Who's Honeymoon is it Anyways????

[OhioDisneyLover]

Love the updates Ann!

I have always wondered what the Illuminations Cruise was like. I was talking to a CM about where they park the boats, etc. and they had said that it was a bit far away as well. They also said that sometimes it is difficult with the wind to adjust the boats and that you may get the smoke coming your way too.

Looks like you had fun at Ohana's. I want to do breakfast there next year. It's been a while and I really enjoy their food.

Transportation tends to take quite a while at times, doesn't it? Joe and I rent a car because I am quite impatient when I want to get somewhere.

Love all of your pictures.

 

[klacey1]

Glad you guys had a great breakfast! I feel like to fully experience the WS, you need at least 2 days (which we never seem to have!)-- there's just so much to explore!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Transportation tends to take quite a while at times, doesn't it? Joe and I rent a car because I am quite impatient when I want to get somewhere.

Love all of your pictures.

Thanks for saying you like my pics, but I think it's about time to upgrade my camera. I just don't seem to be getting the shots I like. I only want a point and shoot, but I'm sure there is better quality out there than mine. As for the car, ugh.....I don't think I could manuver in Florida's traffic.

Glad you guys had a great breakfast! I feel like to fully experience the WS, you need at least 2 days (which we never seem to have!)-- there's just so much to explore!

Oh, we loved O'hana's. Yeah, I think I agree with you as far as the WS. I just don't ever have 2 days to spend there!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

All caught up, Ann! We love O'hana for breakfast too. This trip, we're doing it for dinner. You all seemed to have a great EPCOT day! It also seems like WS eludes us all! The Kidcot stops are a good idea. That was good that you could replace Peter's ring. That reminded me that I got a ring for my BF (at the time) there in Mexico! That must have been 18 or 19 years ago! Memories! LOL Anyway, I can't wait for another update

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Ok…..it’s been a while since I’ve updated, but you know that darn thing called life gets in the way at times. I’ve had to get the cages all set up inside as it’s cold enough now for the rabbits to come in for the winter, and then just general housekeep. Ugh….I want a maid!!! I’m also trying to scrapbook the Disney vacation let alone the wedding…..enough excuses, eh?

So…..we are now onto my favorite park ----Hollywood Studios!!! Yes!!! Sunday, September 26th!! By now I have realized that detailed, down to the hour touring plans are just not working out! You never know what opportunity will rear its little head, how long lines will be, how hungry someone will get, etc. I think for future plans, I’ll have the ADR’s and that will be about it. It was nice to know which GAD fastpasses were Daisy and Donald, as I knew what to use when and I did have that written down. We had breakfast that morning at the hotel --- the usual bountiful breakfast platter and Mickey waffles for Victoria --- and then headed on the bus to DHS. As we approach the gates I got that warm, happy feeling…..yep, the Disney magic! This is MY HOME…MINE!!! ALL MINE!!! I’m just letting all the other guests come in because that’s the nice type person I am!! One thing I do regret is not flagging down a photopass photographer right at the entrance. I’ll have to make sure to do that next time. We didn’t get there for rope drop…oh well, we had GAD fastpasses so I made sure to go to guest services right away and collect those.

Then it was off to TSMM! Gotta love that fastpass!! We got our GAD fastpass and also regular fastpasses for later in the day, and then went to stand in line. Heck, even the fastpass line was long, but that’s ok. I really wanted to see Mr. Potato Head in the queue, but I didn’t, so I’m still not sure where he is located! Now, I hope no one gets miffed at me for this one, but I really don’t understand the big thrill of this ride. It’s a 3D video game…..with the Toy Story characters. It’s cute, but would I wait even 30 minutes for it?? ---- NOT!!! Sorry for those who love it!

