amazingact21
Upendi
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2010
Oh dear. It's been 17 days since I last updated this trip report. That's just shameful.
I thought about apologizing for taking so long to post anything new, but to be perfectly honest, I don't feel too bad. We've all been on the boards long enough to know that life gets in the way, sometimes, and that the DIS has to be placed on the back burner.
The month of July has been really hectic for my family. We've had lots to do, houses to be moved out of, lots of important family time to take, and some unexpected purchases to make. Any free time I've gotten, I wasn't willing to use on writing. Whoops.
And then, as most of you guys know, Alex has officially left, and Landon hasn't been taking it well, so we're still in that adjustment period. Plus, once again, I wasn't up for talking about reliving our happy Disney memories. I was afraid I'd be too tired or sad to appropriately portray the memories. So stepping back from the DIS for those few weeks was very helpful. Thanks to everyone who understands the need for a DIS break.
However! While I was on my mini-hiatus, Alex and I did encounter something incredibly cool. We were spending one of his last weekends free in Destin, a major tourist city about 25 minutes away from us. Normally, we avoid the place like the plague during the summer, because it's basically full of out of towners who can't drive and handle the insanity of Highway 98. But, we made an exception in the spirit of getting away for the day.
A major shopping complex had just opened up a new section, so we figured we'd check it out and see how it fit in with all the other retailers/restaurants.
We had just finished lunch and were standing outside on the sidewalk, when this woman walks up to us and asked us a question.
My back was to her, so I couldn't quite hear her, but I heard Alex go, "Yes, we are!"
I concentrated on what I thought she'd said and suddenly realized she'd asked us if we were on the DIS boards!!!
YES! Yes, we are!
Jackie1284 had recognized Landon's blue glasses floating around the trip report pages and her husband convinced her to come over and say hello!
How cool!
Turns out, she's a local, like me, and we read some of the same reports. (We totally named dropped you, Rob.)
She was so extremely nice, and we carried on a brief conversation about how many times her soon to be 3 year old son has visited Disney, and how funny it is when CMs try and hand us First Visit buttons.
And, of course, I had to get a picture to memorialize the moment.
Thank you so, so, so much Jackie1284 for coming up and say hi to us. Having a DISmeet in WDW is awesome, but having one in your town is spectacular! It made our day; Alex and I kept mentioning it the rest of the afternoon. It really goes to show you how small the DIS universe can be, and it's great to know there's a fellow DIS mom living nearby.
I can't say much else topped that day. (Although the Twice Upon a Year sale at the Disney outlets came close.)
Now, to continue on with the December trip. (FINALLY, right?)
Friday, December 6th, 2013:
Friday morning...Yikes! It was already Friday. Where was the week going? We had finally entered that dreaded time frame of the trip where we were working on the last half of our vacation, not the first part anymore.
The end was nearing!
But not for another 3 days. We still had 3 whole Disney days to focus on.
No need to think about the depressing departure day just yet.
That morning, my group was visiting the wonderful Animal Kingdom. I was pretty excited about this, because while the stuff inside the park isn't my favorite, the theme and look of AK is.
If that makes sense.
There's just something about the colors and details and look of Animal Kingdom that really appeals to me. I feel like when I go to AK, I can take a slower pace and concentrate more on the work the Imagineers put into the place, more so than at other locations.
I'm kind of obsessed with collecting various souvenirs from AK due to that, so if a stranger ever saw my pin board or Disney attire, they'd believe they knew my favorite Disney park.
It's a bit confusing, but that's how my tastes and interests work.
And because I wanted to get Landon on my side, I had him bright eyed and bushy tailed that morning.
He had his safari hat on and was ready to see some giraffes! (While his mother was standing shame faced nearby; she hadn't brought any animal-related outfits for the child. Poor Disney planning...)
Alex drove us over to the park, and we landed a spot in:
The site of the great "Post Race Lost Car Debacle." Oh, the memories...
The first thing we all saw upon getting to the entrance was the great big Christmas tree set up in AK style.
It was gorgeous!
I couldn't get enough of the animals or the masks adorning the branches. While it didn't scream "Christmas" to me, it was beautiful in its own way. To the point where I'd display that bad boy year round in my house.
It was nice to get away from the overload of reds and greens and garland and silver bells that covered the other 3 parks and get a fresh look on the holidays.
Because that's what it was. It was subtle and natural and it blended in so darn well with everything else. Can any other park achieve that better than AK?
I don't know.
Because I loved the tree so much, I had to get some pictures in front of it!
I was the only one in Animal Kingdom themed attire! And I'm married to the Disney shirt king. The man's got 5 different Epcot t-shirts, but not a one from his wife's beloved AK. That should be a crime.
(Get ready, Alex, you know what'll end up in a care package if I have my way.
)
Our little family... back when Landon was a piece of cake to take to Disney.
Don't worry about smiling, Landon. We're not capturing a beautiful family portrait here or anything.
When I felt that sufficient photos were taken, I turned my attention to the entrance sign. For some reason, I am always on a mission to capture the perfect sign photo.
