought was, “Wow. This room is huge.” Now I don’t know if the room was really a bit bigger than other rooms I stayed at in the Boardwalk, or if it just seemed palatial after spending a week in a small stateroom on a cruise ship with two other people. The room was in great condition--the bed was super comfortable, and the furnishings were good. I spent some time sitting on my balcony enjoying the view.

After getting settled in the room, I stopped by the DVC model on the Boardwalk. Adarsh had mentioned that he would be working there that day, so I decided to stop in and pay him a visit. I peeked around the door frame, and he ducked out of view when he saw me. The other cast member working in there said, “You two obviously know each other.” I chatted with Adarsh for a few minutes, and we shared some memories of the cruise. It sure was great meeting him and Cristina on the cruise.

I then walked over to the Swan to meet Goofy4Tink and her family for a quick hello. They had stayed at the Swan the night before, and were leaving to head to Tampa for her sons wedding. It was great to see my friends, even if it was just for a quick hello.

I then walked over to MGM, where I would be meeting up with some of my friends I know from the Virtual Magic Kingdom online game. I grabbed a quick bite at the Backlot Express (because I hadn’t eaten enough food on the cruise), and then met up with my friend FlyingPegasus. She was hungry, so she got a quick bite at the Commissary, and we headed to ride the Rock N’ Roller Coaster and the Tower of Terror. There was a long line at the Rock ‘N Roller Coaster, so we skipped it for now, and I took a ride on the Tower of Terror, which featured a really good sequence. We also went on the Great Movie Ride and the Backlot Tour, which I hadn’t done in a while (it’s just not as much fun since they took out Residential Street). We headed back to the Rock ‘N Roller Coaster and pretty much walked right into the line, but for some reason the cars were loading really slowly, so we wound up with a bit of a wait.

We then headed over to the 50’s Prime Time Diner for my birthday dinner. April in Disney, Electric Lime, Aeryn, and her friends Heather and Jason were already there when we arrived. We were seated within ten minutes. Our waitress was good in character, but her service wasn’t very good. It took forever for her to come and take our order, and then it took forever to get our drinks.

I was a bit disappointed in my meal at the 50’s Prime Time Diner this time around. I’ve eaten there many times, and have always enjoyed the food, but it just wasn’t great this time. I started off with the chicken noodle soup, which was very bland and mostly broth. I then ordered the pot roast. Heather and I both got pot roast that was extremely burnt, which I don’t recall ever getting such burnt pot roast. We wound up sending it back, and the server told us that it is always like that, but they did bring us back pot roast that wasn’t as burnt. It was decent, but not as good as I remembered it being. For dessert, I ordered the Smores. I was disappointed that the serving size had been cut in half. When we ordered them in May, there were 16 Smores, which made a couple of orders easy to share with everyone at the table. Now, there were only 8 Smores.

When the server brought our dessert, she announced that it was my birthday. She made me stand up, and I had to yell “to me” when everyone was singing Happy Birthday. The first time I yelled, the server was laughing so hard--she didn’t think I would be so loud. I then lost it, and was laughing so hard that I couldn’t continue. It sure was fun.

After dinner, FlyingPegasus drove April in Disney and I over to the Boardwalk for an evening at Jellyrolls. FlyingPegasus dropped me off at the main entrance so that I could run up and change into jeans before heading to the bar. When I walked into the lobby, my friend TDC Nala was waiting there for me. We had met a few months earlier at a conference in San Antonio, and saw each other when our December trips to Disney World collided. She was going to try to go to Jellyrolls with me, but she had to meet her friends at the Adventures Club. She was waiting just so she could see me for a few minutes and wish me a happy birthday. She came up to the room while I changed, and walked me down to the bar. It was good too see her, and it was very thoughtful of her to make the effort to come over to see me.