After that we went to the Backlot Studios Tour…..as we were standing in the queue two castmembers come out the side door and of course here I am in my bridal ears, smiling ear to ear (no pun intended), and one of them said Congratulations. I said thank you thinking she meant for the wedding……she said “no, congratulations for volunteering….” Uh oh….I’ve seen this demonstration before…..it involves lots and lots of water!!! Of course Peter had never seen it, so I’m kind of laughing to myself hoping he would be the guy in the booth on the phone…..Well, we were picked to be the deck crew on the battleship. OMG!!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVED THIS!!!

I’m a performer at heart so to be “acting” out front of all these people was so awesome. Peter and I were led into this little building where you get to put your wet suit on and get direction. I was a little concerned about Victoria being out in the audience by herself, but a castmember stayed right with her until we were able to get back to her which was so awesome! Victoria was able to take pictures of our awesome performance….Peter seemed to have a great time, too!!! Every year that we go I take a picture of Victoria at Catastrophe Canyon, so here it is this time….

We then went to the Lights, Motor, Action show at 1:20pm. There’s a little food stand close by so we picked up some munchies before going into the stadium. Gotta love those snack credits on the DDP!! I knew Peter would love this since he is a huge car freak and like restoring old cars. It was an awesome show! Oh, and the “director” even gave a shout out to all the stupid real insect love bugs that were just all over the place!! Too funny!! They even bother the actors!! I wanted to see the Block Party but again I didn’t get to this year. OMG!! There’s just too much else to do! Next year for sure!! We went back towards Sunset Blvd and headed to Rock n Rollercoaster. Again we used the GAD fastpass for that ride so it was an immediate time. Victoria loved this one!! I could not believe she loved it that much. Then she tells me it felt like she went upside down. Someone overheard her and told her, “well, yes….you went upside down at least 3 times”. She was amazed and couldn’t wait to do it again. I swear we rode that one at least 5 times!!! Then we hit the Tower of Terror. The first ride was pretty mild with about 3 or 4 mini drops. She wanted to do that one again and this time it was a HUGE drop!! Ok, now she understands the terror part a little better!!! I loved it as usual!!! That’s another one we rode again and again. Even without the fastpasses, the waits were only 20 minutes for TOT!! Did I mention that while Victoria and I kept doing these rides over and over, Peter enjoyed a little siesta on the bench!! Yep…my thrill ride animal right there!!! We also had time for the Great Movie ride and to watch the American Idol Experience. I didn’t think I would like that very much, but I actually did. I just wish it would have been me up there. I don’t know what the actual rules are to participate, but I know the real AI’s rules are you need to be under 28 years old --- yep, I wanted to try out once and was told I was too old…..ugh! Maybe I’ll check it out next year. Victoria wants to do it, but I think she’s too young --- again I didn’t check out the audition rules.

We had 4:40pm ADR’s for the Sci Fi Drive in. I thought the atmosphere was awesome ---- your table is a car and you are sitting in a drive in with an actual huge screen in the front playing old sci fi movies. So cool!!! The food was awesome as well! I can’t remember what Peter had, but Victoria and I had the steak. Yummy!! I wish I would have taken more food pics for you all, though. There was even one server actually on roller skates.

Too cool! Our server came back at the end of our meal with 3 souvenier cups filled with popcorn and a celebrating card. I thought that was so sweet.

After our meal we did TDMM once more time (yippee??) and decided to call it an evening…..

What a wonderful day!!!!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Yay! So glad you updated, I needed a little Disney fix! That shot of you guys in the car by Sci-fi is GREAT! You look so cute!

 

[-Hope-]

Great update Anne- looks like you definately had a great DHS day.

I wish I'd known about that little food stand outside LMA- we'd have had a snack and skipped that long line at Pizza Planet!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

We had breakfast that morning at the hotel --- the usual bountiful breakfast platter and Mickey waffles for Victoria --- and then headed on the bus to DHS. As we approach the gates I got that warm, happy feeling…..yep, the Disney magic! This is MY HOME…MINE!!! ALL MINE!!! I’m just letting all the other guests come in because that’s the nice type person I am!!

Thank you for sharing Hollywood Studios with us, Ann!