Just at that park, though.
I guess because it's such a simple thing to photograph, and yet I usually end up with people's head in the way, or it's crooked, or out of focus. I don't have much luck, normally.
But not that morning!
Ye-Oh, wait, there's the obligatory stranger standing in right in the middle.
Maybe next time!
(I have actually not looked at any of my May photos, so I have no idea if I nailed it then or not. We'll have to wait and see!)
The first order of business was of course...
The Baby Care Center.
The life of Disney parents, ya'll. It's real exciting.
I got excited when we parked the stroller, because I saw something that reminded me of Mary Ellen's girl's trip. This little beauty:
I don't think I'd ever have noticed it if not for those ladies.
Once inside, Alex and I underwent a bit of baby care center lovesickness.
Hands down, the AK baby center is the best one of them all. It's the Cadillac of changing table rooms. The Four Seasons of highchair land. The porterhouse steak of quiet playrooms.
First off, there were three massive rooms with plenty of open space and colorful artwork. And there were twice as many changing tables as the other centers, and two huge private rooms with changing tables in them.
Alex and I were seriously in love. We could've have hung out there all morning.
AK might not have enough attractions to entertain the adults, but Disney really catered to the littles. Those guys have their own private park right inside those walls.
And the Cast Member working was so friendly and sweet natured. Her and my mother struck up a conversation while Alex and I were doing the parent thing and getting the baby squared away. Nobody else was in the rooms at that hour, and she CM almost didn't want us to leave. She enjoyed the company.
And while normally I wouldn't have minded getting to know a Cast Member better, we had Fastpasses to use and a park to explore. No time to waste!
Although, as we were getting our stroller, another Cast Member walked up - a lovely gentleman- and noticed a giant cricket hanging out on the wall.
Well, we came to the conclusion it was a cricket. There was a brief discussion among all of us over what it was, because it looked pretty exotic and unique. It was hilarious hearing us discuss the possibilities.
Finally, the male Cast Member threw up his hands and went, "Whatever animal it is, he's playing hooky from work! He needs to get back over to It's Tough to be a Bug!"
Retelling the story, it sounds silly and sort of lame, but at the time it was really funny. Just having such a good natured CM that could crack a joke like that was awesome. Both the people we were speaking with exuded a great love for Disney. You could tell they were two people who loved their jobs and loved talking Disney.
It's such a treat to run into those kind of people on your trip.
Continued in Next Post:
I thought about apologizing for taking so long to post anything new, but to be perfectly honest, I don't feel too bad. We've all been on the boards long enough to know that life gets in the way, sometimes, and that the DIS has to be placed on the back burner.
The month of July has been really hectic for my family. We've had lots to do, houses to be moved out of, lots of important family time to take, and some unexpected purchases to make. Any free time I've gotten, I wasn't willing to use on writing. Whoops.
And then, as most of you guys know, Alex has officially left, and Landon hasn't been taking it well, so we're still in that adjustment period. Plus, once again, I wasn't up for talking about reliving our happy Disney memories. I was afraid I'd be too tired or sad to appropriately portray the memories. So stepping back from the DIS for those few weeks was very helpful. Thanks to everyone who understands the need for a DIS break.
However! While I was on my mini-hiatus, Alex and I did encounter something incredibly cool. We were spending one of his last weekends free in Destin, a major tourist city about 25 minutes away from us. Normally, we avoid the place like the plague during the summer, because it's basically full of out of towners who can't drive and handle the insanity of Highway 98. But, we made an exception in the spirit of getting away for the day.
A major shopping complex had just opened up a new section, so we figured we'd check it out and see how it fit in with all the other retailers/restaurants.
We had just finished lunch and were standing outside on the sidewalk, when this woman walks up to us and asked us a question.
My back was to her, so I couldn't quite hear her, but I heard Alex go, "Yes, we are!"
I concentrated on what I thought she'd said and suddenly realized she'd asked us if we were on the DIS boards!!!
YES! Yes, we are!
Jackie1284 had recognized Landon's blue glasses floating around the trip report pages and her husband convinced her to come over and say hello!
How cool!
Turns out, she's a local, like me, and we read some of the same reports. (We totally named dropped you, Rob.)
She was so extremely nice, and we carried on a brief conversation about how many times her soon to be 3 year old son has visited Disney, and how funny it is when CMs try and hand us First Visit buttons.
And, of course, I had to get a picture to memorialize the moment.
Thank you so, so, so much Jackie1284 for coming up and say hi to us. Having a DISmeet in WDW is awesome, but having one in your town is spectacular! It made our day; Alex and I kept mentioning it the rest of the afternoon. It really goes to show you how small the DIS universe can be, and it's great to know there's a fellow DIS mom living nearby.
I can't say much else topped that day. (Although the Twice Upon a Year sale at the Disney outlets came close.)
Now, to continue on with the December trip. (FINALLY, right?)
