Where have you people been? NEW! We're on a PODCAST + MNSSHP 05/20

[buffy0214]

But really, what would I do with it? Make a hood ornament for my mini van?

A really big antenna topper

 

[buffy0214]

Well, I actually was going to write another installment. Really, I was Looks like webshots is down so I can't get my pics. I'll try again later.

 

[winkers]

Well, I actually was going to write another installment. Really, I was Looks like webshots is down so I can't get my pics. I'll try again later.

excuses, excuses.............

 

[buffy0214]

I know! I'm trying to change things up a bit for ya. That way you don't get bored with the same ol' "no time to DIS" excuse.

 

[OhMari]

I hope you can get your pictures. Looking forward to an update.

 

[buffy0214]

Thanks OhMari!

You know, I am slow enough already, I don't need anything helping to slow me up

 

[buffy0214]

Day 3, PART 1--Magic Kingdom Tuesday, Oct 9

Yes!!! Our full day at the Magic Kingdom! Arrived at the Magic Kingdom is always, well….magical! How can you not get excited when you see that Castle. I was excited to see someone else, too. THE PHOTOPASS PHOTOGRAPHER!! Since I prepaid I was on a mission to have at least 100 photo pass pics and so far I had a grand total of 1. Uno. Eins. Un. Ichi. So, I had a lot of catching up to do.

Becky and Calvin really wanted nothing to do with stopping to take a picture. They didn’t want to get out of the stroller and wanted to go straight to the ride. I was determined, however, and so I ended up with this shot.


Not even Tinkerbell could cheer Becky up.


Okay, common, Grandma, at least we can get a picture. Thanks to all the DISers out there who told me about the Tink picture. I just asked the photographer. Simple.


For those of you who are new to this report, Pete is always sent out on a hunt for Fastpasses so that is why he is not in the pictures

Here is how Pete’s morning went…

1. Go to Splash mountain get a FP and ride it.
2. Go to Space Mountain get a FP and ride it.

Meanwhile, those of us who had to wrestle with children made our way to Fantasyland and straight to Dumbo. Previous trips had made it obvious that if you want to do Dumbo you have to go first thing. That line builds up fast!

Mom and I went from Dumbo straight to Winnie the Pooh. This is the ride that Calvin didn’t like last time but he really liked it this time. In fact, just yesterday he asked if we could go on it again. Then he asked about a million questions about Goofy barnstormer. So I guess the trip made an impression. He wanted to know when we could go back. I told him he should ask his Daddy. Nudge. Nudge. Wink. Wink.

Pete covered much more ground than we did. In fact he met up with us at the Carrousel. The kids rode twice in a row with no wait. The two grumpy ones are much happier now. All it takes is a couple of rides.






Calvin and Rachel insist that Goofy Barnstormer is next so off we go to toontown.





We rode 3 times and the kids were given a little “Frequent Flyer” card. Cute! Something for the scrapbook.



We did a little pin trading at the Farmer’s Market next to the Barnstormer. I bought Becky a visor since the sun was bothering her.

Believe it or not, it was just about lunch time. We decided to get one more ride in so we took the train to Frontierland and used our FP for Splash. I made sure that the kids didn’t see what the ride looks like because I thought for sure they would chicken out. Normally, I don’t “trick” my kids and don’t make them ride anything they don’t want but, really, it isn’t that intense of a ride and I thought they would enjoy it if they tried. Plus I didn’t want to waste time by having to ride twice while someone waited with the kids (truth comes out). I wish we could have a photo pass for this ride. It would have been great to have all of us together. It ended up that all the kids enjoyed Splash. Hooray, now I don't have to have guilt.

We had a great morning and were pretty much up to speed on our itinerary. We missed Peter Pan, Small World and Space Mountain so far, but we did get to ride multiple times on other rides. See, I'm flexible.

Next up, Frontierland and Adventureland.

 

[winkers]

It's about time!