I know how you feel. The kids and I absolutely love this park too! You guys took some really nice family pictures. I can see why you're busy scrapbooking etc because it looks like you all had some really wonderful memories from this trip

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Monday, September 27th --- Animal Kingdom Day!!

Well, I had planned on going to EMH from 8am to 9am…yeah….not happening!! I just can’t seem to get everyone up and out the door in time, so this is another morning of eating breakfast at the Riverside Mill and catching the bus to AK. The first thing we did was head to the Finding Nemo show as the previous 2 times we’ve been, we’ve never caught this show! It was beautiful. I enjoyed watching Nemo swim in the little bubbles on either side of the stage before the show. Oh, this show was beautiful. I was wondering how I was going to like watching puppets and being able to see the actors, but it really was wonderful!

I forgot how hilly AK was. My legs seemed so tired on this day. And it was HOT…HOT, HOT, HOT….UGH! During this whole trip I really didn’t mind the heat except here. I think with the plants, etc, it was just so humid, it was uncomfortable. We headed over to Dinoland USA where I played the water race game and won a little seahorse…..wasn’t worth the $3 I paid to play, but I had fun. Other than Dinosaur, we really didn’t do much in this area. Again, I think it was just too hot! It’s weird because last time we were here Victoria and I spent a lot of time. Hmmmm… I don’t know. We then were headed on our way to the safari and I had to stop by Flights of Wonder. There was the most beautiful owl and his handler doing a presentation. I never knew that owls pant like dogs to keep cool.

I was so amazed that I asked Victoria and Peter if they wouldn’t mind watching the show, so in we went. I was chosen to participate in the show!!! I was asked to come up with my camera and get ready to take a picture as the owl was going to fly from the back of the audience to the tree right behind me. Yeah!!! I was so scared when he flew towards me that I got the most blurry shot you’d ever want to see. Too funny!! My shot didn’t even show the darned owl, but I was told I could take a picture before going back to my seat.

The safari was next! I love this ride and so did Peter. He seemed truly amazed at all the animals and plant life there. Something happened on this ride that had never happened to me before…..a rhino was preventing the jeep from continuing on our trip. OMG!!! This guy would not get out of the road for at least 5 minutes, so the jeep just idled there. What a riot!

He finally moved and we were on our way again. We didn’t take the time to go to Rafiki’s Planet Watch --- again, it was just too hot. We never made it to Kali River Rapids or Festival of the Lion King either. I was disappointed, but there’s always next time. I also promise myself that I will stop to get pics with the characters --- something I didn’t do much of this time around.

We had 6pm ADR’s for Park Fare so onward we went. We took the bus from AK right over to the Grand Floridian. This place is beautiful! There was a pianist in the lobby and it was just so grand!

There were all kinds of little girls dressed up in their favorite princess costumes waiting for their dinner, too. We had our picture taken before being seated and those came out really nice. This dinner is with Cinderella, Prince Charming, Fairy Godmother and the 2 wicked step sisters, although to hear them, they think Cinderella is the wicked one. This was a buffet style meal and it was wonderful! Peter and I even got up and waltzed right along with Cinderella and Charming.

We had such a good time. I would definitely recommend this meal! You know, since it’s been 2 months since the trip, I cannot for the life of me remember how we got back to the hotel. I remember catching the bus back to one of the parks, although I can’t remember which one. Then I’m sure we went from the park back to the hotel. I just wish I would have taken more time to write the day’s activities down --- I just never seemed to have the time! Next year for sure!!!!

Tuesday, September 28th ---- Resort Day…….