Friday, December 6th, 2013:
Friday morning...Yikes! It was already Friday. Where was the week going? We had finally entered that dreaded time frame of the trip where we were working on the last half of our vacation, not the first part anymore.
The end was nearing!
But not for another 3 days. We still had 3 whole Disney days to focus on.
No need to think about the depressing departure day just yet.
That morning, my group was visiting the wonderful Animal Kingdom. I was pretty excited about this, because while the stuff inside the park isn't my favorite, the theme and look of AK is.
If that makes sense.
There's just something about the colors and details and look of Animal Kingdom that really appeals to me. I feel like when I go to AK, I can take a slower pace and concentrate more on the work the Imagineers put into the place, more so than at other locations.
I'm kind of obsessed with collecting various souvenirs from AK due to that, so if a stranger ever saw my pin board or Disney attire, they'd believe they knew my favorite Disney park.
It's a bit confusing, but that's how my tastes and interests work.
And because I wanted to get Landon on my side, I had him bright eyed and bushy tailed that morning.
He had his safari hat on and was ready to see some giraffes! (While his mother was standing shame faced nearby; she hadn't brought any animal-related outfits for the child. Poor Disney planning...)
Alex drove us over to the park, and we landed a spot in:
The site of the great "Post Race Lost Car Debacle." Oh, the memories...
The first thing we all saw upon getting to the entrance was the great big Christmas tree set up in AK style.
It was gorgeous!
I couldn't get enough of the animals or the masks adorning the branches. While it didn't scream "Christmas" to me, it was beautiful in its own way. To the point where I'd display that bad boy year round in my house.
It was nice to get away from the overload of reds and greens and garland and silver bells that covered the other 3 parks and get a fresh look on the holidays.
Because that's what it was. It was subtle and natural and it blended in so darn well with everything else. Can any other park achieve that better than AK?
I don't know.
Because I loved the tree so much, I had to get some pictures in front of it!
I was the only one in Animal Kingdom themed attire! And I'm married to the Disney shirt king. The man's got 5 different Epcot t-shirts, but not a one from his wife's beloved AK. That should be a crime.
(Get ready, Alex, you know what'll end up in a care package if I have my way.
)Our little family... back when Landon was a piece of cake to take to Disney.
Don't worry about smiling, Landon. We're not capturing a beautiful family portrait here or anything.
When I felt that sufficient photos were taken, I turned my attention to the entrance sign. For some reason, I am always on a mission to capture the perfect sign photo.
Just at that park, though.
I guess because it's such a simple thing to photograph, and yet I usually end up with people's head in the way, or it's crooked, or out of focus. I don't have much luck, normally.
But not that morning!
Ye-Oh, wait, there's the obligatory stranger standing in right in the middle.
Maybe next time!
(I have actually not looked at any of my May photos, so I have no idea if I nailed it then or not. We'll have to wait and see!)
The first order of business was of course...
The Baby Care Center.
The life of Disney parents, ya'll. It's real exciting.
I got excited when we parked the stroller, because I saw something that reminded me of Mary Ellen's girl's trip. This little beauty:
I don't think I'd ever have noticed it if not for those ladies.
Once inside, Alex and I underwent a bit of baby care center lovesickness.
Hands down, the AK baby center is the best one of them all. It's the Cadillac of changing table rooms. The Four Seasons of highchair land. The porterhouse steak of quiet playrooms.
First off, there were three massive rooms with plenty of open space and colorful artwork. And there were twice as many changing tables as the other centers, and two huge private rooms with changing tables in them.
Alex and I were seriously in love. We could've have hung out there all morning.
AK might not have enough attractions to entertain the adults, but Disney really catered to the littles. Those guys have their own private park right inside those walls.
And the Cast Member working was so friendly and sweet natured. Her and my mother struck up a conversation while Alex and I were doing the parent thing and getting the baby squared away. Nobody else was in the rooms at that hour, and she CM almost didn't want us to leave. She enjoyed the company.
And while normally I wouldn't have minded getting to know a Cast Member better, we had Fastpasses to use and a park to explore. No time to waste!
Although, as we were getting our stroller, another Cast Member walked up - a lovely gentleman- and noticed a giant cricket hanging out on the wall.
Well, we came to the conclusion it was a cricket. There was a brief discussion among all of us over what it was, because it looked pretty exotic and unique. It was hilarious hearing us discuss the possibilities.
Finally, the male Cast Member threw up his hands and went, "Whatever animal it is, he's playing hooky from work! He needs to get back over to It's Tough to be a Bug!"
Retelling the story, it sounds silly and sort of lame, but at the time it was really funny. Just having such a good natured CM that could crack a joke like that was awesome. Both the people we were speaking with exuded a great love for Disney. You could tell they were two people who loved their jobs and loved talking Disney.
It's such a treat to run into those kind of people on your trip.
Continued in Next Post:
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I can't wait until we're in the World at the same and actually know it, lol.
it really was special meeting y'all and it made my day too. I'm so sorry to hear about your husband being deployed. Please let me know if there's anything I can do since I am so close. I really would love to help if I can!