I still laugh about your dh riding the rides he's getting fp's for, before he comes back!

 

[buffy0214]

Yeah, he's funny

I actually have my next installment written up on Word. I figured since I had some time today I would knock it out. I can't believe it is 3pm already! Time flies on the DIS.

 

[buffy0214]

Okay, if you can't rely on your own hubby to bump your thread, who can you count on? It's not like he's never on the computer

Day 3, PART 2--Magic Kingdom Tuesday, Oct 9

Before we rode Splash Mountain, we got some more FP just in case we want to ride again. When I say “we“, I mean Pete. Here is a picture of the FP in case you have never seen them. Normally if we have any “leftover“ passes we give them out. For some reason these 2 remain. I heard on the podcast that disney has been having some issues with fake FP showing up at the parks. Note perforations...these are the real deal. I guess they are going to need to put barcodes on these puppies. I wonder if they will still be flexible about the entry time.



Pecos Bills is usually our “goto” place for lunch so we went to it. They had taco salads here as well as burgers. I don‘t remember those before but I always get a burger. The toppings bar is excellent here. On the downside, you always have to scramble to find a seat. Grandma really came in handy during these times. She could sit with the kids while Pete and I got the food. The turkey legs were calling to Pete so he got us Pecos Bill lunch and got himself a turkey leg.

Rachel was so totally wanting to ride Splash again. As soon as Pete finished his lunch he and Rachel rode by themselves. This time, they really did get splashed. Poor Rachel was soaked. That ended her excitement about the ride. Note to myself: bring spare panties. If you bring them you never need them, but if you don‘t then you do. Right?

Country Bear Jamboree wasn‘t really on our list of things to do but it was there and the next show was just getting ready to start. Why not? The kids will probably like it. Not to disappoint the Country Bear fans, but I think this ride needs a serious upgrade. Those bears are looking a little mangy and the show is always the same. Let‘s think of a new one, shall we.





The kids notice the ice cream cart. How can they be hungry again? We grabbed a snack and sat down just in time to see Woody‘s Cowboy Camp. It was a really cute show and a nice surprise. Calvin enjoyed seeing Woody. Notice the girl in the gray t-shirt next to the tree. She is looking up because there were lots of birds in this area who were decorating those below. Seconds later, she got hers. Yuck!







After the show we ducked into the Trading Post. I remember back in the day when there was lots of cowboy goodies in here. I really like the pin trading but for some reason whenever I see something has changed, I’m a little sad. We did a little trading and Grandma is even starting to get into it.

It was here that we came across a hidden gem, pardon the pun. Each of the kids filled a small bag with stones. It ended up being one of their favorite purchases. At home they have become pirate treasure, loads for Thomas the Train to haul, and rocks for Monster Trucks to ride over. Easily one of the best buys in the Magic Kingdom.




This installment had too many pics (too many smilies, I guess), so I am going to break it up even further. Pirates next....

 

[friendswithdave]

I am really enjoying it, can't wait to finish. We are going the exact same week this year, so I am really interested hearing about the crowd levels on the day you went. I am also a TGM subscriber. Sounds like Epcot Monday was very light, and we are planning to go that day. Great!

Leon

 

[If U Had Wings]

Whew! It took a bit of reading today, but finally got caught up with your trip report. I'm loving all of your craft projects. I have no sewing abilities at all, and am always terribly jealous of those who can. I knit, but very slowly!

 

[buffy0214]

I am really enjoying it, can't wait to finish. We are going the exact same week this year, so I am really interested hearing about the crowd levels on the day you went. I am also a TGM subscriber. Sounds like Epcot Monday was very light, and we are planning to go that day. Great!

Leon

Thanks for reading. I TGM! This trip was the first time that I used him and I am very pleased. October was definately more crowded than when we visited early Dec, but totally doable. The worse crowds we had was on our arrival day when we went against TGMs advice.

I will try and remember to give more info on the crowds and weather.

