"Well....why can't I spend my birthday with Mickey?" Complete

[jgazda]

Awwwww what a great birthday surprise. He's a keeper!

 

[TxMickeyLover]

Awwwww what a great birthday surprise. He's a keeper!

Thank you! It was wonderful!!

 

[praisehisname]

Yum! I want to eat there someday!

That looks good, too!

My goofy, lovable, amazing husband who had been telling me all along that my trip to Disney was my birthday present, ordered me the Mickey's Birthday Surprise.

That's so sweet! You had an awesome birthday!

 

[TxMickeyLover]

We're not normally huge rope drop people. If we make it for rope drop, great! But we don't usually rush around to make it to rope drop. Not today, though! I was on a mission. Toy Story Mania opened just a couple of weeks after our last visit to WDW. In fact, there had been rumors of a possible soft opening for AP holders the weeke we were there. But no such luck. I don't normally mind waiting in lines, but I'd read the horror stories of how quickly TSM's line grows, even early in the morning. I knew we wanted to ride it at least a couple of times, and I knew the best way to do it would be rope drop. So today, we were rope drop people.

We woke up and headed to Captain Cook's for a little breakfast. Jon had a yogurt, and I had OJ. We hobbled (my feet were killing me) over to the TTC and rode the bus from there. We arrived at 8:40, and rope drop was at 9 that morning, so I think we did pretty good. My feet felt like they were dying.

We took some pictures in front of the Christmas tree

We made it through the turnstiles and were up almost to the rope. We watched the opening show, which I thought was too cute!! Then we were off. Now, remember how I said my feet were killing me? Suddenly, I felt like I was walking on air! Feet be darned, I was walking as fast as I could, but always staying behind the CM who was leading the pack. Jon said it looked like I was running. We get to TSM, and it's a 5 min wait (we practically walked on). We did manage to get some pics of the queue:

We loved it! It was so much fun! Jon beat me, of course. He scored 161,000 to my 87,000. At that time, he was the 3rd highest score for the day! We picked up a fastpass, then noticed the return time was 11:30!! We had an 11:00 lunch at Sci-Fi!! I'd heard people say that you could ride anytime past your return time, but I tend to be a stickler for the rules. No problem, though! We talked to the CM at the FP machines, and she said we could return anytime after 11:30. PERFECT!!

Next we were off to the Great Movie Ride. There was no wait. We saw the gangster scene (as quiet as DHS was that day, I'm almost certain that was the only side running).

Then it was off to the Backlot Tour. Again, no wait, and we even were in the front row of the viewing area for the special effects part for the first time. I don't know what was going on, but the girl next to us (I would say she was about 12 or so) did NOT want to be there. She was screaming and crying at the top of her lungs. Her mother was trying to quiet her, but she just would not calm down. Thank goodness we were not in the same tram as her. We kinda hung back and took our time walking through the prop house to make sure of that.

We walked around for a little while, then it was time to check in for our lunch at Sci-Fi. We shared the BLT Soup (SO yummy!), and I had the Chicken sandwich with veggie-black bean salad an a strawberry shake. Jon had a burger, fries, and a cherry coke. Of course, we only got pics of the soup:

Then it was back to TSM for our FP. Of course, Jon beat me again. I can't remember what our scores were, but Jon was knocked out of the high scores.

We decided to go over to One Man's Dream. The history buff in me loves this! The sentamental part of me canNOT watch the movie without bawling my eyes out. So we just went through the exhibit and skipped the movie.

We love Rock'n Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror. However, ever since we'd been planning this trip, I had a very nervous feeling that maybe I shouldn't ride because I might get sick. Don't ask me why, the only ride I cannot ride in all of Disney is Star Tours, and maybe Mission:Space Orange, but I haven't tried that one. I decided it was time to face my fears, and we were off to RnRC. There was only a 20 min. wait, so we grabbed FPs for later, then rode standby. It was awesome! I don't know why I was scared, we rode it 4 times on our last trip. The only thing it did, was knock out the braid in my hair, so I just popped my hair into a ponytail.

Next it was over to TOT. There was a 20 minute wait posted, but I think we only waited about 10 mins. Then we took a quick look through the shops on Sunset Blvd., and took a couple of pictures.

Then it was back to RnRC for our FP. We then decided to share a frozen lemonade and head over to see the Muppets. I love the Muppets, and I'm hoping to see more of them, with them being featured in the Give a Day, Get a Disney Day promotion. After the Muppets, we walked over and met two of my favorites, Lightnin' McQueen and Tow Mater, then went to hang our in the Writer's Corner for a few minutes.

After that, we walked over to the Animation Studios. We watched the movie, which I always think is fun. I love Mushu! We got to meet Karl and the gang from Up! Unfortunately, after waiting about 30 minutes to see them, the Photopass camera stopped working just before, so Jon had to take the picture instead of be in it. I offered to let him be in it, and I would take the picture, but he said no.

