WHAT I'D DO DIFFERENTLY...POR Sept. 2006

[Quacktatty]

Hi Melinda - I thought I'd come out of my lurker's hole and say that I am loving the trip report, I check twice a day for updates!!! You might just have me convinced to write my own when I get back from my January trip. I doubt mine would be as popular as yours though!! Kudos to your great report and kudos to Mimi on the awesome pictures. I need talent like that!!

 

[DisneyObsession]

I'm off from work on Wed and don't seem to get the time at home to check my subscribed links. Boy am I glad to have checked it today!

I was happy to hear DD got something for a costume. How frustrating that there is nothing around Disney for adults! They are definitely missing out on sales! I like the idea of a "Pirate Princess". I'd dress up as that, as opposed to a pirate wench!

DH & I walked around DTD last time we were there (2/05). I like to check everything out. Have you been to Pleasure Island? I have not gone there as of yet. Maybe this next trip with my GF's.

Looking forward to the next installment!

 

[nut4disney]

Long time lurker, first time poster.

I really like your trip report.

 

[Ellester]

I'm finally caught up! What a wonderful report. We are telling our kids on Christmas that we are going next month. My girls will be doing the pirate cruise, so thanks for the info on that. Your tips are great! I need to start writing some down so I'm not frantically trying to track them all back down right before we leave.

I have my own little Stitch, she was 5 in August. From your description, James could be her twin! The picture is from Sept. 2005 when she was four.

Looking forward to the rest of your report!

 

[fivefordisney]

Wow! Your trip report is turning me into a bad mother. My kids are downstairs eating dinner while I read this report!!

Can't wait for the next installment! Glad Emily found something to wear!

 

[jaycns]

We also drove from KY to WDW in September and had a great time as well! Reading your trip report has me in stitches and smiles! Thanks for sharing your trip with us! It looks like you all had a blast. We were down from 9/16-10/4 (but we spent 9/23-9/30 on the Disney Magic).

I cannot wait to read about your time at MNSSHP. The night we went was one of our favorite nights of the trip.

Love your writing style! I cannot belive I read an entire trip report in one sitting!

Keep it coming!!

 

[lexmelinda]

GOOD MORNING!!!

Only 10 more days til Christmas, everybody! Get shopping! Here's something fun that DS and I did yesterday...... Elf Yourself I elfed myself and it was hilarious...sent it to DH. Enjoy!

Quacktatty....I love it! I'm drawing out the lurkers. Thanks for posting! If I can write a trip report, anyone can! Really! I'll be looking for it.
DisneyObsession....No adult costumes....I know! We need to get Marita to run an analysis on that. I'm sure it would mean big money for Disney. No...I have not been to Pleasure Island but am very intrigued by the whole Adventurer's Club concept...not to mention 8Trax...that's MY kinda music. I want a GF trip, too!
nut4disney....Aaawww....thanks for posting and for your nice comments. Don't be afraid to post....we won't bite....hard.
Ellester....What a fabulous Christmas gift for the kids! You know I wrote down a lot of tips before we left and of course there was "the booklet" but I found for the most part, I had downloaded those tips to my brain. And they are referenced when the situations arise. Don't worry! Your kids are adorable, BTW! Lovin your little Stitch pic...too cute!
fivefordisney....You are so sweet. I'm glad you're enjoying the report and your kids need some "quality time" together every now and then...
jaycns....Wow...I can't believe you read the whole thing, either! Thanks! I just clicked on your link and the trip of dreams looks awesome...and you stayed at the Poly? Your boys are adorable. I'm glad you enjoyed MNSSHP...but us, well not so much. I'll put in the next installment soon.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND, EVERYONE! GO ELF YOUSELF!

 

[DisneyJo]

What a great TR I've been reading for an hour and still only on page 8! This is the first TR I've really read and can see how addictive it can be.

Subscribing so I can read the rest!

 

[DisneyJo]

Finally finished what a great TR. The house is in a mess and the DD's have watched way too much TV but it was there last day at school so they needed to chill anyway! Although I have been a Disney fan for many years I have only recently discovered the DIS (also just switched to broadband so now it's free and quick) what a friendly place this is, everyone seems to be lovely and so informative. Keep up the good work.

