What do you mean your throat hurts?!? Your throat can't hurt, we're at Disney!!

[WLfamily]

Park Day #4 Continued ~


After we left AK for the day we headed back to the Lodge. The kids decided they wanted to spend a few hours in the pool, but I had enough of the heat for awhile. DH took them to the pool and I spent a couple of peaceful hours sitting in the WL lobby reading and people watching. The way I saw it a win, win for everyone.

After they got out of the pool and cleaned up a bit, we headed for the boat dock and an evening at MK. I love MK at night. Of all the parks it is by far our favorite. We have been to Disney three times and each time the kids are in a different stage of life as far as their age goes but they always pick MK as their favorite.

The sky was a little cloudy and a nice breeze was blowing which was a welcome change to the day we just had at AK.
We headed to Casey's Corner to grab a bite of dinner. I know it's just hot dogs but why do they taste so good from that place!
They were roping off Main Street to get ready for the night time festivities and the crowds were starting to gather. We decided it was a perfect time for rides!

We headed off to Adventureland and rode POC with no wait at all, then hopped aboard the Jungle Cruise. This was the first time we had ridden it at night, kind of a different twist on it in the dark. Then we made our way to Fantasyland. Well, by now the cloudy sky had turned to drizzle and apparently everyone else in the park who wasn't waiting for Wishes or the Parade decided to exit. Fine with me! The cool drizzle felt good and Fantasyland was empty! We walked right onto Pooh, Peter Pan, Snow White, and It's a Small World with no wait for any of them.

It was time for Wishes to start and being that we were in Fantasyland we were on the backside of the castle. Well, let me tell you...this is the best place to view the fireworks. We all grabbed some stools from one of the eating areas and had perfect front row seats. Now if seeing Tink fly is important to you I would not recommend this spot, but if you've seen all of that before and just want to see some great fireworks this is the place to do it.

We stopped and got ice cream sundeas, walked around in the shops for awhile and slowly made our way back down Main Street and out to the boat dock. It was just a very relaxing night and a much needed one after the crazy, hectic day we had at AK.

 

[WLfamily]

Some evening shots of MK from the boat

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And to my delight I found more balloons!

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You can see in this pic how hard the wind was blowing by looking at the balloons. The poor CM was having a difficult time holding onto them.

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Peter Pan's Flight

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About the ride Pooh

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[Born 2B a Princess]

Great update! I love MK at night. Behind the castle in Fantasyland is great for watching Wishes (as long as you're not wanting a good view of Tink) -- that's where we watched a couple of years ago and it was great. This year we fought the crowds in front of the castle because we wanted to see Tink. We had a great view of her...but from now on, we'll be behind the castle. Much less crowded!!

For some reason, I'm always much more relaxed in the parks at night than I am during the day...maybe because The Plan keeps me so busy during the day that I don't really slow down much (I actually walk faster than my 6'3" DH when we're at WDW, LOL). But by the time evening/night rolls around, we've done everything in The Plan except parades and fireworks and I feel so much more relaxed. Love it!

 

[WLfamily]

Park Day #5




At this point our vacation has started to take a much slower pace. Thank goodness! Everyone has gotten to do what they wanted to do and aren't feeling the need to rush anymore. This is a welcome change to the way the trip started out. So for the remainder of our vacation we slow down, repeat our favorites, and enjoy any of the little surprises that may come our way. For the first time we actually get to breathe and start noticing the little touches that make Disney so special.

We slept in this morning which was very nice, walked around the Lodge and dd took pics with her camera which she had been dying to do. She ended up getting some pretty good shots which was a nice surprise.

We headed back to the boat dock for another visit to MK (I warned you we keep repeating only two parks from here on out!) Our boat had to take a little "detour" I guess you would call it. The big boat that transports guest to and from the parking areas was coming our way so we had to wait until it cleared so our captain kind of drove us around in circles for awhile. I got some really good pics of the monorail while we were waiting.

On every trip to Disney our family seems to find one food in particular that becomes a "must eat it everyday treat". Now every family member has a different food of choice and this time dd's was the giant chocolate, chocolate chip muffin. Let me tell you that girl could put away a muffin!! She started her day with one and ended her day with one. They usually came from the Roaring Fork Snacks at WL, but upon entering the Main Street Bakery on this morning she was delighted to find they had them too. You will understand her love of them after you see her picture.