When I walked into the bar, Tommy and Jason were already on the stage. FlyingPegasus announced that the birthday girl was here, and Tommy asked who’s birthday, so I waved as I made my way to the table, and Tommy said he knew it was my birthday. When I had seen Tommy the week before, he was expecting some good news later in the week, so I asked him if it was a go, and he told me it was. Jason just looked at us and said, “Now I know what it’s like to not be involved in a conversation.”

Jason was particularly goofy this night. He was commenting on how all of the requests were coming from my table and one other table of regulars. He kept on calling us the Board of Directors for the bar.

At 9:00, my beloved Scotty and Ray took the stage. Scotty knew it was my birthday, so he did a really great job running through my requests, and taking care of most of them right away. At the end of the night, he played “Beyond the Sea” for “Karen, who just got off a Disney Cruise.”

During Jason and Tommy’s second set of the evening, I got called to the stage for my birthday. Three other people were also called to the stage, and we did the Tree Dance with Jason. Early in the song, Jason leans over to me and says, “I really need to pee.” So, I started laughing. A minute later, Jason was jumping and bouncing around for the song, and I leaned to him and said, “You better tone it down or you’ll make it worse.” He just looked at me with a typical Jason goofy grin and said, “Tell me about it.” I did well on the dance until Tommy quickened up the pace for the last verse. Then I just couldn’t keep up with it.

At the end of the night, I chatted with Scotty and Ray for a while, and got big hugs from both of them for my birthday. Scotty asked me how I enjoyed the cruise. He had just gone on his first Disney cruise a month earlier, so he was curious to hear how I liked it.

I then headed back to my room. It sure had been a fun birthday. I was surrounded by fantastic people all day long, and topping off the evening watching my four favorite piano players perform really made for the most perfect birthday celebration for me.

 

[TLinden16]

Day 10--Sunday, January 28, 2007

I was a bit slow getting up this morning after a long, fun day on my birthday. But I still managed to get ready and head out the door to the Magic Kingdom by about 8:30. I was at the gates just about 9:00, and made my way into the park. My first stop was the Main Street Bakery, where I ordered a cinnamon roll and hot chocolate. I didn’t realize that the cast member didn’t put the cover on the hot chocolate all the way, so I wound up spilling some of it on my shirt--not a good way to start the day. The cinnamon roll was good, but not nearly as good as the one I had in December. It wasn’t as hot and gooey.

After breakfast, I wandered around the shops on Main Street, and then headed over to ride on Pirates of the Caribbean. I headed over to Frontierland. It was too cold to ride Splash Mountain so Thunder Mountain had a long line. I grabbed a fast pass for it, and headed to Fantasyland, where I road Small World and Peter Pan. I also caught Mickey’s Philharmagic. There was a little girl sitting behind me who was screeching from the moment they dimmed the lights. The parents waited until the show was about half way through before the father exited the show with the little girl. I have to say that I get really annoyed when parents don’t take a child who is obviously upset out of these shows--I totally understand that kids get scared, and I feel bad for them when their parents force them to sit through something that is terrifying them when they could walk them out of it.

After the show, I went to the Columbia Harbor House for lunch. I ordered the Garden Galley Salad, jello, and a diet coke. The salad was awesome--one of my favorite fast food meals at Disney World. It’s a garden salad with chicken, pineapple, pecans, and feta cheese. It is always nicely chilled and has a nice sweet taste due to the pineapple in it. It’s a great salad.

After lunch, I left the Magic Kingdom and took the bus back to the Boardwalk so I could change out of the hot chocolate covered shirt. I walked started to walk over to Epcot, stopping at Beaches and Cream for a shake on the way. The shake was very good--thick and tasty.

