We did it ALL!! 19 days Apr/May 2012 (updated! check in ROYAL PACIFIC RESORT)

[wakica]

Another good update Kim!! I do like the look of where you watched Illuminations - where abouts were you for that? I'm looking for a good spot to see it (and photograph if I can!) and that looked really good!!
What is Cali's Mexican sweater like? I can't say I've ever noticed them there!! I might have to check them out! It looks like I've got a lot of things to check when I get there!!!

Oh Heather, I can't remember the name of the place. We were in Japan on top of the stores and it's RIGHT outside the windows to the restaraunt. Hope that helps a bit. LOL

Cali's Mexico sweater is big and bulky and it has big stripes on it - it ALMOST looks like a poncho but it's not. lol. Hers has black and white stripes - I'll have to post a pic sometime. lol

We were inEpcot Sunday night too. We ended up inside Mexico for the big rainstorm. We left before Illuminations. Though because we had a really early flight the next day.

We were in different areas I guess. Too bad for the early flight We have ALWAYs done early flights in the past but this time we refused to do it which was VERY nice. We didn't fly out til supper time MUCH BETTER!!! Did you wear your shirt to Epcot too?

I don't blame you for wanting to rest your feet that night. Epcot is such a huge park, it's no surprise your poor feet were tired!

A bummer about the rainstorm. (I can't remember it raining, but we were in MK and were eating around that time. ) But at least you were able to shop in a favorite store and stay relatively dry.


Those IllumiNation photos are beautiful. Makes me wish I were watching the show right now.

I know!! It's starting to get cold here already I really am starting to wish I was back there where it's always so warm again. i'm dreading winters arrival!!!

Just found your TR. Looks like a great time.

It WAS Thanks for having a look and saying hello

WHEW! It has taken me a while to read it, but I am officially caught up!!! I will only comment on your last update to save time and brain power.

GREAT fireworks pictures! Those are by far the best ones I have seen on here! And the nighttime pics of Boardwalk are gorgeous! Yes, your DH is quite the photographer! What a downpour while you were in Japan! Gotta love those central FL showers!

I am subbed now and will keep following along until it ends now!

I know what you mean. I have learned to keep a note pad by my laptop and write down the page number I comment on for each TR I follow. Before that i was FOREVER tryinig to flip from page to page to find out where I left off. It was VERY time consuming!!!

Glad you popped over

I have been lurking on your TR for awhile and figured I would at least say hi. Looks like you all have had an awesome time and have done so much!! Your husband takes beautiful pictures!

Welcome lurker SOOO glad you spoke up and said hello We had SUCH a good time. Sure would like to head back soon again tho!! I will pass the compliment on to me DH about the pics

we always wear our dorky water shoes. Thanks i'll try to set up camp in that area.

i don't think we've ever thought to take a pic of the infamous afternoon disney showers, another note to self

thanks again.

Yes, dorky water shoes are definitely in order. HAHAHA.

 

[wakica]

A little break from my Trip Report to show off DD's grad pics that we FINALLY got around to taking

We planned to look for the dress on our trip but it just didn't work out. We had too many other things to fit in! lol

So we ended up cramming in a trip to a city 2.5 hours away from us to shop for her dress. And now she has done her back to school shopping for highschool so we did a combined session for her grad dress and a casual session with her back to school clothes.

Just had to share

Here's my beautiful DD14

First of all the family pic...

Then of course the GOOFY family pic! lol

After family pics were out of the way it was time for DD to have fun.

and into casual attire...

This next one is my fave bc I can stare at her beautiful face in great detail. lol

There are many many many more but I won't bore you with all of them. LOL

I will be back in about a day or two with my update of DH's Exotic Car experience. Sorry to keep you in suspence for so long.

 

[hjd0411]

Thanks for the info on the fireworks spot - I'll scope it out beforehand! You were a big help - I should be able to work it out!
Those family photos of you are lovely! Cali is certainly a beautiful young lady! Her grad dress is gorgeous! Oh - and I wish I could have worn clothes like that to school!!! We had a "lovely" green (almost lime green) uniform!! We were nicknamed the "green ants"..!!!! Oh well, long time ago now!!!

 

[wakica]

Thanks for the info on the fireworks spot - I'll scope it out beforehand! You were a big help - I should be able to work it out!
Those family photos of you are lovely! Cali is certainly a beautiful young lady! Her grad dress is gorgeous! Oh - and I wish I could have worn clothes like that to school!!! We had a "lovely" green (almost lime green) uniform!! We were nicknamed the "green ants"..!!!! Oh well, long time ago now!!!

ew, ya I don't think she'd like to have to wear a uniform!! I wouldn't have like that either and an aweful GREEN of all colours Why can't they at least make them a BIT stylish??? Maybe they are now a days tho???

Glad I was able to help

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Beautiful DD!!!!!!!!!

 

[amazingact21]

Great grad shots! Your DD is so pretty, and I love her dress!