 

[monymony3471]

I did make a complete elf of myself and that was elfalarious! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Lil' Grumpy]

mm, mmm. mmmm...good!

actually its outstanding...

neat pics..too! had me ...


these are the types i really enjoy most..though i just been skipping..
i can tell this one, really great to read, every word..& the reactions
everyone giving...glenda..pic..made me ..you can those
that really knows disney...


& i really that you added your family history....

88...we had our boys...{ one was a baby} ...june. one day, we entered
the magic kingdom...my lil miss, informed me..she had no extra diapers..
...to this day, the scariest moment we ever endured..let's
just say, someone was doing the park..butt naked..at the end. ok?
one of our pic from the electric parade? peacock..which i have seen repeated
many times here..must be something disney putting out?

i always like comparing how others are doing the parks..so thanks, very
much , including your mis?adventures...like dtd. you know, back in
05..we had what would been a major incident..some big oaf..tried to bride
the driver..to take a detour...& he agreed [ ]..so after seeing that,
i went to driver & asked him to drop us off at cornado springs first...he
turend me down { }..i whispered to him..i guess we can't take
the other detour????...so he return the other "pest..oops guest's 20$..,
think= [ big football player}..then him and his wife started in on me....
but before..i could respond..another guest, in the back [think bigger,
football player]...tore into them..and they settled down! so sorry you had
that experience..however, i thought you did a great job, coping..you did
what you had to do! ? about dates , we were "close" at the same time..we
always spend a week at wdw..& just gotten off the 11-days wonder,
sept 28th...at the contemporary... [ i have to look up our pics..just in case...
just in case..we have a lil girl..with the type of red hair you can "see"
from miles away..just

* you know?, in all our trips..we never seen the "flower girl"..[remeber the
old 60's song..], except our boys ( they're both in college..and they go
their separate ways..)

* so nice of you, to described how each of you {husband}, does the parks..
fyi..we are alot the same..except backawards...i think i push too hard..driven
by getting the most out our $$$$. so iam usually doing the "acting out'..good
thing , iam also in charge of the camera.

* dtd 's buzz....we took pics too!!!!, this trip, my goal was capture my
family on the rides..mostly pre-ride before we begin...well, that meant holding
onto our camers during the ide..by accident , ( i as clutching it ..not meaning
to take pics)..so i ended up pics i had no idea i took..one is a really close up
and very clear pic..of the yeti...again, i really thought your pics..

your kids are so neat..good job!....ahh, thanks for sharing you girls'
feelings...our lil ariel {& its amajing how much she looks like her, afterall,
I, resemble the ..beast..more than i care to admit]..is 9 & begining to
turn the corner...dwatts is me..i told her not to grow!

we also went to mnsshp..on the 29th?...

 

[disneykelly]

I forgot about the DIS when i moved some years back and i just rediscovered it!

I randomly picked this thread to read and i was blown away!!!

Sadly, i haven't been to the world in a few years, but reading a story like yours makes me hopeful that i can go again soon!

 

[lexmelinda]

HELLO, EVERYONE!

DisneyJo....Welcome to the DIS!! So happy you are enjoying the report. There are lots of great reports here on the trip reports board. Thanks for reading mine.
Monica....Glad you ELFED YOURSELF! Did you do the macarana? Heh.
Lil' Grumpy....You are so sweet and not one bit grumpy! Thanks for your nice comments. I can relate to the naked butt incident. When Mimi was 2 we took her to King's Island (is that close to you?) and used all diapers and all clean/dry clothes. The last two hours were nuthin but nightgown. Seems like it was yesterday. Bribing the bus driver? Glad the forces of evil did not prevail on that one. Thanks again for reading.
disneykelly.....Sounds like it's time to plan a trip! Wish I could forget about the DIS some days and get some things done around my house. I am afraid I am hopelessly addicted at this point. Thanks so much for your sweet comments.
Lurkers......

AND NOW....ON WITH THE SHOW....

 

[lexmelinda]

When we get back to the room after the bus fiasco, I decide to do something “happy” and turn DS on to our plans for the evening. “Guess what, honey? Tonight is trick-or-treat night at the Magic Kingdom!” I remember some mild excitement…not what I had hoped for but…oh, well. I attempt a nap because I know we’ll be up late tonight.