Whew! It took a bit of reading today, but finally got caught up with your trip report. I'm loving all of your craft projects. I have no sewing abilities at all, and am always terribly jealous of those who can. I knit, but very slowly!

You've got one on me, I am not a knitter. I wish I was, I really want to make some kitchen towel holders. Maybe that is crochet, though. Thanks for reading I am really going to try and make an effort to keep my updates timely.

 

[buffy0214]

Pirates of the Carribean was one of our must see attractions so we headed over to Adventureland. Pirates has always been my favorite non-thrill ride (even back before it was cool--I'm so ahead of my time ) so I was anxious to see how it had been upgraded. As we neared, the pirate tutorial was going on but had already started. We decided it was a good time to duck into to see the show. Just as we walked up a bunch of young people from a group simply walked right in front of us. We just let it go since we don‘t want to ruin our trip fretting over other people (not that you can really do anything but confront them) but now that I am home I can tell you that this just really burns me.

We waited about 20 minutes to ride, but the queue is at least interesting. I remember seeing on The Dis http://www.wdwinfo.com/Photos/Pirates/pages/DSC00012b.htm that the octopus headed guy, let‘s call him he-who‘s-name-I-can‘t-remember, was projected onto the waterfall. I knew that this would scare the heck out of Cal so I tried to be prepared. It did come upon me suddenly, however, and he freaked a little. I held him and hid his eyes and it was quickly over. He bounced back pretty quickly but I‘m not sure if he will want to ride again anytime soon. Poor guy.

Happier times in the queue


octopus head guy


Some of my pictures actually came out looking good! A photographic ode to my favorite














Of course we excited into a gift shop. I thought for sure that Cal would get a gun but it was too hard for him to pull the trigger so he gave up. He found a pirate ship and it was actually on clearance (can you believe that Disney puts items on clearance!) so he was able to get it. We had it sent to package pickup because he would never have understood why he couldn’t play with it until it was delivered to the resort.

By the time we finished our purchases the pirate tutorial was happening again. We stopped to check it out. It was funny and looked like the kids who got picked really enjoyed it. I love these little side shows that disney does. It feels spontaneous even if it isn‘t.

 

[buffy0214]

We decided to take a little break after the show. Everyone was a little tired from standing. Everyone but Becky. She wanted to go on the Swiss Family Treehouse. I had rented the movie for them before our trip so that they would have some idea about the story. Becky had been really excited to see the treehouse. I took her up in it and am so glad I did. Who knows, this treehouse may not be here the next time we come. I have a feeling it will be revamped.

I got some of my favorite pictures of Becky and a great view of tommorowland. I like this attraction as you can tour at your own pace. Unless, that is, you are holding up the line.











Next up, Cinderella‘s Royal Table.

 

[Beast0214]

I could not believe that the Pirate Ship was on clearance.

I really enjoyed the campy nature of the Pirate Show, too. I would not mind going back to seeing that one again, soon.

Has anyone ever been to the Pirates and Princess Party? If so, what do you recommend?

 

[nts4wdw]

Thanks for the pictures of Pirates!! You even got one of Stinky Toe!

 

[buffy0214]

I could not believe that the Pirate Ship was on clearance.

I know you love to save that $

Thanks for the pictures of Pirates!! You even got one of Stinky Toe!

He's legendary, isn't he? I'm so glad my pics turned out okay, I was so surprised that I was able to time it right for Jack Sparrow. My camera is so slow sometimes.

 

[If U Had Wings]

I love the pics of the treehouse. I really like that attraction alot, probably because I've wanted to move in since I saw it the first time when I was 8. I have to walk through it every time I go.

I've never actually seen the movie. I might have to pick that up, my nieces may enjoy it before our trip.

 

[buffy0214]

It is kinda long, especially for the little ones--126 minutes. We split it up into two nights. They really enjoyed it, even my 7 year old who is much more princess-like than piratey.