Once through the gates at Epcot, I went on Soarin’, and grabbed a fast pass for Test Track. I also took a ride on Mission: Space. I then headed over to Nine Dragons to get some dinner. I started off with the Sweet and Spicy Cucumber Salad. This is one of my favorite things--the cucumbers are cold and very tangy. I followed that with the Sha Cha Beef Skewers (or something like that). They were OK--not as good as they were the first time I had them. I wouldn’t have ordered them if I wasn’t on the dining plan--at $7.99, it is a very expensive appetizer for the three small two small bite pieces of beef you get. For my entrée, I ordered my usual--the General Tso’s Chicken, which was piping hot and had a slight tangy kick to it. For dessert, I got the ginger ice cream, which was just OK--I only ate a couple of bites of it because I was pretty much done with eating for the day.

When I got out of Nine Dragons, I was surprised by how much cooler and windier it was since I had entered the restaurant. I was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, and I was freezing! I debated going back to the room and changing and then coming back to Epcot. I decided to use my fast pass for Test Track first, and then headed back to the room.

I was originally planning on heading over to the Magic Kingdom to see Wishes that night, but since it was so cold, I decided that I wouldn’t bother making the trip over to the Magic Kingdom. I went to my room and did some packing, since I was leaving the next day. At 8:00, I stepped out onto my balcony and realized that I actually had a nice view of Wishes, so I sat on my balcony and watched them.

I then headed out to go to Jellyrolls. I ran into pianoman Ray as I was walking to the bar, and he was asking me about my cruise. Once through the front door of the bar, I took my normal bar stool in the back of the bar. Tommy and Michael were already onstage, and in between songs, Tommy told everyone that my birthday was the night before, and then asked me why I was hiding in the back (I always hide in the back when I’m by myself). Tommy announced that he wanted to play a song for me for my birthday, and played “Fire and Rain” by James Taylor for me because he knows I love hearing him sing James Taylor songs.

There was a girl who knew one of the piano players sitting right up front, and she had gotten completely trashed. She was dancing very suggestively, and getting lots of attention from some of the guys at the bar. At one point, some guy stuck a dollar in her pants. One of the bouncers went over to the guy and told him to cut it out, and I could tell that the guy must have said that he was just playing around. I saw the bouncer say, “I don’t care” and made definitely indications that if the guy tried anything like that he’d be out the door.

There were definitely at lot of drunken idiots at the bar this night. I have to say that how drunk they let people get is one of the things that really bugs me about Jellyrolls (along with the smoking). They just don’t seem to cut people off. This girl, and many of the guys, were definitely drunk to the point where they should have been cut off. I hope that they all had designated drivers with them because they were definitely in no shape for driving.

At 9:00, Scotty and Ray took the stage. Not many people were requesting songs early in the evening, so I wound up putting about 8 or 10 requests on there, which was great because I got to hear my guys sing my favorite songs for a good chunk of the night. Late in the evening, Scotty dedicated “What A Wonderful World” to me for my birthday.

My streak of running into creepy guys at Jellyrolls continued on this night. There were actually four guys there that night that made my skin crawl! The first one started to rub my back and when I turned to look at him, he said, “Hello.” I must have given him a nasty look because he then apologized for bothering me.

The second guy was sitting at a bar stool not too far from me. I had passed him when I went to the ladies room, and he said “Hello” to me, so I mumbled “Hi” back. When I walked by him again, he was definitely following me with his eyes. When I was back in my seat, I saw that he was still looking at me (his seat was too my left and slightly in front of me so I could see him out of the corner of my eye). He spent a good part of the next hour looking at me instead of the stage, and eventually got up and stood next to me, waiting for me to acknowledge him, which I didn’t do. He walked away for a minute, and then came back and stood next to me again. When I didn’t acknowledge him, he wound up leaving.

The third guy was an older guy who was just staring at me from the moment he sat down. He made my skin crawl because he just had the look of a dirty old man. He eventually moved over to a seat in my row--the only thing between us was two empty bar stools. He continued to stare at me, but I was careful not to make eye contact with him, and he eventually left.