Pardon my digression…..I need to explain to you at this point that I had been looking forward to MNSSHP. I had not even considered the party til I started to read some of the rave reviews here on the DIS. Since I had ordered park hoppers by default (doesn’t everyone get park hoppers?) but I had really only planned to hop on one day (to MK EMH), I did the math. The park hoppers were costing our family of 5 somewhere in the neighborhood of $175. MNSSHP tickets would cost around $190. I weighed the pros and cons….MNSSHP not crowded/EMH very crowded; candy & costumes at MNSSHP/no extra stuff at EMH. MNSSHP tickets are like the cheese…they stand alone. That is to say they are a license to hop on the day of the party….you can use your park tickets to go to any park during the day and then use your MNSSHP tickets to get into the park and the party that night. You know how this ends so…nuff said.

When it was time to get ready I pull out the Captain Jack Sparrow costume I bought at Walmart back home and the pirate hat w/ snap-on hair from DTD. DS already had the JS dress up stuff (head wrap w/ dreads, rings, compass, sword, etc.) and I had packed that. So we are all set.

But Cap’n Jack is a little reluctant. Mimi pulls out the eyeliner pencil to do the makeup. She gets about half done and there is a mutiny. We wash his face as well as he’ll let us. He just looks a little dirty now which is kinda pirate-ish, I guess. He agrees to wear about half the stuff I brought, and taking the path of least resistance, we move on.

Emily also will not wear the skull/cross bones bandana I brought nor an eye patch which is really what makes the “pirate” part of the pirate princess get-up work. Mimi is dressed in a strapless black dress and tiny little tiara….no real theme here…just wanted to wear it. I’m just in khakis and a POC t-shirt since I’m the pirate wrangler for the evening. OK….we’re set.

DH is feeling really rotten by now and begs off for some more sleep. He’ll meet us at the MK later. Cap’n Jack drags to the bus stop at a snail’s pace. My frustration is building. There is no one at the bus stop in costume. We wait for the bus with him all the while saying he looks like a sissy and no one else will be dressed up and why are we making him do this….etc., etc. Why is the rum gone?

Anyway when we arrive at the MK around 5-ish there are hordes of people in awesome costumes. A CM salutes DS and says “Ahoy, Cap’n” and I see a little smile. I DIS so I know that some of the attractions will not be open for MNSSHP so we head directly to Adventureland and the Tiki Room where they are queuing up for the last show.

DS starts in with the grumpies again but the man in line next to us sees this and pulls a quarter out of DS’ ear. What? He does this and other tricks again and again…much to DS’ delight. The man’s family is standing nearby and I strike up a conversation with the wife. She says her husband has been magic champion of Norway several times. He clearly enjoys making people happy with his gift. Thank you so much for making DS smile, Petter from Norway!

Inside the Tiki Room, the lady seated next to me asks if I’m nervous about the party being sold out tonight? WHAT!?! Who said the party was sold out? A CM told her. Hey! I’m suddenly feeling betrayed by the information pipeline and the happy reviews of MNSSHP. How crowded could it be though? It’s September, right?

We exit and go to the Jungle Cruise. We stand in the short line and when we get to the platform, we are stopped to wait for the next boat. The cute young CM asks Emily what she’s supposed to be. She seems surprised to hear pirate princess, and tells Emily she looks more like an 80’s pop star. Glad we went to all that trouble with the costume. Thanks a lot!

We are first to board the boat so we sit right up front by the captain. He asks Cap’n Jack to stay close because he has a job for him. Now, I like the Jungle Cruise. It’s a one-time must-do for each trip although the jokes are exactly the same as on my 1972-six-people-in-a-bug trip. Can someone please come up with some new material?

And who would apply for the job of telling those corny jokes dozens of times a day? For me, the appeal of being the Jungle Cruise captain holds roughly the same appeal as being the captain of the Styx River Cruise in the fifth level of hell. It takes a special kind of person to do that job every day and he has my sincere admiration. Or is that my sincere pity? Maybe both.

Anyway when we get to the tunnel in Asia, he calls on my little guy to drive the boat. DS looks at me with fear…is that guy really gonna let me drive the boat? I tell him it’s OK and he takes the job very seriously. If he had “truly” had the wheel, I think we would have been fine, BTW. When his job is done, he gets a huge round of applause from the boat people. And I get a huge smile. So I thank the Styx River captain profusely as we exit.