Then we saw Mickey with very little wait.

I got a very nice surprise as we were leaving the Animation Studios, because on our previous visits, there were no animators working at their desks, and I'd heard they were not doing that anymore. So imagine my surprise when we round the corner and see:

We strolled up through the park, and then sat and people watched on Echo Park Drive and rested our aching feet. We sat for about 20 minutes, then it was time to check in for our dinner at Prime Time. This is a particular favorite of ours! Our server, Cousin Amanda, saw my b-day button, and made sure all of the people at the tables around us signed a card for me. We sat next to a very fun family from Arizona, and another large family from somewhere (Sorry, I don't remember. ). We shared an order of onion rings, and Jon had the Tuna Casserole with a berry smoothie and smores for dessert. I had the fried chicken with a PB&J shake and the Boston Cream Cupcake for dessert. Of course, I got no pictures.

After dinner, it was time for the Osborne Lights! We walked back to the Streets of America, and they were beautiful!! We got to see them dance once. The air was getting thicker by the moment. What had been a fairly pretty day was turning into a fairly nasty evening. It started raining, so they made an announcement that they would not dance until the rain stopped. I heard they later had to turn them off altogether. We did get some good pictures. I'll just show you a few. Jon went crazy taking pics of nearly every building!

We decided to head back to the Poly, but not before taking one last, very fuzzy picture. You can certainly see how Ida was coming in.

When we got back to the Poly, we checked out Boutiki and the Wyland Galleries, then watched a few minutes of Holiday Wishes from the beach.

Then it was off to bed!!!

 

[TxMickeyLover]

I'm sorry I've been neglectful on my report. February was a rough month at work. Also, we've been hard at work on our trip coming up in September. I'll post a little bit about our plans for that one later. Now back to your previously scheduled trip report......

I woke up Wednesday feeling a little funny. I thought maybe I had caught a chill from the rain the previous evening, but I was not going to let it get me down. It was time to start the day!

We had a 7:30am breakfast at Kona Grill, and it was as yummy as I could have hoped for. Well, Jon's was. He had the Tonga Toast and Lilikoi juice. Mine was okay. I had the Macadamia-Pineapple Pancakes and press-pot coffee. I just didn't the pancakes had much flavor to them. I loved the Tonga Toast, though!!!

Tonga Toast

Macadamia-Pineapple Pancakes

After breakfast, we took the bus to Animal Kingdom. I must say, I truly love AK. The atmosphere is so peaceful. We arrived around 10am and took a couple of Photopass pics.

Then we headed over to Everest. There was only a 10 minute wait, so we grabbed a couple of FPs then hopped on. After conquering the Yeti, we walked the Maheraja Trail. This is the first time we've ever been able to see the tigers out, and I loved it. It's such a peaceful walk.

Next it was time for us to ride Everest with our FPs. Once again, we conquered Betty the Yeti. Then we headed over to Yak & Yeti's counter service. We shared the shrimp lo mein (excellent), a lemonade, and mango pie (very yummy!). We headed back over to Harambe, and on the way, met some old friends: Baloo and King Louie.

Louie giving me my birthday grooming:

The Safari had a 40 minute wait, so we grabbed a FP and took the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch. We watched a turtle getting a checkup. He had been hit by a car, and they had to repair his shell. He was on the mend, though. Then we met Jiminy Cricket, Pocahantis, and Rafiki:

After taking the train back to Harambe, we shopped a little, then walked over to see the Festival of the Lion King for the first time ever. OH MY GOSH!! This is now a must-do for me. I loved it. I wish I had pictures, but we were too enthralled in the show to take any. After the show, we met Thumper and Ms. Bunny:

I loved Thumper when I was little!

We headed back to Harambe for the Safari, and were able to save Little Red and get him back to his mamma, thank goodness! Then we walked through the Pangani Trail and saw the beautiful gorillas. They amaze me everytime.

By this time, we were getting hungry. We went over to Flame Tree BBQ. Jon had ribs, lemonade, and key lime mousse. I had the chicken, a coke, and chocolate mousse. It was very good, and we had a perfect view of the parade.

Next we went and rode Dinosaur, which I will say is not my favorite ride, but we never seem to skip it. Then we walked around Dino-rama, which we'd never done. It's cute, but definitely something I can skip.

The park was closing, and the crowds were definitely thinning. It was an EMH night, and by this time, there was almost no one in the park. We headed back to Everest, and rode with a 10 minute wait. When we got off, it was only a 5 minute wait, so we rode again. Then I drank an Iced Chai. It was so good. We were exhausted by this point. We watched it's Tough to be a Bug, then shopped around Discovery Island. We decided to take some more pics, since we had never been in AK after dark.