This was the day dedicated to hanging out, swimming, laundry, etc. Peter and Victoria went swimming while I did laundry. It figures I forgot fabric softener sheets, so I had to buy some. Thanks to the boards I knew the cost was $2 per load to wash and another $2 to dry. We had 5:30pm ADR’s for Cape May at the Beach Club. I remember it was raining…..I remember arriving at the dock by boat and due to the storm that was the last boat for a while. I don’t remember where we took the boat from…..wow…..I’m typing this really trying to remember……Oh wait…..I believe we took the bus to HS and immediately went to the boat launch instead of going through the gates….Yes….that’s it!!!!….I remember having ponchos on, getting soaked and getting to the lobby of the Beach Club where they gave us towels to dry off….... Yeah, definitely need to write things down next year! Being a New England girl, I LOVED THE CLAMBAKE!!! They did serve little neck clams and I’m used to regular steamers, but that’s ok. They were still good, even though I wondered where their little necks went!! The clam chowder wasn’t that great --- remember we are from Maine and clam chowder is a staple food around here! This was another buffet style meal which also included crab legs. The kids got metal buckets to “collect” their meals from the buffet with.

They did present us with a little dessert for our honeymoon. That was very nice. This is another definite on the list of places to eat at for next year!! Of course Peter and I are big seafood lovers anyways. Oh, wicked funny thing happened here with Victoria. We were at the buffet and she got what she thought were fried clams. We came back to the table and she was eating them but said they didn’t taste like clams, but that they were still good. She was eating CALIMARI!!! Peter was trying so hard not to laugh and tell her what it really was because he liked them, too. I finally had to tell her what they were and she was ok with it. I would have never expected Miss Fussypants to eat squid! It was time to leave and the boats were still not running, so we took a bus back to HS and then another bus back to the hotel.

Oh, I must interject here that thanks to the First of the Month Batch Process at work, our computers have been down all morning (so far 4 hours) so that has given me time to catch up of Dis boarding!!!!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Hopefully more updates today......

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Woohoo for computers being down, because that was a great update!

What is it about AK that always makes it seem so unbearably hot? I think you are right that it has something to do with all of the plant life. That is great that you were chosen for Flights of Wonder and that you got up close and personal with a rhino at the safari! Park Fare also sounded like a blast! I can't wait to take the kids there. We might have to give dinner at Cape May Cafe another shot one year. I liked it but the kids didn't enjoy it very much - I think it was the lack of characters. So is Victoria still eating calamari? That is great she still liked it even after she found out what it was!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Peter and I even got up and waltzed right along with Cinderella and Charming.

 

[-Hope-]

Great update Ann! We thought AK was especially hot too, I think the trees have a rainforest effect or something. So fun that you got chosen to be in FoW. We saw the lady with the owl too but we didn't have time to go in.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Park Fare. Those stepsisters are a riot. Even Jace who isn't so into the fairy tales loved this dinner. What a hoot.

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Wednesday, September 29 --- Magic Kingdom Day

Oh boy!! This is the day!! The first day ever for Peter to see Cinderella’s castle….At this point I was thinking that if this doesn’t get Peter to feel the magic, nothing will!!! (On Peter’s behalf, he was sick and I didn’t realize how sick until we got back from the trip. He now tells me there are some days that he didn’t want to get out of bed --- he felt that bad! And here I was getting a little annoyed with him for not enjoying the “magic” more!)

Our first stop of the day was our 8:05am breakfast at Crystal Palace. The food was excellent and I loved hugging the characters. This was one of those mornings, though, where I really couldn’t eat much and what I did eat didn’t stay with me very long ---- damn lapband! --- but it was soooo good!!! My favorite was the croissants --- they were so soft, warm and buttery!!

We missed Tigger, though, and I was kind of disappointed with that. Apparently we were up getting our food when he came by. We did get a Congratulations card signed by them all. Very nice. After breakfast we headed to Guest Relations for our GAD fastpasses and decided to ride the train into Frontierland. Victoria and I rode Splash Mountain while Peter sat that one out. Wet? Yes. Soaked? Not bad! I remembered last time getting much more wet than we did. We then went to the Jungle Cruise. Oh, it’s such a classic and I love it to this day. I wanted to go to the Enchanted Tiki Room but again this year, didn’t seem to make it. Ugh!! They are animatronics birds, aren’t they? Anyone have pics?