As we walk back to the tree house, I note that the Dole Whip line is still TOO long for my liking as it has been all week. Bugger. I’ll be back. The tree house has not changed nor has it been dusted since 1972. The perfect family in front of us on the stairs are one as beautiful as the next and are opulently dressed like the gods and goddesses from Mt. Olympus. Heading back down, DS accidentally steps on the dad’s golden cape for about the third time and he finally picks it up. Sorry, Greek god/dad! Pick up your capes on the stairs, people, in case there’s a rowdy pirate behind you.

We get to Splash…it’s a walk on. Sold out, schmold out…heh, heh. This is great! Mimi’s worried about getting the dress wet. Oy. Then it’s walk right on to BTM….sweet! When we exit BTM for the second time at 7 pm sharp…we are greeted by a WALL of people….

DO….weigh the cost of your park hoppers against other options…special events, tours, etc. For some folks park hoppers are a must. For us, not so much. If you plan your dinner ADRs with the parks you’re going to for the day, there’s really no need to hop. You downgrade your tickets to straight MYW tickets within 45? days of your trip….which is what I did. I can think of better ways to spend that money…or at least I thought I could.

DON’T….miss the attractions that close early if you are going to MNSSHP. I knew the Jungle Cruise and Tiki Room would be closing early so we went there first.

IMPORTANT MNSSHP EDIT (March, 2007): Something I just thought of the other day that I'm not sure I mentioned was that I purchased the tickets to MNSSHP only a week before we left so I couldn't have them mailed to us for fear they would not arrive in time. I was told that I needed to go to the "will call" window at the MK to get the tickets.

On one of my trips to the concierge desk at POR, I asked where the will call window is located and the concierge said there was no need to go to will call. She printed the tickets out right there at the concierge window!!!

SO....moral of the story....if you are cutting it close on time to have your tickets mailed OR if you are afraid you'll forget and leave them at home (like me!) FEAR NOT! The concierge at your hotel can print out your tickets right at your hotel!

 

[scrap4u]

Hey Lexmelinda! Another great chapter! Sorry Jamie had the grumpies but I bet the trick or treating at MNSSHP cheered him up! Can't wait for the rest of the story.

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

Not first... darn!

I hear ya on the costume, Melinda. I bought DS2 the Jack Sparrow costume, complete with sword and compass for Mickey's Halloween Treat here @ DCA and he would not wear one piece of that costume.

I'm so sad we missed MHSSHP when we were there. Sounds like a fun time. Looking forward to some pics, girl. I wanna see the costumes.

 

[nicolemarie]

When we exit BTM for the second time at 7 pm sharp…we are greeted by a WALL of people….

Uh-oh...this doesn't sound good!

Thanks for another great installment!

You met the Magic Champion of Norway? Cool. My kids would have loved that. I'm glad he helped James' mood.

Looking forward to hearing about the crowds that night - and I hope Jamie got to join y'all later!!

NM

 

[Frickles]

I'm back! I finally get to really read trip reports again since mine is DONE and the kids are out of school for the holidays....meaning I don't have a lot to volunteer for now! Woo hooty!

I'm glad you all didn't let Manny park your car.

I'm loving it girl! You are doing a fabulous job!!!!!! Looking forward to MORE!!!

 

[UtahMama]

What kind of crappy friend am I???? I SUCK!

I just caught up on this whole sh'bang! Your kids are adoralicious!

Need more pics of YOU, though, Miss Cutie Pants!

MNSSHP is gonna be FUN, cant wait to read more! I do beg to differ about the Jungle Cruise, though. Are you gonna post pics of all the costumes???

The lame jokes given by the same tired captains make me laugh every single time! They're so lame, they're funny to me. Hysterically, stupidly, lamely, FUNNY!

Subbing at long last so I wont neglect you anymore!

 

[DisneyObsession]

YAY!!! A new installment!!!

I have been sitting here at "work" catching up on my DIS friends! Sounds like DS is getting rid of the grumpies. (I hope)

Do we get to see the costumes?!? Please post pics!

OK...ready for the next part of your trip. Trick or treating?!? Lots of people?!? DH gets lost in the crowd?!?............OK.OK., I'll wait.