We sat and people watched for awhile. Then took the bus over to Animal Kingdom Lodge. It was only around 7:30. We had a 9pm Boma ressie. We walked around the gift shop. Then we sat in the rockers off of the lobby for a little while. I nearly fell asleep. We decided to go down and check to see if it would be possible to get in earlier at Boma. They told us they could seat us in about 40 minutes. It would still be earlier than our ADR time, so we took it. They handed us a pager, and we walked out and looked at the pool, and checked out the Mara. Then we sat in the Boma lobby until our pager went off at 8:20pm. Perfect!! Our meal was wonderful as usual (and typical us, forgot to take any pictures).

After dinner, we took the bus to DTD, and stopped in the World of Disney for a shirt and Minnie ear headband for me to wear at the Christmas party. Then we took the bus back to the Poly and went to bed.

 

[TxMickeyLover]

Thursday started out better. I wasn't feeling so bad. Yet! We had on shorts and long sleeves when we left the Poly for our 8:20 am breakfast at Whispering Canyon. We were running late, so didn't exactly have time to change. We thought it wouldn't be that bad. We'd take the Monorail to the MK, then get on the boat for the Wilderness Lodge. When we stayed there in 2007, they had a boat that was similar to the Friendship boats, so we could be inside for the ride, right? WRONG! First, we get to the Monorail, and it's not running. So we ran to take the boat to the MK. Now, mind you, it's not just cold, it's misting! So we are in shorts in the cold mist, on the water. We get to MK, and the boat to the WL is just leaving. So we had to wait some more. We finally got to WL at 8:30am, just happy to be out of the cold! We didn't carry our camara with us, since it was misting, so we unfortunately have no pictures of today, until the Christmas party.

We had the skillet, and it was very good. Not as good as the O'hana skillet, though. After breakfast, we took the boat back to the MK, and thankfully the monorail was running, so we ran back to the Poly to change clothes. It was 10:30am by the time we got back to the MK.

First, we headed over to Big Thunder Mountain, grabbed a FP, then stood in the 10 minute standby line. We rode it again with only a 10 minute wait, and then it was time to use our FP. We love that ride!

Next we headed over to check out the updated Hall of Presidents. I love HoP, but I was so tired, I nearly fell asleep. That was a first for me. I'm a history buff, and I've always enjoyed it.

After HoP, we headed towards Fantasyland. Peter Pan was a 40 minute wait at this point, so we grabbed a FP, then headed to Columbia Harbour House for some lunch. Jon had the Fish/Nuggets, Fries, and yogurt. I had the Shrimp, fires and apple crisp.

Then we rode It's a Small World. Another of my favorites, but once again, I was so tired, I nearly fell asleep again. After that, we rode Peter Pan, then headed over to Splash Mountain. Absolutely. NO. Wait. Seriously, I wish I had a camera. I think the wait time was actually 0 minutes. Why, you might ask? Because it was cold, and it was misty. So what did we do? Yes, we rode it. With ponchos. We actually rode it twice. The first time, the ponchos worked great! The second time, I got a little wet, but not bad.

After ditching our trusty ponchos, and a quick trip to the restroom, we raced back to the Poly to change and grab the camera for MVMCP. We had about 30 minutes until our 5pm ADR at Liberty Tree, so I do mean raced. We made it back in time for our ressie. We never tried Liberty Tree before. It was okay. I could definitely tell it was Stouffer's, but it was a good, hearty meal in the cold.

Jonathan took this pic of me:

After dinner, we rode the Haunted Mansion with a 10 min. wait, the Pooh with a 10 min. wait. I had never ridden the carousel before, so Jon made me. It was a walk on, but let me tell you something. Those horses are not made for my big backside! It was less than comfortable. Throughout all this, we took pictures at some of the spots they had setup:

We then attempted the impossible. We had never ridden Barnstormer, and it was a walk on, so we rode it. In the same car. You know the old Doublemint Gum commercials? Get a little closer? Let's just say we were cozy. But we did it, and it was great fun!

Then we went over to see Minnie. She loved that we had matching bows.

Then we took a spin on the teacups. By now, we are freezing. It was so cold that night, and we were both wearing sandals. Smart, I know! We went into Cosmic Ray's for cocoa and cookies, and just to relax for a minute. It was fun to watch the dance party going on.

Then we did the Astro Orbiter, TTA, and Buzz, all with no wait. Then we took some more pics:

We looked around the art shop, then headed over to Casey's for corndog bites, and watched Holiday wishes from their outdoor seating. It was beautiful, but I think I like the regular wishes better.

Then we watched the castle show, and the parade from the Partner's Statue. It was SOOOOOOO cold. As the night went on, I could feel myself going further and further downhill. After the parade, we went back to the art store, and I bought a Christmas Party pin. We headed back to the Poly around 11:30, and I took some Nyquil and went to bed.