The fourth guy was by far the creepiest of them all because I wasn’t exactly sure what he was going to do. He was very drunk, and I had watched him work the room trying to pick up girls for the past couple of hours. He had failed miserably about three times when he came over to me. He came over, and wrapped his arm around me and said, “Hey, are you looking for a really great guy?” Scotty noticed the guy come over to me and wrap his arm around me, and gave me a concerned look that I knew meant “give me a sign, and I’ll get you help.” (Some of you who have read my previous trip reports may recall a night about two and a half years ago when some guy was bothering me to the point where Scotty had to walk me out of the bar that night). I just say, “What?” The guy leans in even closer to me and says again, “Are you looking for a really great guy? I’m totally trashed.” I say, “I have no idea what you’re trying to say here.” I was debating whether he had reached the point where he was crossing the line and needed a good hard elbow in ribs when he said, “Would you like me to leave you alone?” I replied, “That would be nice.” He gave me a good squeeze, and then walked way.

When the guy walked away, Scotty and I just shook our heads and raised our eyebrows at each other. The entire time that the guy was with me, Scotty kept his eyes on us. I really appreciate that Scotty is always looking out for me when I’m there.

After leaving me, the guy went over to another woman (which got another raised eyebrow exchange between me and Scotty), and she actually invited him to sit with her. I could tell by his body language that he was really working the charm on her that night. It was actually pretty funny to watch this guy working that night.

When the pianos ended and the lights went up, I went to say Goodbye to Scotty and Ray. Scotty and I shared a chuckle about the guy, and chatted for a few minutes. I gave him a hug and told him that I would see him in August (if not sooner).

I then walked back towards my room. I passed the girl who was really intoxicated and another girl on my way to the room. They were standing near the art gallery arguing loudly. The other girl was giving the intoxicated girl a lecture about her drinking that night--telling her that is not a beautiful side of her. The intoxicated girl was getting all defensive and said that the other girl didn’t really care about her. When I got back to my room, I wound up calling the front desk to warn them about the argument going on between the two girls so they could alert security. I stepped out onto the balcony, and although I couldn’t see them, I could hear them still arguing. Within a minute or two, a work crew happened to drive by on a golf cart and spoke with the girls, and the arguing stopped.

I finally got into bed at about 2:15, and was fast asleep pretty quickly.

 

[TLinden16]

Day 11--Monday, January 29, 2007

Despite getting to bed at 2:15, I was up at 7:30, eager to get ready, pack those last minute items, and get ready for my last day in the parks. I checked my bags at the Resort Airlines Check-in desk, and was on my way to the Animal Kingdom at 8:30. I went back to Expedition Everest and grabbed a fast pass, and got in the line to ride it since there was not a line yet.

After my ride on Expedition Everest, I went over to the Tusker House to grab a cinnamon bun. I had one there once before, and remembered it being really good, but this time I didn’t enjoy it as much. It was OK, but not great. While I was eating, another family sat down at the end of my long table, and I started talking to one of the women. It turned out that her husband grew up in the next town over from where I grew up.

After breakfast, I went and took a ride on Dinosaur, and then went to ride on Expedition Everest again. I really love Expedition Everest. I’ve probably ridden it about 40 times since it opened, and I would ride it all day if I could.

I then left the Animal Kingdom, and took a bus to the Grand Floridian. I was thinking about going to the Grand Floridian Café for lunch, but after looking at the menu, I changed my mind. I took the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom. I went over to Cosmic Ray’s Café for lunch. I wound up getting a bacon double cheeseburger meal. I knew I probably shouldn’t because in recent years, the Disney burgers have been worse than the burgers you get at McDonald’s and Burger King, and this burger definitely was the nastiest burger I’ve ever had. I wound up throwing it out after taking two bites. I grabbed a cup of chicken noodle soup at Cosmic Ray’s, which was surprisingly good. It had a lot of flavor, and big chunks of chicken. I will definitely get it again.