While waiting for her to finish her muffin the MK fire chief made a visit to Main Street in front of the bakery doors. He was another first for us and dd and I decided we must have her picture made with him. He was very entertaining. He asked dd if she was married or had a boyfriend. When she replied no he started yelling out that "Krista needs a boyfriend!! Anyone want to be Krista's boyfriend?" She was so funny because she didn't know what to do to get him to stop!

We made our way over to Adventureland and ran into a photopass photographer in front of POC. Will post these pics later with the other photopass pics. Almost rode again (yes we have a problem with this ride!) but decided to walk on past. Good thing we did because my favorite ride the Haunted Mansion only had a 5 min wait! I made everyone ride it again. They really don't get what I like about this ride so much but that's too bad, they have no choice other than to ride when I say so.

We pretty much took our time and walked onto which ever ride had little or no wait, went to see the Tiki Room and Mickey's Philharmagic. The rest of us were getting hungry except muffin girl so we stopped and ate at Columbia Harbour House.

DD had her autograph book and we also stole an idea for autographs from someone on Dis. We purchased photo mats to have the characters sign so we would have something to display that we could see everyday. She wanted to have only princesses sign her mat, and I had two mats for me...one for princesses and one for other characters. We needed to make a trip to Toontown to meet the princesses in the judges tent so we split from dh and ds to do this. I can't remember where they went. The fairy line was a 45 min wait but the princess line was only 15 min, I guess they take a backseat to the fairies these days. It worked out really well and we got autographs from Cinderella, Belle, and Aurora. We checked the fairy line again and still a 45 min wait, dd decided they weren't that important. Besides, she was ready to do some serious shopping in the judges tent gift shop.
So dh and ds decided to head back to the Lodge and dd and I shopped our way out of the park and met up with them later.

We had an adr at Whispering Canyon for dinner. It was good but we've decided the milkshakes did us in. If you have never eaten there they have a bottomless milkshake. Well if someone offers you a bottomless milkshake it is your duty to drink as many as you can. I always get the orange creamsicle one cause you can't get that flavor anywhere else. By the time you drink, oh I don't know, maybe three and try to eat your food, you realize you may have over done it a bit.

We hung out at the Lodge for the rest of the night and the kids did some night time swimming. We had an adr for 1900 Park Fare for breakfast the next morning but I decided to re-book it for a day later. With the chain of events on our HS day earlier in the week we never got to ride Toy Story Mania. We decided our best bet was to hit the park at rope drop on a morning they have EMH which would be tomorrow. So I re-booked 1900 Park Fare for a day later so we could dedicate another day to our second favorite park HS.

 

[WLfamily]

Outside at WL

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Pics of monorail I took while on boat "detour"

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The boat we were "detouring" for

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Grand Floridain from boat

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Poly from boat

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Muffin time!!

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MK Fire Chief

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This is where he's calling out for Krista's boyfriend

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The photopass pics turned out better than mine, it was a little dark in there.

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My Princess (most of the time )

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[WLfamily]

This is a finished look at our photo mats now that we have them home, framed, and hung on the wall. They turned out "very" nice I think! The first two are mine and the last one is Krista's

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[WLfamily]

Great update! I love MK at night. Behind the castle in Fantasyland is great for watching Wishes (as long as you're not wanting a good view of Tink) -- that's where we watched a couple of years ago and it was great. This year we fought the crowds in front of the castle because we wanted to see Tink. We had a great view of her...but from now on, we'll be behind the castle. Much less crowded!!

For some reason, I'm always much more relaxed in the parks at night than I am during the day...maybe because The Plan keeps me so busy during the day that I don't really slow down much (I actually walk faster than my 6'3" DH when we're at WDW, LOL). But by the time evening/night rolls around, we've done everything in The Plan except parades and fireworks and I feel so much more relaxed. Love it!

I think this is our new favorite Wishes viewing spot from now on. I agree about the parks at night, they do seem much more relaxed. My family doesn't seem as tense at night either, maybe they know I'm not following a schedule like during the day.