Maybe next year! We did make it into POTC, Haunted Mansion and Hall of Presidents. Victoria then had about enough of this part of the park and desperately wanted to go to Tomorrowland, so off we went.

The first stop in Tomorrowland was the Laugh Floor. Oh, I love this interactive show!!! Peter got picked as Sully and I got promptly scolded for taking a pic of him on the screen.

I don’t understand what the big deal is about not taking pictures in there and honestly, I didn’t pay attention in the queue when they stated no photography. I thought it was just the typical no FLASH photography. OOoooops. Oh well. Does anyone use the Wedway People Mover as a chance to recollect your thoughts and replan? Yeah, I needed a break just to regroup.

I wanted to have CS lunch at Columbia Harbor House but since we had ADR’s at Tony’s at 5:55pm and had a big breakfast, nobody was hungry for lunch. Again, maybe next time. Does anyone see a pattern of my touring plans going to heck here? Yeah, Big Time! We did everything in this section except for the Astro Orbiter. Last time I had a hard time getting out of the vehicle and wasn’t about to have that embarrassment again this year. Peter wouldn’t have ridden in it anyways.

Next up was our ADR’s at Tony’s. I never even knew it existed before I started planning our meals. This is such a nice restaurant and the food was delicious! Sorry that I didn’t take any food porns pics here. Just know that if you want a great place to eat, this is one!

We did stay for the Main Street Electrical Parade but left before Wishes. I just couldn’t believe how tired we got this trip! I also knew we would see Hallowishes at MNSSHP, so we could skip this one.

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Woohoo for computers being down, because that was a great update!

What is it about AK that always makes it seem so unbearably hot? I think you are right that it has something to do with all of the plant life. That is great that you were chosen for Flights of Wonder and that you got up close and personal with a rhino at the safari! Park Fare also sounded like a blast! I can't wait to take the kids there. We might have to give dinner at Cape May Cafe another shot one year. I liked it but the kids didn't enjoy it very much - I think it was the lack of characters. So is Victoria still eating calamari? That is great she still liked it even after she found out what it was!

Actually, Victoria hasn't touched calamari since we've been home...

Yeah, so what if we were the only ones up there.....It was our honeymoon, darn it!!!

Great update Ann! We thought AK was especially hot too, I think the trees have a rainforest effect or something. So fun that you got chosen to be in FoW. We saw the lady with the owl too but we didn't have time to go in.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Park Fare. Those stepsisters are a riot. Even Jace who isn't so into the fairy tales loved this dinner. What a hoot.

Yep!!! Loved Park Fare!!! I don't know how I'm going to fit every place we want to eat in next time!!!

 

[tomaszewski58]

Looks like a great time.

 

[tomaszewski58]

The pictures are amazing. It sure does make me want to make a reservation

 

[Victoriasmom98]

The pictures are amazing. It sure does make me want to make a reservation

Thank you!!! And welcome to my trip report!!! It's been hard keeping up with the updates, but I try!!!

 

[3princesses+aprince]

Dearest Pam:

I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU WERE THAT CLOSE TO ME......and didn't let me know you were in NH!!!! PAM!!!

We will just let Peter and Manny sit on the benches while we do all the thrill rides with the kids!!! Someday.......

It's been a while since i've been on here! Just saw this. I think Canobie Lake is a few hours from you. We do go every year though, so if it's something your interested in!!!!!!!! We can ALL GO TOGETHER SOMETIME NEXT SUMMER!!! And yes, Manny and Peter can people watch while we have fun!

I'm loving your report, love all the pics!

My MIL has been in the ICU for over a month, she's not doing well, on top of it being almost Christmas I never think to come check up on all your report! But, now that i'm here, i'd like to read more please......

 

[Victoriasmom98]

PAM!!!! DO YOU KNOW HOW HAPPY I AM TO HEAR FROM YOU???!!! OMG!!!

Yes, I will continue to update, but like everyone else, I've been very busy getting ready for Christmas!! I am so sorry to hear about your MIL. How's Manny doing with this? Are they close? Please don't be a stranger!!!