After lunch, I walked over to the DVC booth in Tomorrowland, knowing that Cristina, the DVC employee from the cruise, would be working there that day. I was pleasantly surprised to see David, Jellyroll’s pianoman Scotty’s little brother, working at that booth with Cristina. I always look for David whenever I’m in the parks, and it was great to talk to them.

While I was chatting with them, Iluvdisney called me, so I handed the phone to Cristiana. She answered it, “Disney Vacation Club: Tomorrowland.” I think that Iluvdisney got a bit confused for a second, but she told Cristina she was walking down Main Street, and on her way to see us. Iluvdisney arrived a few minutes later, and we chatted with David and Cristina for a bit.

David mentioned to us that on some days the show at the castle featured characters that blinked and moved their mouths. I told Iluvdisney that we definitely had to see if they were doing that today. We said goodbye to David and went on Buzz Lightyear. I got my typical stinky score, but Iluvdisney got her best score ever.

We grabbed a times guide and saw that the castle show was going on, so we walked over there and watched the end of it. The characters were animated that day, and it was very strange to see. Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Donald were blinking like crazy--it was like they were making up for all those years when their eyes were forced to be in the open position (they must have had a bad case of dry eye). It was so freaky to see their mouths moving! We both took some pictures of them, and I told Iluvdisney that we had to try to see it again.

We walked back to see David, and told him that they did have the animated characters that day, and thanked him for letting us know about it. I also showed him some of the pictures I took.

We then walked towards Adventureland. I stopped along the way to get a funnel cake, which was pretty good, but far too big for me to finish. We went and took rides on the Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean. We also caught the Jack Sparrow Pirate Tutorial.

We then headed over towards Main Street to try to catch the parade. We actually found a good spot to watch it considering we walked over just a minute or two before it passed our location. We sat on a bench along the railing as you head from Adventureland to the hub, and watched the parade as it came out of Liberty Square. There was a large patch of grassy area in front of us, but we had an unobstructed view of the parade from our seat, and there was no crowd hovering around us.

After the parade, we went and watched the castle show again. It was still a bit freaky to see the characters blink and move their mouths, but I like it. I even took some video with my digital camera this time around.

After the parade, we went to say goodbye to David and Cristina, as we would have to head out so Iluvdisney could take me to the airport soon. They really are two of the nicest DVC booth cast members around.

Before leaving the park, we took a ride on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. I always enjoy taking a ride on this--it’s just nice and relaxing.

We then headed out of the park and walked to the bus stop to catch the bus to the Boardwalk. I grabbed my carry on bag, and we hopped in Iluvdisney’s car for the ride to the airport.

My JetBlue flight left on time, and arrived in Boston on time. It sure was a great trip filled with a lot of fun with some great friends.

 

[BriarRosie]

Your trip sounded great! I'm glad I had the chance to sing "Happy Birthday"
to you.

But OMG! You had four creepy guy karma moments on your last night
at Jellyrolls? Sometimes I really wish I could be a fly on the wall
to see these things.

I will read the cruise portion of the trip soon.

 

[travelin' tigger]

Although I only got to read the land portion of your TR, sounds like you had a great time.

I'm glad you had Scotty working Sunday night - there's nothing worse than being at JRs by yourself with "creepy" guys around.

Looking forward to reading your cruise portion!!!

 

[Boo99]

Hi Karen,

Loved your TR on the land portion of your trip. Now I am off to read the sea part.

Happy Belated Birthday!!!!!

See you in chat

Sue

 

[pumba]

Karen, You had a great trip and I have enjoyed reading all about it......Maybe I can somehow go to JellyRolls some day with hubby......
Thanks for taking the time to tell us about the foods and your likes and dislikes.....Marie

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Thanks Karen for another great report. I'm glad you liked the cruise so much. My wife says we need to do a Disney cruise sometime, maybe next year. We will be going to Disneyland in May. It will be our first visit there since 1999 and our first visit to DCA.