 

[wakica]

Beautiful DD!!!!!!!!!

Great grad shots! Your DD is so pretty, and I love her dress!

Thank you!



I finally found the missing stick that has my exotic car pics on. We always store, edit and resize on the "work" computer and then put it onto a stick to transfer it over to the computers we allow to have internet access to. I had misplaced the stick but found it today so I will be posting those pics soon.

OK, I have to admit we've gotten a little swept up in all the busy back to school craziness too. With DD starting highschool, Dniece starting KG and DD starting competitive cheer. I thought we were more ready than we were Oh well, things should settle down after this week. I have work to catch up on too tho. Funny how we know it's coming all summer but always get caught by surprise by it?? LOL.

So looking forward to setting up a regular schedule now tho.

 

[wakica]

MAY 7 (pt 1) - DAY 12 - EXOTIC CAR EXPERIENCE!!So, this was the BIG day that DH had been waiting for. He was somewhat like a kid in a candy shop today. LOL.

We had to get up early bc we booked the first exotic car experience of the day in hopes that we could squeeze more things in of course. LOL.

DD wasn't too happy to be waking up early - you know what teens can be like and how they aren't all that willing to do things easily if it's for someone else?? LOL so ya, we had the hardest time waking her up today than any other day on the trip. Big surprise there.

We made it though. We were a bit surprised that you go through the Magic Kingdom parking kiosks. I was sure they said there would be no charge but when I realized where we were going I thought for sure they would charge but i was wrong. We just told them where we were going and they directed us to go to the far left lane and follow the signs. As simple as that.

We parked and checked in. We got to sit in with DH while he got his orientation. Here's the room...

and here he is with his very spcial name tag. LOL

and a warning on the wall...

They started out with a guy talking to them and he showed a video, then they talked some more then FINALLY we got to go out to this little outside sitting area by the track...

here they talked some more while the people waiting to dirve the cars drooled over what they were about to be sitting in...

DH wrote down the names of the cars so I'd be able to tell you what they had available cuz all I remembered was the one he drove. They had a black and a red Ferrari, the yellow Lambourghini Gelardo which DH drove, an Audi A8 in black and a grey/silver Porsche.

The cheapest option was actually the Audi but all the guys that work at the exotic car experience place said it was their FAVORITE car. It has the best handling so if anyone is every thinking of doing it but not wanting to select the cheapest option - don't think that way - it's an AMAZING car!!!

They had each person come over to their car for a photo opportunity with their photographers so that you could buy pictures after. I had the camera and had DH set the setting to work best so we were happy enough with what we got. I'm so sorry that I don't remember prices. We just sort of dismissed it immediately.

Here are some shots I got...

Look at him eying up that beauty in the next shot...

sitting into the car for a pic - you can see the photograper in this one...

Enjoying the feel of such a gorgeous luxury vehicle...

So, that was just a tease for them. They got kicked back across the barricade and had to say bye bye to their little lovelies for a bit. They told everyone they could stay there or they could go back through the front doors of the building and across the parking lot where we parked to another viewing area where we could actually see the portion of the track where they would REALLY get to drive those cars. So we headed over that way and watched the first few people do their thing. Once it was DH's turn to go over and get ready we headed back with him to document it all on camera...

Here is the wall of helmets...

and another sign for your reading pleasure.

First they put a cloth on your head - sort like a big sock. LOL and then a helmet that fits you - DH has a large cranium so they had to pick him out another one. LOL

and showing his excitement that he's READY TO GO ALREADY!!!

and IN HE GOES!!!

At this point DD and i ran through the building and across the parking lot to catch him doing some laps...

checking out how it handles corners...

and getting up to speed!

He did about 6 laps so on the last lap we darted back through the parking lot, into the building and out the back to the waiting area to capture him when he got back...

He was a happy boy!!!!!!

and to prove it he did a little jig (much to the cast members amusement lol)

Off with the helmet...

and off with the little sockie thing. HAHA

He told us all about how AWESOME it was and how he was SOOO glad he did it and we went into the building to wait for his video to be ready to view.

You can purchase the video too - it shows what your speeds were, and a view of him while driving and a view of the track while driving. It was around the $100 mark and we figured as cool as it was we had forked over enough money and knew we had gotten some GREAT photos already so we looked at a bit of the merchandise and then left. I would have convinced him to purchase a shirt or something but being that the program was SO new when we went they didn't have all that much stuff related to it yet. Most of their stuff we related to the Richard Petty car experience.

DH definitely gives the experience 2 thumbs up - more if he could. LOL He figures since he'll NEVER EVER afford to have a car like that then it's at least worth it to fork out some money to have the experience. He would even consider doing it again but not something he'd do every year tho. There was one guy there that was on his 3rd time!!!!!

If you have any questions about the Exotic Car Experience please ask away and we'll fill you in on anything i may have missed.


Next up is our LAST Disney experience this trip - an evening at Hollywood Studios.