 

[ellajeansmom]

What a wonderful evening you had at MK and for all of those walk-ons!! I agree the photomats make a great keepsake, they look great

How was your experience overall with the boat from WL to/from MK? Did you ever have to wait long for it and how long is the trip (normally not when detoured by other watercraft )? I'm curious because WL is up there on our list to consider next time - we had dinner at Artiste Point and loved the atmosphere of the resort

 

[SunnieRN]

Wow, I love the photomats. I have a really dumb question though. How did you carry them around the parks for the signatures without them getting smudged, dirty, creased?
They look fantastic, you did a wonderful job!

Love all your boat photos as well as your MK shots! I hope to stay at The Villas at WL one day. It is such a beautiful resort!!

 

[WLfamily]

What a wonderful evening you had at MK and for all of those walk-ons!! I agree the photomats make a great keepsake, they look great

How was your experience overall with the boat from WL to/from MK? Did you ever have to wait long for it and how long is the trip (normally not when detoured by other watercraft )? I'm curious because WL is up there on our list to consider next time - we had dinner at Artiste Point and loved the atmosphere of the resort

The boat ride is one of are favorite things about staying at WL. Boats come and go every five to ten minutes just like buses do except it's a much prettier view from the boat dock than the parking area. The boat ride itself is probably a six to eight min trip but there again much more enjoyable than bus. You can take the boat straight to MK or to the Contemporary to catch the monorail. There is always a nice breeze on the boat even on the hottest of days and I love the boat ride at night. Very relaxing to leave the park after a long hot day and not be stuck on a packed bus.

 

[WLfamily]

Wow, I love the photomats. I have a really dumb question though. How did you carry them around the parks for the signatures without them getting smudged, dirty, creased?
They look fantastic, you did a wonderful job!

Love all your boat photos as well as your MK shots! I hope to stay at The Villas at WL one day. It is such a beautiful resort!!

Thank you! I am very proud of how they turned out. I was a little concerned myself about how to pull this off so let me try and explain the route I ended up taking. I purchased the mats from Michaels. They are the ones that come with the ink pen and are designed for people to sign. I found them around the time of graduations and they were about $5 each. They are very thick and also contained a thick piece of cardboard backing in the same package. I kept the cardboard backing with each mat for more support. I then purchased gallon size ziplock bags and put my two mats in one and my dd's in the other. I made sure to pack them in the bag I kept up front with me on the way so there would be no chance of them getting bent in suitcases. They slide inside my park bag perfectly but I didn't take them to the park every day, that would have been too much to worry about. I packed one for our meal at Chef Mickeys because I knew I could get the main characters to sign there. DD only wanted the princesses so I only had to take mine, I handed it over when she handed them her autograph book. The day we knew we were going in search of princesses at MK and Epcot we packed both mine and hers. The only other time I took them was for our meal at 1900 Park Fare because she wanted Alice and Mary Poppins to sign even though they aren't really a princess they are close enough. I had Pooh and Tigger sign mine at that meal too. It really wasn't as difficult as I was worried it would be. I just kinda mapped out a plan before we left for the parks and went with it. Oh, and I bought a pack of the clickable sharpies with the extra fine tip and rotated colors. The characters loved them and I had several cm's ask me about them!
Give it a try, they make a great souvineer (sp?)

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Great updates! We do the same things! Rush Rush Rush the first few days and then realize we have PLENTY of time to do everything again...this time at a slower pace!

I LOVE your balloon/castle pictures AND the monorail pictures from the boat.

 

[flipflopmom]

I know what you mean Stephanie, this girl drama mixed with hormone thing is gonna kill me!

Ok Jeana, we are officially going to have to get Krista and Anna Kathryn together at WDW at some point. When they are old enough, we'll send the drama divas off on their own and see how they do.. She's 9, right? AK will be 10 next month, and girl, let me tell you, one or the other of us might not make it to her birthday!

Just caught up on your TR - great pics, and lots of fun. Between your DH Brad and your drama diva, it was kind of like re-reading my own!