 

[TxMickeyLover]

By Friday, I felt like I had been hit by a Magical Express bus. I was not feeling well at all. We slept in, then ran to Samoa Snacks to get Robutussin for me, Benadryl for Jon. We went back to the room to take our meds and get ready for Epcot. We got to Epcot around 10:45am.

We took a picture:

Then it was off to Soarin' for a fastpass. The return time was already 1:20-2:20. There was a 55 minute wait. Since we had a lunch ressie for Biergarten, we took the Friendship over to Morocco and walked to Germany. The Christmas tree was up:

We had about 20 minutes to kill, so we looked around the shop. Then we checked in, and were seated with a nice family from Boston, and a not-so-friendly couple, who left while we were getting our food. They were quickly replaced by two sisters from Miami, who were also very nice. We really enjoyed Biergarten (of course, we forgot to take pics!). If you like meat, this is your place!

After lunch, we walked to Norway and rode Maelstrom with a 10 min. wait. It was time to head back to the Land for our Soarin' FP. It was still a 50 min. standby wait.

After Soarin', it was time to check in for our 3pm Behind The Seeds tour. I could really feel myself going downhill, and wasn't sure how I was going to make it through a walking tour. I did, but I do not remember any of it. I remember we had a really good guide, though. Jon took several pics:

We sat down and rested for awhile. We debated cancelling our Garden Grill ressie, and heading back to the hotel, but I started feeling better after resting. We rode Livin' w/ the Land twice (can you tell this is one of my favorite rides?) The first time, there were some really annoying, loud girls in the front of our boat. I really wish we had the courage to say something, but we just didn't. So we rode it again. It was much better the second time.

It was time for our 5:20 Garden Grill ressie. It was VERY good. I am very glad we did not cancel, because eating there truly made me feel so much better. The food is wonderful. I especially loved the Blueberry Buckle. The chef was supposed to email me the recipe, but he never did. We took lots of pics with the characters, too.

After dinner, we rode Spaceship Earth. I love this ride. It made me so sad that we were about to leave. We took a couple more pics:

Then we headed back to the Poly to change into warmer clothes, and headed to Downtown Disney to spend money. We had a snack at the Earl of Sandwich. I had the Caprese Sandwich, chocolate pudding, and sprite, and Jon had the Thanksgiving sandwich, cupcake, and coke.

Then it was back to the Poly for bed.

 

[TxMickeyLover]

Saturday was our last day. We had to fly home that afternoon. My one consolation this entire time was that I had a Crystal Palace breakfast ressie that day. So what happened? I was so sick, I could not get out of bed. I couldn't even muster up the strength to call and cancel. I am so ashamed of myself, and I feel so bad, first of all for not being able to go, and secondly for not cancelling.

I just had no energy that morning at all. I took some Robutussin and went back to sleep for a couple of hours. That helped a lot. We did finally head to the MK around 9am, and picked up some breakfast from the bakery. I had a cinnamon roll, and Jon had a breakfast sandwich. They were good, but they were no Crystal Palace.

We walked on Pirates of the Caribbean, then strolled through the Emporium for some last minute shopping.

Sadly, it was time to head back to the Poly. We checked in for our flight, checked our bags, then headed to Captain Cook's and shared a pepperoni flatbread for lunch.

At 11:45, we got on the Not-So-Magical Express, and headed back to the airport.

 

[Seriously71]

Just wanted to say that maybe the 12 year old that was crying on the backlot tour has autism. My DD is 7 and has autism and has had strange reactions to seemingly mild rides. When we were at Disney in January, she had a HUGE meltdown just as we were getting on Living with the Land at Epcot.
I'm not saying this in a mean way, just like for people to be aware of those who have autism spectrum disorders and the way they can react to different things.

 

[TxMickeyLover]

Just wanted to say that maybe the 12 year old that was crying on the backlot tour has autism. My DD is 7 and has autism and has had strange reactions to seemingly mild rides. When we were at Disney in January, she had a HUGE meltdown just as we were getting on Living with the Land at Epcot.
I'm not saying this in a mean way, just like for people to be aware of those who have autism spectrum disorders and the way they can react to different things.

I guess it's possible. Mom seemed to be treating it like it was more of a misbehavior, though. She kept telling the child to be quiet and half-heartedly threatening punishment, but didn't really seem to do anything to try and stop the behavior. It really ruined the opening show for a lot of people though. We could not hear anything over her.

 

[jgazda]

It's so funny we are going at the same time again this year. Are you planning a trip to the Halloween Party?

 

[TxMickeyLover]

It's so funny we are going at the same time again this year. Are you planning a trip to the Halloween Party?

YES!!! We are hoping for one on Oct. 1 for Jon's bday!