 

[DisneyStitch626]

Working on catching up on your TR, but just want to say that the grad photos are gorgeous! Love them! Especially the close up of your daughter. Her eyes are so pretty.

Now on to catch up on your TR....

 

[wakica]

thanks Yes, she does have amazing eyes!! I'm so glad she isn't actually into wearing make up yet - eyeliner makes her look WAAAYYY too old!!

So far she's only worn it for her graduation day and the photo session. Someone asked me if she doesn't wear it regularly bc I don't want her too. LOL I said, nope - she has NO desire to wear make up yet - I convinced her to do so for grad and the photos. PHEW!!! A few more years til she gets all growd up I guess. I'll take that

 

[DisneyStitch626]

And caught up! The exotic car experience looked awesome. And it looked like he just loved it! He had the best looking one too. Looked like a lot of fun.

 

[mjplantz]

Thanks so much for the exotic car update!

Does your DH have an idea on how fast they got the car up to? I have heard that its in the 120-140 range but wanted to confirm. We are looking at doing this in November and we are trying to choose between this and the Richard Petty Experience.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

What an incredible experience for your DH!!! My DH and I have talked about him doing the Richard Petty Driving thing... hmmm maybe this one would suit him even better. Either way, it is something that will have to come later in life for us, after we are finished putting three children through private school.

 

[ZehnJahren]

I'm still following along! What a great trip you guys ALL had! And your daughter does look very lovely in her pictures.

 

[Sandite]

I am glad to see Disney is trying to work in some more "guy" related activities. It seems like boys/men tend to lose the Disney magic much faster, so it is great they are finding ways to lure them in

 

[wakica]

And caught up! The exotic car experience looked awesome. And it looked like he just loved it! He had the best looking one too. Looked like a lot of fun.

It was DEFINITELY a time to remember for him There was one red car too but for some reason I didn't pull a pic of the other computer to load up to photobucket. It was pretty nice too tho but he would agree he had the best one Lol

Thanks so much for the exotic car update!

Does your DH have an idea on how fast they got the car up to? I have heard that its in the 120-140 range but wanted to confirm. We are looking at doing this in November and we are trying to choose between this and the Richard Petty Experience.

You only have half a track to get top speed before you have to start breaking so he doesn't think you'll get 140. The highest he got was 115 and thinks you might hit 120 - he said he was flooring it tho. Miles right?? They will start you out with full control of the gas pedal but they have the ability to knock it back if they are feeling uncomfortable if for example the person driving is not listening to their directions or really goofing around.
Hope that helps. As cool as it would be to go 140 I think it's a better experience to drive yourself as opposed to being a passenger like the Richard Petty experience is. But then again I don't want that sort of speed so I wouldn't do any of them Bahahaha - that's just from my husbands viewpoint.

I hope that helps a bit.

What an incredible experience for your DH!!! My DH and I have talked about him doing the Richard Petty Driving thing... hmmm maybe this one would suit him even better. Either way, it is something that will have to come later in life for us, after we are finished putting three children through private school.

It definitely would be GREAT!!! I just told the person above this comment about the speeds it got to and how my husband would rather experience the driving himself so take a peek at that info. I'm glad my DH splurged and did this for himself. DD and I splurged on the EEChallenge 5K run bc 5K's aren't usually that expensive so it was our splurge We only have 1 child too though and my inlaws are incredible in helping out with school fees (Only one grandchild for them).

Hope you can squeeze it into the plans someday soon.

I'm still following along! What a great trip you guys ALL had! And your daughter does look very lovely in her pictures.

thanks for hanging around still I sometimes think I'll never have this trip report done - I still have our last trip to HS, Madeira Beach, wedding, and 4 days at Universal to get through. It's so sad but I've forgotten some things so my last days are going to be very tricky to record. I should have taken notes.

I am glad to see Disney is trying to work in some more "guy" related activities. It seems like boys/men tend to lose the Disney magic much faster, so it is great they are finding ways to lure them in

That's trus, the car things are really GREAT to keep all those guys interested too. Could you imagine WORKING at that Car place?!?! I think the guys we saw working were PRETTY happy with their jobs!!! lol

 

[hjd0411]

Looks like Wayne had good fun on his day!! The photos you took are really good too!!

 

[wakica]

Thanks Heather I thought my photos turned out very well too. I do admit that I had him check and change all the settings before he left us tho. LOL The settings on those cameras are numerous and I only know how to work a few of them and even then it's hit and miss. LOL If in doubt I just go auto but it's never quite the same as proper manual settings.

 

[wakica]

Sorryfor the delay. Hope to have my next installment up this weekend. At this rate I should be done at least before the year is up... right?? LOL

 

[amazingact21]

Sorry it's taken me awhile to reply!

That exotic car experience looks like every guy's dream. I showed Alex your photos, since he was sitting near me, and he made a comment that your DH was a lucky man. He wants to try out that Lambourghini, as well!