 

[WLfamily]

Ok Jeana, we are officially going to have to get Krista and Anna Kathryn together at WDW at some point. When they are old enough, we'll send the drama divas off on their own and see how they do.. She's 9, right? AK will be 10 next month, and girl, let me tell you, one or the other of us might not make it to her birthday!

Just caught up on your TR - great pics, and lots of fun. Between your DH Brad and your drama diva, it was kind of like re-reading my own!

Taryn that sound like a wonderful idea!! Krista is 10 now so they are just a few months apart in age. Are you not amazed at how the simplest things get so blown up?!? If I hear the quote "You just don't get it" one more time she's gonna get it! At least I only had one girl, you have two. If it gets too bad we can send Krista, and Anna Kathryn off to live with Stephanie and her girls!!

 

[WLfamily]

Rush Rush Rush the first few days and then realize we have PLENTY of time to do everything again...this time at a slower pace!

I had no idea you and Tom had a "slower pace"

 

[Born 2B a Princess]

Ok Jeana, we are officially going to have to get Krista and Anna Kathryn together at WDW at some point. When they are old enough, we'll send the drama divas off on their own and see how they do.. She's 9, right? AK will be 10 next month, and girl, let me tell you, one or the other of us might not make it to her birthday!

Just caught up on your TR - great pics, and lots of fun. Between your DH Brad and your drama diva, it was kind of like re-reading my own!

Taryn that sound like a wonderful idea!! Krista is 10 now so they are just a few months apart in age. Are you not amazed at how the simplest things get so blown up?!? If I hear the quote "You just don't get it" one more time she's gonna get it! At least I only had one girl, you have two. If it gets too bad we can send Krista, and Anna Kathryn off to live with Stephanie and her girls!!

Brie is 10 years old, too...we need to get all three of them together at WDW sometime. I've already got two girls of my own so don't send them to me...I think we should send them all to YOU sine you only have one!

At leat Brie still loves me...sometimes, my 15 year old hates me. I figure that by the time she loves me all the time again, Brie will be hitting the age that she hates me. At least I'll have one who loves me all the time at any given moment for the next few years. LOL

 

[dolfinjuls]

Hey Jeana, I was just wondering if you got your cd? Hope you did!

Love the photomat idea too!

 

[SunnieRN]

Thank you! I am very proud of how they turned out.

As you rightly deserve to be!!!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to explain how you accomplished such a great result!! I leave in less than 3 weeks and my daughter surprised me and we are staying one night at VWL at the start of our trip!!! I'll get to ride the boats!

I will most likely be borrowing your idea to make 2 mats One will be for my youngest grandson (1 1/2-Pooh characters) and one for my oldest grandson (just turned 4-Mickey and gang). This way I can start a tradition and once a year do a mat for each of them with characters they like, or from a special cast member!! Thank you so much!!!

 

[WLfamily]

Hey Jeana, I was just wondering if you got your cd? Hope you did!

Love the photomat idea too!

I got it Julie!!! Thank you sooo much! I bet that turned out to be more work than you thought it would be. I just got done uploading all the photopass pics and I'm about to start adding them to my trip report. You know the trip report that I haven't added anything to in weeks? It has been crazy here with school and football. I haven't had any free time to work on here in so long. I will try to get some things added today.

As you rightly deserve to be!!!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to explain how you accomplished such a great result!! I leave in less than 3 weeks and my daughter surprised me and we are staying one night at VWL at the start of our trip!!! I'll get to ride the boats!

I will most likely be borrowing your idea to make 2 mats One will be for my youngest grandson (1 1/2-Pooh characters) and one for my oldest grandson (just turned 4-Mickey and gang). This way I can start a tradition and once a year do a mat for each of them with characters they like, or from a special cast member!! Thank you so much!!!

Congratulations!!!! You will love it there!!! You are more than welcome for the explanation on the mats. They really are much easier than you think. I think that's a wonderful idea for the grandkids, and it does make a much nicer keepsake than autograph books. Have fun!!!

 

[WLfamily]

Okay guys, I'm back! So sorry about just leaving you hanging, but life got a little crazy around here once school kicked back up. I now have my photopass pics so I'm going to add the ones I told you about but couldn't show you until now. Then with a little luck I may be able to give another update, cross your fingers.